courtesy of Ruby Zawel
As many know, Code Red is a highly popular robotics club at IHS. They compete several times throughout the year at regional competitions. Team members collaborate to create a robot capable of playing a game (ie. shooting balls and climbing). These events are highly competitive and require a great deal of strategy, leading many Code Red members to assert that their extracurriculars should qualify as a sport.
The dictionary definition of a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Although human physical exertion is not present in Code Red, the robot does perform many tasks requiring coordination and athleticism. But more than that, the competitive nature and entertainment value of robotics competitions lead to some basis for claims of sport hood.
Code Red members Tilden Smith, Sophie Wei, Shaine Wei, and president Emerson Schryver were interviewed as to their opinions on this topic. Their overwhelming consensus was that Code Red is indeed a sport for a variety of reasons, including the aspects of teamwork, strategy, and coordination that the competitions require, as well as preparatory elements of the team’s 6 to 7 week long build season where team members collaborate to build the robot from scratch. In fact, Code Red member Tilden Smith told The Tattler that Code Red competitions are indeed sports activities but the club as a whole is “about more than just being a sport”. They are required to bring elements of ingenuity and engineering skills not seen in other popular sports.
Although most of the Code Red members interviewed agreed with Tilden, one or two were skeptical. Sophie Wei expressed her opinion that Code Red is not a sport and more of an extracurricular or an interest. But Emerson Schryver countered that a sport does not necessarily require the presence of physical activity despite the dictionary definition. He specifically brought up competitions such as NASCAR which many consider being a sport even though it doesn’t perfectly fit the traditional definition.
Some Code Red Members felt that traditionally acknowledged sports are given more funding and resources and wish that their club would be given similar treatment. According to Code Red administrator Shaine Wei, “Sports are regarded as something more superior” and this rubs many clubs the wrong way. The general opinion is that Code Red is not appreciated in the same way as other more physical activities and should receive a proper acknowledgment as a sport. Emerson Schryver told us that at the end of the day, he doesn’t care what you call it but wishes to see an equal amount of support given to all kinds of extracurricular endeavors, including Code Red.