The true spirit of competition

What exactly is sportsmanship?

Well, sportsmanship basically means conforming to the rules and regulations of the game and being ethical in whatever you do during the game. So, the general idea is, 'playing by the rules'. Now, think about this.

You often play for fun, and a victory is something you get as a reward for being really

good at what you do, isn't it? Likewise, although medals and cash are involved in professional competitions, the fundamental thing that each player must ultimately focus on is to enjoy the event.

You must never turn a blind eye on all the ethics that should be observed on the playing field due to emotional aspects like tension, pride and motivation. One thing that we see today is the fact that most players look at their opponents as if they are enemies. But, one basic quality that one aims to instill through sports is accepting

 ups and downs alike, and treating others with equity.

So, it's important to take things easy and at least just shake hands with the opponent at the end of the event. It shows good sportsmanship. In contrast, booing national anthems and insulting the defeating party reflects extremely poor sportsmanship.

Sportsmanship

In all our editions over the last few months, we have been enlightening you on various aspects of several sports. As you all know, the basic objective of any sportsman or sportswoman is to achieve victory, and in fact, there has to be something really wrong with them if they compete with the intention of losing.

Now, just think how you all strive for victory during inter-house sports meets or even at day-to-day playing. How do you deal with your opponents? Do you consider yourself to have true sportsmanship?

This has become a highly discussed topic. Just go through this page and find out whether you lack anything in this respect, and make sure to become a great competitor as well as a team player.

Sportsmanship Vs Gamesmanship

Sports and games are quite synonymous (similar). But, are the two terms 'sportsmanship' and 'gamesmanship' identical? Surprisingly, they are not. We have already discussed what sportsmanship is.

Gamesmanship, on the other hand is using some activities to win a game, with the intention of winning at any cost. But, this doesn't come under poor sportsmanship because this generally does not include technically illegal methods. The common techniques of gamesmanship are, breaking the flow of the opponent, making the opponent underestimate your abilities and intentionally making a mistake which would bring advantages shortly.

Sportsmanship and gamesmanship can be compared by a classic example of a situation in a football match. If a player gets injured during a match, it is considered true sportsmanship when the other team kicks the ball out of the field, so that everyone can pay attention to the injured player.

Now, imagine what can happen when the game resumes. According to the rules, the ball should be given to the team of the injured player since the other team kicked it out. But, even so, if there was true sportsmanship, the players of the injured player's team would easily pass it back to the other team since they kicked it out because of their teammate.

On the other hand, under gamesmanship, they can conveniently keep the ball and go on, since there's nothing technically wrong about it. But, this is really unethical although it is not illegal. So, this explains the whole story, doesn't it?

Play fair, and get rewarded

Every good deed is followed by a good result. The Pierre De Coubertin medal which is named after the pioneer of the modern Olympics, is awarded to the sportsmen or sportswomen who exhibit true spirit of sportsmanship during the Olympics.

This is also known as the True Spirit of Sportsmanship Medal, and it is considered to be the highest award

 that an Olympic athlete can ever receive in his or her career which surpasses the value of a gold medal easily.

This award was won by Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil in the 2004 Olympics held in Athens, Greece. So, the message we have for you is that, be players full of ethos (distinctive spirit). This would undoubtedly make you great citizens which would ultimately result in a better country.

You may sometimes lose a game because of your sportsmanship. But, still, that would be in everyone's minds and known all over, more than the victory of the game. So, love the game, treat the players as your own brothers and sisters and make the playing field a place of true sportsmanship.

Aravinda Dassanayake