Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

[Marcus Wilker]

Kevin Spraggett wrote a cheeky article suggesting that chess had finally been recognized as a sport by Sport Canada.

http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/2...-sport-in.html

But it seems that it isn't actually. Rather, it's specifically excluded, among other such "games of skill":

Limitations for funding purposes:

Certain categories of sports or competitive activities fall outside Sport Canada parameters for funding purposes and are therefore excluded:

Sports in which athletes directly use and control motorized propulsion as a component of competition. (e.g., racing of automobiles, motorcycles, power boats, aircraft, snow machines, etc.).

Games of skill such as billiards, darts, board games (chess, bridge, scrabble), and electronic games.

The professional or commercial component of sports, owned and/or operated outside the jurisdiction of the sport’s recognized National or International Sport Federation by private enterprises, promoters, major professional leagues, franchises or other professional associations.

Related forms, variations or adaptations of existing sports, disciplines and/or events will generally be considered as disciplines within the original sport and not be considered as a distinct sport for eligibility purposes, regardless of the fact that such related forms, variations or adaptations may be organized independently from or outside existing NSOs.

Competitions (multi-event or multi-sport) and competitive activities developed as a variation, adaptation, combination or dimension of other non-sport or sport activities will not be eligible (e.g., police, firefighter, military games, life-saving competitions, ski patrol competitions, etc.).

http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/sc/pgm/cfrs/sfafelig05-eng.cfm

[Marcus Wilker]

Chess is not a sport; its ...

The logic of Spraggett's article ("what CATEGORY of sport would it fall under") reminds me of Agent Smith's speech to Neo in The Matrix:

I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus.

So, along the same lines (fill in the blanks):

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your (activity/contest/game) and I realized that it's not actually a sport. Every sport on this planet ... (pick one or more)

• is a regulated form of physical activity organized as a contest between two or more participants for the purpose of determining a winner by fair and ethical means ... in the form of a game, match, race, or other form of event.
  
• is governed and sanctioned by a sport governing body (sport federation) that holds the responsibility for, notably, setting out the rules of play, either at the national level or at the world level, for awarding the organization of its championship(s), and designating the winner(s) of its championship(s). For the purpose of determining eligibility to its funding programs, Sport Canada has established that a sport should meet the following set of characteristics.
  
• involves physical interaction between participants and/or between participants and the environment: air, water, ice, snow, ground, special surface or apparatus, with or without the use of a special conveyance (e.g., bicycle, canoe, horse, luge, parachute, sailboat, skate, ski, wheelchair).
  
• requires specialized neuromuscular skills - such as speed, strength, stamina, flexibility, balance, precision and coordination - that involve large muscle groups or those which the individual has the ability to utilize, and which can be taught, learned and improved.
  
• relies on recognized general principles of Long Term Participant/Athlete Development that are adapted to the specific sport and are designed to provide a technically and ethically safe and sound sport experience at all levels of the continuum from initiation to playing, to training and competing up to and including performing at the highest levels of the sport, under the guidance of qualified coaches.
  
• involves formal rules and procedures to ensure a safe and fair outcome for all participants.
  
• requires fair, ethical and effective tactics and strategies.
  
• requires a competitive format and structure, sanctioned by the recognized governing body for the sport, either at the national or world level, and open to all participants who meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the rules of the sport.
  
• requires the on site presence of officials sanctioned by the sport governing body to objectively, fairly and consistently apply the rules.

Source: http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/sc/pgm/cfrs/sfafelig05-eng.cfm

But chess does not. It (fill in specific description of chess here).

There is another activity on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? (specify appropriate comparison or category)

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Whether or not chess is a sport depends upon how the word, sport, is defined. One could offer a loose definition of the term that would include chess, or a more strict definition of the term that would not. The question is one of semantics. And it is of course interesting how money often governs our semantics. Those who want money given to chess have loose semantics, those who do not want the money given will tend to tighten up their definition.

[Marcus Wilker]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

The Ontario government recognizes chess, at least to the extent of listing it as an eligible activity for the Ontario Children's Activity Tax Credit.

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/credit/catc/activities.html

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

It's not just semantics, it is also language. In many (most?) languages other than English, it is natural for chess to be a sport. Chess appears in the sports section of newspapers, and when it comes to classification for funding purposes ... not so many hurdles. We still have remnants of similar meaning in English in phrases such as "a sporting contest" or "a sporting chance". So, perhaps because of language, chess is not funded as a sport in predominantly English-speaking countries such as USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand. Ironically, English also has a word for what they're really intending to fund: athletics. But that word is not used so frequently anymore.

