Gaming and Health – Can it Be the Future of Sport?

Sports are competitive sporting activities and physical exercises. These fill the need for play, physical exercise and competition among humans. All sports, however, are potentially competitive. This is the major difference between sports as a venue of competition and, more importantly, sports can develop the competitive spirit in us which is essential for our society.

Since humans need to compete for survival, the development of physical activity, and the encouragement of sports, have played an important role in the social development throughout history. Across cultures and nations sports have developed differently but all have the same meaning. Sports that are predominantly contact sports involve team sports such as soccer and the involvement of players at a high level of skill and physical strength. Non-contact sports have less obvious social values, typically involving a set number of people or a limited number of participants. The importance of sports is more apparent amongst children and young adults and is often associated with competitive, outdoor activities.

Many cultures have developed their own unique traditions and systems of competing. In many countries, for example, baseball and basketball play an important role in education and social interaction. As well as providing entertainment, sports competition provides a venue in which to test skills and learn about competition and rivalry between others. In international sports competitions, such as the Olympics, people from different countries put their best skills on the line and show the rest of the world how they best handle themselves under pressure. It also provides an excellent venue for testing the athletic abilities of each nation. International sports competitions have become a major international business, especially with the growth of the multi-sport event structure such as the Olympics.

However, recreational sports have the great advantage of providing low-cost physical fitness workouts, in contrast to the high costs of maintaining professional gym memberships. There is also the option of borrowing equipment from friends and acquaintances, or purchasing home fitness equipment. This has the added advantage of enabling one to try out the equipment before investing in it, so that any potential problems can be sorted out before committing to a large outlay. For those who don’t have access to a gym or do not have the money to commit to a monthly gym membership, recreational sports provide an excellent solution to exercising.

As part of his research, Michael Brown used survey data and interviews to examine the attitudes, beliefs and opinions of various groups about health, exercise, sport and fitness. The results of the research showed that there are a variety of negative views that exist around the issue of health and fitness, but that most of these are not unwarranted. Participants in recreational sports generally reported being healthy and physically fit, and also felt confident about engaging in these sports as an important part of their lives. The focus of these surveys was on the negative views that participants had about other aspects of their life, such as alcohol consumption or smoking. While the research did not directly look into these particular areas, the overall view was that people do not place too much value on them and do not place enough importance on the importance of exercise and sport.

When looking at the future of eChips and the future of eLuxx, the importance of positive attitudes and beliefs appears to be strong. This will no doubt influence the way in which eChips are perceived by members of the general public. Positive attitudes will help to ensure that eLuxx and ESL on sale will continue to meet the needs and demands of a wide range of people who enjoy physical exertion, and sport. Those who are not yet members of ESL clubs that engage in recreational sports may be encouraged by these findings.