a study carried out by the Queensland University of Technology in 2020<\/a>, the impact of this is that Esports players are between 9% and 21% more likely to be at a healthy weight compared with the general population. They also smoke much less and drink less too, thus firmly challenging the stereotype that people who play video games competitively are sedentary and obese. The study added that \u201cAs part of their training regime, elite esports athletes spend more than an hour per day engaging in physical exercise as a strategy to enhance gameplay and manage stress”.<\/p>\nAlthough there is still less focus on cardiovascular activity compared to other sports, in many ways a typical week for an Esports player closely resembles that of \u2018traditional sports\u2019 pros. The idea that Esports players sit in their underwear all day and simply play games until the early hours of the morning is way off base. There is a huge emphasis on a healthy diet, a decent level of physical fitness, consistent sleep and other aspects of well-being. All of this has helped move Esports professionals much closer to what many would consider a \u2018normal\u2019 athlete to be.<\/p>\n
Esports Players Are Not Athletes<\/h2>\n
![\"Gamer](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/gamer-eating-pizza-800px.jpg\")
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From the definitions of an athlete we provided earlier, there is regular reference to physicality and excelling at a sport that is physically demanding. This certainly feeds into the more traditional idea of what an athlete is. After all, an \u2018athletic\u2019 physique means someone with a decent amount of muscle mass and a very low body fat percentage. Having an \u2018athletic\u2019 build and the six-pack that comes with it is what a lot of people aspire to gain and it is something required to perform at the very top level across many sports. You may occasionally find a football (often goalkeepers) carrying a little excess weight but by and large anyone playing at the higher levels will have an impressive physique.<\/p>\n
While Esports pros do some physical training, it is nowhere near the levels required for sports such as tennis, rugby, football and most of the more traditional sports. These require regular gruelling sessions that push them to their physical limits. Regular sessions at the gym are something of a must too as it is so important to maintain and\/or build muscular strength. In a football match, a typical player may run 10 or 11 kilometres over 90 minutes, with many explosive sprints included in this. Rugby players on the other hand might cover 7km in 80 minutes but they face an added physicality having to withstand all the crunching challenges.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, very few people would ever look at an Esports player and think \u201cwow they are such an athlete\u201d. There may be a few exceptions that have a passion for the gym too but them being so fit will be merely a side hobby and will not be key to their Esports success. The same could be said about darts and snooker players, to name just two examples. In the modern era fitness is taken far more seriously than it was in the past and some professionals in these sports may be extremely fit and possess athletic capabilities. But few believe this is central to their success in their chosen sports.<\/p>\n
Is There Currently A Consensus?<\/h2>\n
![\"Gamer](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/gamer-shrugs-400px.jpg\")
Absolutely not. There is a wide range of different opinions when it comes to considering if Esports players are indeed athletes. We can certainly see both sides of the argument but we would say that there is a more convincing case than some people might think to answer this question in the affirmative.<\/p>\n
The competitive Esports industry has changed significantly in recent years with players increasingly treated like standard athletes. Most take genuinely good care of their bodies to ensure they can play to the best of their abilities. Regular training, real consideration for nutrition and impressive levels of mental stamina mean that Esports are bridging the gap between themselves and more regular \u201cathletes\u201d. A gap nevertheless remains though and as it will never be fully bridged, we are not expecting a consensus to be formed on the matter for a long time to come.<\/p>\n
Of course, many will question whether or not it really matters how we view Esports professionals, nor whether we consider it to be a sport at all. As a famous chap from Stratford-Upon-Avon once wrote, \u201ca rose by any other name would smell as sweet\u201d. We would suggest this is largely true, although the words we use to describe things do have an impact on how they are perceived. For many, especially those over a certain age, Esports is \u201cjust people playing computer games\u201d.<\/p>\n
If Esports pros began to be more widely viewed as athletes playing a sport that requires extreme skill and dedication, they would receive a lot more respect. That said, given the seven-figure prize money on offer in the biggest events they can probably cope just fine without the acceptance and acclaim of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are Esports Players Considered Athletes? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, an athlete is \u201ca person who is very good at sports or physical exercise\u201d. Therefore, if Esports is indeed considered …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":3170,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2024-04-21 14:41:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5295,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3652\/revisions\/5295"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Esports](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/esports-team-winning-400px.jpg\")
Are Esports Players Considered Athletes?<\/p>\n![\"Dictionaries\"](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dictionaries-800px.jpg\")
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