+Johnmelad Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 There is some debate among geocachers about whether to categorize geocaching as a sport, game, or activity. Sorry if this has already been done to death. Quote Link to comment
+The Bolas Heathens Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 It's all three There is some debate among geocachers about whether to categorize geocaching as a sport, game, or activity. Sorry if this has already been done to death. Quote Link to comment
+Johnmelad Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 (edited) It's all three There is some debate among geocachers about whether to categorize geocaching as a sport, game, or activity. Sorry if this has already been done to death. OK! But if we had to choose only one category, which would it be and why? Edited July 5, 2006 by Johnmelad Quote Link to comment
alistair_uk Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I always call it a sport instinctively but it is probably not. It is most definitely an activity and can be played as a game IMHO. My theory is that it has the same definition as wall climbing or skydiving, but far less dangerous. Quote Link to comment
+The Bolas Heathens Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 (edited) Hmmm - it all depends on the cacher in question. There is no doubt it's a game - the caches even say "official game piece" on them. It's a sport in that it gets you walking and you can play it against others (in whatever way you choose). I've heard it described as GPS based orienteering which I think sums it up quickly to those who wonder what it is. It's an activity, but then anything you do is an activity. I always refer to it as a sport in the first instance as that's the way we like to think of it. Edited July 5, 2006 by The Bolas Heathens Quote Link to comment
+Kitty Hawk Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I've settled on pastime. Quote Link to comment
+Simply Paul Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 It needs to be competitive to be a sport, technically. So it might be like cycling. A pastime or activity to many, but a sport to others. Not that cycling is a game at all. So it's not like cycling. It's like... Um... Quote Link to comment
Deceangi Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 R.A.S.H Recreational Activity Sporting Hobby Is the description for geocaching after much debate on the main forums Quote Link to comment
+wizard1974uk Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Geocaching is what you make it, so take your pick Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 There is some debate among geocachers about whether to categorize geocaching as a sport, game, or activity. All three, and more. Depends on the way you participate! G Quote Link to comment
+Johnmelad Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 I think I will refer to it as a passtime/hobby. But if I have to explain it to someone I guess orienteering with a GPS would do. Quote Link to comment
+Jango & Boba Fett Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 When trying to explain it to muggles and landowners I have most joy with Wayfairing without the posts (treasure hunting always seems to conjure up the idea of hoards decending enmass over a couple of days), although as our preference is for cunning caches (be they puzzles, multis or some weird trads that that seem to involve a lot of ground work) we prefer to view it as sport (as in you've no sporting chance of finding this one in one visit). Anyhoo here's a definition of sport which encompasses our idea of GeoCaching: Sport is a physical activity involving large muscle groups, requiring strategic methods, physical training and mental preparation and whose outcome is determined, within a rules framework, by skill, not chance. Chae Quote Link to comment
+currykev Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 It can't be a sport otherwise us English would be just mediocre at it. And the Scots/Welsh/Irish would be just that little bit more mediocre. Quote Link to comment
+Pengy&Tigger Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 R.A.S.H I've certainly had a few of those due to geocaching! Quote Link to comment
+DcCow Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 addiction civilised Obsessive addiction! Hobby/Game to me! Quote Link to comment
+gingerbreadmen Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 "Slow motion orienteering" as it was once described to me by a policeman who stopped to ask why I had a box of toys at my feet. Quote Link to comment
+Geo-Kate Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I'd say it's an activity. A game to me means that it is a competition where there may be a winner and loser(s). The only time it is a game is for the rush for those mad people who get up at the crack of dawn to bag a FTF or get an icon. To me it's for the walks and visiting places, and the enjoyment of finding the box, so it's an activity or hobby. I guess eveybody does it for their own reasons, and 'plays' it their own way! Quote Link to comment
+AB&MB Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 My old dads definition was:- "Hunting, shooting and fishing are sports everything else is a game" I think this was a bit of an old rural definition, but worth a mention. Quote Link to comment
+Team S-J Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Much like golf, it's a good walk spoilt! Quote Link to comment
+FollowMeChaps Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 It's a distraction, allbeit a welcome one! Quote Link to comment
+Jango & Boba Fett Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 (edited) There is some debate among geocachers about whether to categorise geocaching as a sport, game, or activity. Sorry if this has already been done to death. The framework that I am most familiar with, as a Geographer, is that of: Leisure - time during which the individual can make a completely free choice as to what activity they choose to pursue. Recreation - a Leisure activity that involves physical activity Sport - Recreation carried out within a defined set of rules However having carried some research on Johnmelad's required categories by means of a swift trawl through the net I find that: Activity - a state in which motion can be observed in the individual Game - a recreational activity carried out by members of the working class either singly or in a group (the latter is not to be encouraged) Sport - a recreational activity carried out by members of the Upper Class with the objective of killing things. So it would appear that the competitive aspect of sport is a purely arbitrary imposition, and indeed it can be quite cogently argued that in many sports rather than competing against another competitor one competes against oneself/environment/the person setting the activity, so for instance GeoCaching could be said to be a recreational activity carried out within a defined set of rules in which one competes against the cache placer. Whether it is a sport or not depends on your socio-economic class and on whether you intend to kill anything/one while you are engaged in GeoCaching! Edited July 7, 2006 by Jango & Boba Fett Quote Link to comment
+Johnmelad Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 addiction civilised Quiet that man, cigarettes and alcohol are addictive and look at the tax Mr Brown gets from them. If he finds out caching is addictive, it wont be long before he starts taxing us for each find. Quote Link to comment
nobby.nobbs Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 a good excuse for me to buy gadgets! Quote Link to comment
+HazelS Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 addiction civilised Think it's gone past that now - how about Obsession for me... Quote Link to comment
+Johnmelad Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 addiction civilised Think it's gone past that now - how about Obsession for me... Obsession, I thought that was a perfume! Quote Link to comment
+Pengy&Tigger Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Like the Mirror Of Erised in the Harry Potter Books, it`s whatever you want it to be. I have looked in it and it shows us finding a cache FTF on a 5/5 puzzle with everyone cheering us Pengy Quote Link to comment
+The Bongtwashes Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 addiction civilised Think it's gone past that now - how about Obsession for me... Way of Life. Quote Link to comment
+Johnmelad Posted July 12, 2006 Author Share Posted July 12, 2006 (edited) My old dads definition was:- "Hunting, shooting and fishing are sports everything else is a game" I think this was a bit of an old rural definition, but worth a mention. Well, we certainly hunt for our caches which would suggest we have a sport. That would make us sportsmen and women! What makes/describes a Ceoaching sportsman/woman? Can I suggest: A true Geocaching sportsman/women is: someone who is not jealous or selfish does not grudge others their participation and enjoyment, and is not careless of his/her safety, or the safety of others. Edited July 12, 2006 by Johnmelad Quote Link to comment
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