Embracing the sportification of society: Defining e-sports through a polymorphic view on sport

Bob Heere

Sport Management Review, 2018, vol. 21, issue 1, 21-24

Abstract: •E-sports are a manifestation of sportification.•Sportification means to view, organize, or regulate a non-sport activity in such a way that it resembles a sport and allows a fair, pleasurable, and safe environment for individuals to compete and cooperate.•Sportification should allow competitors to compare their performances to each other, and future and past performances.•Sportification might occur by adding a sport component to an existing activity in order to make it more attractive to its audiences.•The negative and positive effects of e-sports need to be examined with the sport management discipline.In this paper, the author argues that, regardless of whether e-sports qualify as sports, they should be examined in sport management because they are a manifestation of sportification. Sportification means to either: (a) view, organize, or regulate a non-sport activity in such a way that it resembles a sport and allows a fair, pleasurable, and safe environment for individuals to compete and cooperate, and compare their performances to each other, and future and past performances; or (b) add a sport component to an existing activity in order to make it more attractive to its audiences. As the sport industry itself is embracing e-sports as a sport, scholars should embrace e-sports as a manifestation of sportification and examine their negative and positive effect on our industry.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2017.07.002

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