Philosophers have argued long and hard over the word ‘sport’, but for our purposes we
define it as a sub-component of exercise whereby the activity is rule-governed, structured,competitive and involves gross motor movement characterised by physical strategy, prowess and chance (Rejeski and Brawley 1988). The competitive nature of sport has sometimes been difficult to clarify. Indeed, the Sports Councils in the UK (for example, ‘Sport England’) have jurisdiction over activities that are non-competitive (for example, keep-fit and yoga), and ‘Sport for All’ campaigns have often included a wider range of activities than ‘traditional’ competitive sports. Moreover, not all sports will necessarily be ‘health-related’ in the sense we adopt in this book. For example, playing darts or pool may be enjoyable and require great skill, but provide minimal physical activity.