Sports get redfined and relocated – WiscNews

When you think of competition in sports you think of a court or a field, not a field and stream. Yet here we are, with collegiate sports expanding to include everything from Frisbee to fishing.

There was a time, not too long ago, when sports had a definitive arena and participants were almost all male.

Many of us of an age and a gender had lukewarm interest in the attempt at physical sportsmanship in the early years of half-hearted instruction for girls. Our running, jumping or being able to play rough was laughable. Not because we were all untalented. It was because we had little or no experience or training in the finer arts of sport.

With no desire to make a fool of myself, I was OK with this. Waiting until I could cross country ski and kayak in my adult life suited me just fine. Just for the record, once I started shooting buckets with my sons I won at “HORSE” on our driveway now and then. So, basketball was in the margin of my limited wheelhouse.

The tide has turned and we not only have a plethora of traditional sports in high schools and colleges, we have new improved competitions.

Take broomball, for example. Who knew just a few short years ago, that broomball, a game like hockey, played on ice either indoors or outdoors, would become a popular sport for men and women?

Other non-traditional competitions are being added to collegiate sports rosters. New sports are being introduced to allow people of all skill levels to throw their hats into the ring. Correction, to throw their Frisbees into the ring. Yes, Frisbee has become an intercollegiate sport.

My friend’s great niece is on an Ultimate Frisbee Scholarship, and frankly, anytime you can do something physical and gain financing to higher education, more power to you.

Both men and women can play this game of what some call a “glorified game of toss.” Although some consider it a non-sport, others are delighted that it is likely being an Olympic sport soon.

One former director of coaching for the U.S. Olympic Committee said he believed it could enhance human existence when done right. In fact, he went on, “This is like everything that you would want to bake into a sport, if you were creating it from scratch. There is speed, quickness and power; both men and women play it; there are few disputes and there is entertainment value.

If traditional sports, broomball or Frisbee don’t float your boat, how about fishing? Two hundred and eighty-one colleges now compete in bass fishing tournaments. I am trying to imagine the bleacher seating for this sport and the cheers that must be whispered so as not to scare the fish.

All kidding aside, this is a lifelong activity. And anytime you can interest people in something you can do outdoors forever is to be applauded.

If that is too laid back, How about a good old fashioned lumberjack activity? There is a whole new branch of competition that is called “timbersports.” The woodsman teams are co-ed and are often part of the forestry educational and technical training programs. Sawing, chopping and splitting are all timed events. I think I draw the line at log rolling, although once again it requires a certain amount of coordination, balance, concentration and risk.

As challenging as that is, and as entertaining as it is to watch, somehow it doesn’t seem scholarship worthy. What is next? Collegiate yo-yo? Oh well, I won’t rule it out, because in truth, there is nothing better than being able to say there is something for everyone. Everyone can be good at something. Cue the basket weavers.

As an educator and trainer in interpersonal and professional communications, Kay Stellpflug challenges companies, organizations, and individuals to stretch. She lives in, works in and loves Beaver Dam.

kaystellpflug@gmail.com