Last I looked, chess in the Netherlands received two funding streams, one as an elite sport (for people like van Wely, Giri, Smeets, their junior champions, trainers, coaches, training camps, travel expenses, hotel expenses for acclimatization ...) and another stream as a recreation (they had some tens of thousands of members in the KNSB, their equivalent of the CFC). This division struck me as sensible. If the CFC were suddenly given $100,000 a year .... AFAIR, CFC (1872 to present) has never received any federal money.

CFC was involved as a sport governing body circa 1948 and again in the late 1970s. The caveat both times was that it was part of the independent voice of sports, in 1948 as part of the nascent sports body convened by the federal government, and in the late 70s as a member of the Sports Federation of Canada. The SFC was later disbanded, in part at least because the feds eliminated its budget. I'm not aware of any group in 2011 that attempts to do what the SFC did then. By that time the CFC had ceased to pay the annual SFC membership. Perhaps the SFC failed because too many of its members, like the CFC, didn't see a direct payoff.

I was unable in Firefox to get anything from the link that Marcus gave, but I'd guess that the stuff about games of skill (billiards) and board games (chess) is the explanation or spin put on the situation by a bureaucrat. The pith is always in the legislation and the regulations. Although I recognize (from the 1970s) the phrase "large muscle groups", so the explanation may be close to the reality.

The description does not mention the word "Olympic". So there are some funded sports such as Archery or, better, shooting, which are there because you can win an Olympic medal in them. Shooting does not involve large muscle groups. On the other hand, they don't want to mention the word Olympic because that would elicit kvetching from sports such as chess, which are recognized by the IOC but not regularly part of the actual Olympic Games. It's good for chess that FIDE is part of the IOC, because it reinforces in many countries the case for the national chess group to receive sports funding. For Canada, FIDE's IOC membership is of no value.

The CFC did have one perquisite, the tax-deductible Charitable Status obtained, AFAIR, by then CFC Secretary George Bryant (who in real life was also the Personal Secretary of then CFC President John Prentice) in the late 1960s. AFAIK, chess in Australia or the UK did not have a similar status. About a year ago, the tax-deductible status was cancelled. According to the rumours that filtered to chesstalk, the cancellation had nothing to do with the investigations the CFC had undergone in previous years in relation to its issuance of tax-deductible receipts.... The non-existence of this status will emerge as an issue in 2012 for the Chess Olympics in Istanbul (not Constantinople, cha cha). Unless there's movement to get the teams sponsored, rather than reliant on donations. It has happened, but AFAIK, in that case, because the sponsor actively sought out the opportunity with the CFC. Seeking sponsorship would take special effort and special skill set (and possibly a sea change in attitudes) on the part of the CFC. It may require, as it did before, the existence of a motivated pre-existing sponsor. But like so many things in life, it's something that you don't know until you try.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

It may require, as it did before, the existence of a motivated pre-existing sponsor. But like so many things in life, it's something that you don't know until you try.

It might help if Canada stressed quality over quantity when it comes to sending representatives abroad to represent us.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

The Ontario government recognizes chess, at least to the extent of listing it as an eligible activity for the Ontario Children's Activity Tax Credit.

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/credit/catc/activities.html

I believe that the federal government also created a tax credit which could be used for children's chess as part of the last federal budget which was used to bring down the government but was then reintroduced when the Conservatives won a majority.

[Jason Lohner]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Personally, I define sport as a physical activity.

Oxford Dictionary online

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment:

Chess is a great game, but calling it a sport is really stretching the term. I think that the chess community is far too focused on getting funding from Sport Canada. Perhaps the chess community would be better served by seeking funding from other avenues? Perhaps educational advantages could be stressed and funding received there?

[Jean Hébert]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Personally, I define sport as a physical activity.

Oxford Dictionary online

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment:

Chess is a great game, but calling it a sport is really stretching the term. I think that the chess community is far too focused on getting funding from Sport Canada. Perhaps the chess community would be better served by seeking funding from other avenues? Perhaps educational advantages could be stressed and funding received there?

Anyone who has competed seriously knows that chess is physically exerting. I have seen some very fit people being completely washed out after a single chess game. However I kind of agree with the rest of the post. Chess should not try to fit into some foreign definitions. Chess can be and is sold for the unique multi-faceted discipline that it is, there is no need to settle for being just a simple sport. This would be a serious lack of ambition. :)

[Bindi Cheng]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Anyone who has competed seriously knows that chess is physically exerting. I have seen some very fit people being completely washed out after a single chess game. However I kind of agree with the rest of the post. Chess should not try to fit into some foreign definitions. Chess can be and is sold for the unique multi-faceted discipline that it is, there is no need to settle for being just a simple sport. This would be a serious lack of ambition. :)

I agree with this, I find myself being physically and mentally exhausted after a weekender. Having back to back 9 round tourneys with a span of a couple weeks is even more difficult. I find my play usually to be worse in the 2nd tourney and sometimes even burnt out. People just don't understand that you don't just lollygag your way when you're playing tournament/competitive chess, it's a gruelling 4-5 hour game where you're constantly thinking of ways to beat your opponent. Too many cartoons and tv shows protraying nerds as the only ones playing chess has negatively influenced chess in Canadian culture.

