A lot of people wonder whether airsoft is a sport or a hobby. The truth is, it could go either way. In fact, one could argue that they are an airsoft hobbyist. At the same time, some may treat it more like a sport. Below, we will be going over some of the reasons you could consider it a sport.
Reason It’s A Sport:
1. Physical Activity
For one, the activity itself requires a lot of physical ability. There is a lot of active participation involved when you are participating in the activity itself. The definition of sport is something that is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess” [1]. By this definition, there is no question that it can be classified as a sport because the actual activity itself requires both skill and physical prowess.
2. Training
There is a lot of training involved if you want to become a great airsoft player. Like many of the other sports, you will find available; you need to actively train to become a good airsoft player. The activity requires a lot of training in order to become accurate enough to shoot targets.
3. Extreme or Adventure Sport
One of the best ways to describe airsoft would be as an extreme sport or an adventure sport. After all, it is a very physical sport that requires a lot of movement, and you need to be very athletic to participate in it. Therefore, much like other extreme or adventure sports, it could be seen as that.
Reasons It Could Be Considered A Hobby:
1. Collect Guns
For someone who primarily participates in the activity by simply collecting guns, they may consider it much more of a hobby. After all, they aren’t actively participating in the activity, and they aren’t being competitive. Instead, they are treating it much more likely a hobby.
2. No Organized Body
One of the arguments against it being classified as a sport would be the fact that there is no organized body that actually governs the activity itself. Therefore, you could argue that it isn’t directly a sport because there is no central league, nor is there a standardized format of play like there is with paintball.
Overall, there is no doubt that airsoft qualified as a sport. However, it does have a few things working against it from being confused with a hobby. It really comes down to how you treat it and whether or not you engage in physical activity with it or if you simply collect and upgrade airsoft guns.
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