Speech & Debate is a Sport

What would you call an event that involves running several miles in restrictive clothing and using one’s lung capacity to its fullest extent in a battle between teens, for fun, every weekend? Sports are generally defined  as an “activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” While traditionally, people’s ideas of what constitutes a sport have been limited, the definition is far more expansive than it is often interpreted. 

The way we define what a sport is has long been dominated by cultural norms and biases. For a long time, people didn’t consider women-dominated activities as “real sports.” Dance and cheer, for instance, despite requiring years of talent, practice, and physical exertion to compete in, took decades to gain the recognition they deserve. Even though both activities meet all technical definitions of a sport, a cultural debate persisted on whether they actually were, especially among men without a sense of rhythm. 

Many might think that it would be a joke to call speech and debate a sport. This response could be rooted in the prevalence of anti-intellectualism and individualism in the US. Compared to other countries, the US is heavily focused on the merit of the individual. While this has many cultural implications, one consequence that is overlooked is the jealousy it causes between individuals. If a person sees other people’s strengths as competition rather than a source of mutual societal betterment, they are far more likely to see them as a negative thing. 

It is far easier to cope with personal insecurity when there is a group to commiserate with, leading to the rise in anti-intellectual ideas among the general population. This is especially prevalent in the public school system, where many students may feel like they receive insufficient support in their education. This has long made students perceived as “nerds,” “geeks,” and “try-hards” targets for bullying and disapproval. Otherwise, neutral students, not wanting to be othered with the nerdy outgroup, then stray from academic activities to avoid scrutiny. 

Speech and debate are well-known as prestigious and academic activities that require prior knowledge, political engagement, and public speaking skills. It is clear that the social stigma of not being “weird” or trying too hard applies to this activity, which could explain why it is excluded from the “sport” category. 

Furthermore, speech and debate require a comparable amount of exertion, skill, and entertainment value compared to widely accepted sports. For instance, average golfers walk around 4-6 miles to hit a ball into a hole and are generally known to be boring to watch. On the other hand, speech and debate tournaments typically entail high-stakes, heart-rate-raising rounds of practiced intellectual speaking, scattered across vast college campuses, often with little time for rest or food. These tournaments even span 8-12-hour days and often leave students, parents, and coaches in awe of the talent of these speakers. 

Many people believe that speech and debate are boring, but not only are they super fun and engaging for participants, they also continue to amuse spectators who watch the rounds. Some speech events are even akin to theater performances with their level of drama, so they certainly meet the mark for entertainment quality. 

Altogether, speech and debate meet all of the criteria to be a sport, despite those reluctant to admit it. While cultural biases continue to influence colloquial perceptions of what people consider a sport, a more objective view of the matter proves that it is.