[Marcus Wilker]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Too many cartoons and tv shows protraying nerds as the only ones playing chess has negatively influenced chess in Canadian culture.

Even if chess has (or has had) a negative reputation along the lines you, Bindi, are suggesting (and I see signs that this is turning around - the chess master/Russian crime solver on TV last season is one indication, and nerd itself is coming around as a less negative stereotype) I think it's interesting to consider Jonathan Berry's point about linguistic usage in English:

A game of baseball, or American football, or pool are referred to as "chess matches" when a gruelling strategic struggle develops. "They're playing chess," as a metaphor, suggests that the competitors are intelligent, highly competent, and tough - not soft or nerdy. But there's also an esoteric connotation, as if the competitors are on some serious next level, not just playing for "sport" or entertainment.

[Marcus Wilker]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

E.g., I tried googling "it's a chess match," and here are a few top non-chess hits:

• It's a chess match now (politics) - Behind the rousing picket line speeches and corporate news releases, leaders on both sides of the U.S. Steel labour dispute are locked in a game of subtle strategy over the future of pensions at the company.
  
• Clemson coordinator Morris excelling at ‘chess match' (college football) - It's a “chess match” (Clemson center Dalton Freeman's take) or a “cat-and-mouse game” (the way head coach Dabo Swinney sees it). It's new offensive coordinator Chad Morris trying to stay one step ahead of good and well-paid obstructionists who have been in the college game a lot longer than his 17 games.
  
• 'It's a chess match, back and forth' (military) - Petty Officer 2nd Class Devon P. Bryan had arrived on the scene to take care of a roadside bomb in Baghdad when a soldier told him he had found what looked like another bomb. ... EOD is not a job for people who have a problem handling stressful situations, Bryan said.

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Then there's Dan Scoones's favourite references to curling being "chess on ice". He even posted a link, not so long ago, here on chesstalk. It's a :) :) :) :) topic for Dan.

But curling has a competitor in the "chess on ice" perception: hockey. In the recent game Tampa vs. Philadelphia, when Tampa adopted their 1-3-1 (with the forward just waiting, not actually forechecking), Philly's D just stood there with the puck for close to half a minute before the referee whistled the play dead. The score at the time was 0-0. One play-by-play commentator suggested (lightly) that they might need to go to a shot clock like in Basketball. Who would have thunk it? Anyway, chess at least has some incentives to action: the tick of your own clock is uncoupled from whatever happens to the opponent's clock.

[Fred McKim]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Personally, I define sport as a physical activity.

Oxford Dictionary online

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment:

Chess is a great game, but calling it a sport is really stretching the term. I think that the chess community is far too focused on getting funding from Sport Canada. Perhaps the chess community would be better served by seeking funding from other avenues? Perhaps educational advantages could be stressed and funding received there?

The CFC certainly isn't expecting to receive any funding from Sports Canada. We are interested in applying for status as a Registered Sporting Association, which would again give us the ability to issue tax receipts for proper donations.

Our previous status as a charity was under Education. The Government, in a crackdown effort were reviewing all kinds of charitable organizations. They ruled we received our original status "in error" as not all of our activities were educational (they were taking a very specific view of teaching people under 21 years of age = educational).

Despite this, I think going forward education is an area that we are going to benefit from, as the "mental" benefits of chess to all ages is becoming more and more known.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Then there's Dan Scoones's favourite references to curling being "chess on ice". He even posted a link, not so long ago, here on chesstalk. It's a :) :) :) :) topic for Dan.

But curling has a competitor in the "chess on ice" perception: hockey. In the recent game Tampa vs. Philadelphia, when Tampa adopted their 1-3-1 (with the forward just waiting, not actually forechecking), Philly's D just stood there with the puck for close to half a minute before the referee whistled the play dead. The score at the time was 0-0. One play-by-play commentator suggested (lightly) that they might need to go to a shot clock like in Basketball. Who would have thunk it? Anyway, chess at least has some incentives to action: the tick of your own clock is uncoupled from whatever happens to the opponent's clock.

Something very similar happened last year in the playoffs when the Rimouski Oceanics were in to play les Olympiques de Gatineau. Rimouski had the puck in their own end and the Olympiques refused to forecheck, so nothing happened for about 20 to 30 seconds. Finally most of us started booing and play continued again.

And curling has an inverse parallel to chess in that in curling it is an advantage to have the second move.