Vote: Is skateboarding Sport or Art?

Sport is typically defined as competitive physical activity aimed at developing or improving physical skills and providing entertainment for participants. The Olympic Games thus only admit sports meeting this criteria, and the Council of Europe completely excludes non-physical activities from classification as sport. However, several competitive non-physical activities claim wide recognition as 'mind sports'; Chess and Bridge being examples.

A Sport is usually goverened by rules that serve to ensure fair competition and consistent adjudication of winners. Winning can be determined by physical events, such as jumping over a bar, or by judges who score a competitor's performance using both objective and subjective measures. Sport is also a major source of entertainment for non-participants.


Art has been defined as a human product intended for aesthetic appreciation. Let's breifly explain the key concepts in this definition:

a) Aesthetic: Everything, be it natural or synthetic, organic or inorganic, can be perceived as existing in multiple dimensions.

- moral: Is it good or bad for human existance? Does it find favour before God? etc.
- economic: Can it make money? How much does it cost? Is it economical?
- pragmatic: How practical is the object? Is it versatile or limited in function? etc.
- psychic: How does the object make one feel? happy, sad, angry, grateful, etc.
- aesthetic: How beautiful is it? Is it elaborately ornate? Does it suit the decor? etc.

Of course art, as everything, exists in all the dimensions. However, its central dimension is aesthetic.
 
b) Human: This excludes natural objects such as sunsets, flowers, spider webs, etc. Though these may have a strong presence in the aesthetic dimension, they do not constitute art because they are not made by people.

c) Intent: If a person accidently spills paint on the floor which forms a rather beautiful symmetrical pattern, it would not constitute a 'work of art' since there was no intention to produce it. If however, the individual deliberatley knocked paint on canvas to produce a work of art called 'The Spill', aimed at providing people with aesthetic contemplation, it would constitute a work of art.

Based on these definitions, how would you classify skateboarding: sport, art, or other?