E-sport – gaming as a sport?
The popularity of "e-sport" has increased exponentially in recent years. Millions of people all over the world compete against each other online and - quite rightly - call it sport.
Sitting in front of the console for hours on end and stuffing oneself with snacks and energy drinks - this is supposed to be a sport? A lot of e-athletes come up against this prejudice when talking about their hobby. Opinions of e-sport are divided: for some it is just a game, for others a sport which should be part of the Olympic Games.
What exactly is e-sport?
The German e-sport federation E-Sport-Bund Deutschland e.V. defines e-sport as "the competitive playing of video or computer games". These are mostly strategy games , first-person shooter video games or sport simulation games.
There are more than two million e-athletes in Germany. In comparison, the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) [German Football Association] has some seven million members, while the Deutscher Tennis Bund (DTB) [German Tennis Federation] has around 1.4 million. This means that e-sport is definitely not a niche sport for computer freaks. Even established football clubs have e-sport departments, and some of them have professional e-athletes under contract - Manchester City, VfL Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig, for example.
Why should e-sport be a sport?
The DOSB [German Olympic Sports Confederation] has defined clear criteria and does not recognise any sport that does not meet these. According to the DOSB statutes, each sport must have its own type of movement that defines the sport. In the case of basketball, cycling or swimming, these are obvious. No-one doubts that these disciplines are sports.
This is not true of e-sport, which is why the DOSB does not recognise it as a sport. Even though it does not have its own sport-specific movements, the physical demands of e-sport are higher than those of other recognised sports such as chess, shooting or darts. An e-athlete needs good hand-eye coordination and fast reflexes.
Professor Dr Ingo Froböse from Sporthochschule Köln [German Sport University Cologne] has found other indicators which show that gaming can be a sport. He tested certain vital signs in e-athletes. The result: while they were playing, the test subjects had elevated heart rates and cortisol levels (a sign of stress). They also made 200 to 300 (small) movements per minute.
Even the DOSB seems to be gradually coming round to this way of thinking. The confederation has just set up an "e-sport working group" to review its previous position.
How should e-athletes train?
Time to sit down in front of the computer and spend the whole day gaming? It is a sport, after all... This conclusion would be disastrous. Even though e-sport ought to be recognised as a real sport - as is already the case in many other countries - this does not mean that players have carte blanche to spend all their time gaming. Good gamers spend just as much time training offline as they do online. They are top-performing, fitness-oriented athletes. Complementary sport, relaxation and a balanced diet are all vital elements of their training plan. "A good e-athlete also has to be a good 'real' athlete," confirms Professor Froböse.
Tips for e-athletes
Are you an e-athlete? Do you want to improve your performance? If so, you should avoid spending all day in front of the screen. Instead, you should add the following elements to your training schedule:
- Choose a complementary sport. In our overview, we introduce you to more than 75 different sports.
- Strengthen your shoulder, neck and back muscles to prevent tension and postural problems. Ten minutes a day a day are enough.
- Relax between training sessions, for example with yoga or autogenic training.
- Lengthy periods spent focusing on the screen or television lead to eyestrain. This relaxation exercise will help your eyes recover more quickly.
- Optimise your diet - for example with the help of TK-ErnährungsCoaching [TK Diet Coaching].
