How Many Different Sports Have Been Hosted by Football Stadia?

[ad hoc]

Have they? Beyond athletics (and now Football), what others have been in actual stadium as opposed to just nearby?

I'm not counting "athletics" as a single sport. That's a category surely.

[Janik]

Surely not! Lots of sports run different events, competitions or even competition formats, but that doesn’t make each event a separate sport. My rule of thumb would be if the same governing body organises the events = all the same sport

[ad hoc]

Blimey. So pole vault is the same sport as 10,000 metre running is the same sport as shot put?

[Sporting]

Of course not.

[Snake Plissken]

That's the decathlon.

[BallochSonsFan]

Hampden hosted the Scottish Claymores in NFL Europe.

[3 Colours Red]

That's the decathlon.

I know most decathletes must have some kind of masochistic streak but I think trading in the 1,500m for the 10,000 would have even them baulking at the prospect.

[gavc23]

Bolton (whatever it’s called this week) hosted the U.K. Open darts for a few years, albeit in the conference centre. But, this opened out into the stadium concourse and fans used the concourse facilities and bars - so the stadium facilities were used, if not the pitch.

This may need to go to a panel decision as to whether it counts.

[DPDPDPDP]

Turning this around, Murrayfield was used for a Scottish Cup semi final a couple of years ago.

[Guy Profumo]

And Feethams of course was famously used to host a match between Darlo and Chesterfield in the 1920s when the football pitch was frozen

(as opposed to the cricket grounds who shared their outfields with football clubs such as Bramall Lane, Trent Bridge, Kingsway, County Ground, Stourbridge)

[Diable Rouge]

I'm not counting "athletics" as a single sport. That's a category surely.

Two sports perhaps, if you separate the track events from field events.

[Janik]

But why would you do that, when the competitors in these disciplines all call themselves athletes and are part of the same team? And the training facilities and so on are all located on self-contained sites, the events are organised by the same people for the same stadiums over the same time-frames, etc., etc.

The OED says "noun: athletics
British
the sport of competing in track and field events, including running races and various competitions in jumping and throwing."

[Sporting]

the events are organised by the same people

So are swimming, diving and water polo. Are these all one sport?

[Gangster Octopus]

Diving isn't a sport. It has to be judged.

[San Bernardhinault]

They also all have different governing bodies EDIT Oops: I just checked and am wrong. They are all under FINA.

(They do use different sized pools, generally).

[ursus arctos]

I'm curious as to how many divisions the partisans of "athletics is not a single sport" would make

Surely they aren't claiming that the 100 and 200 metre dashes are different sports, but is the 4x100 relay part of that sport? The 110m High Hurdles? The 60m dash indoors?

[ursus arctos]

They also all have different governing bodies. (And use different sized pools, generally).

FINA currently oversees competition in six aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, artistic swimming,^{water polo, and open water swimming.}

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Should that not be _swimming, diving and ^{high diving} ?

[Janik]

So are swimming, diving and water polo. Are these all one sport?

You will note that organised by the same governing body was one of multiple criteria.

[Sporting]

I'm curious as to how many divisions the partisans of "athletics is not a single sport" would make

Surely they aren't claiming that the 100 and 200 metre dashes are different sports, but is the 4x100 relay part of that sport? The 110m High Hurdles? The 60m dash indoors?

I would perhaps separate them into running, jumping and throwing events.

You will note that organised by the same governing body was one of multiple criteria

Fair enough (selective quoting of mine!) but you also write:

The OED says "noun: athletics
British
the sport of competing in track and field events, including running races and various competitions in jumping and throwing."

According to Merriam-Webster:

"a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina"

and Collins:

"An athlete is a person who does a sport, especially athletics, or track and field events."

Notice "especially". Not "exclusively".

[tee rex]

FWIW (i.e. squat) in NZ usage "athlete" commonly refers to people at the Olympic/Commonwealth games, where "competitors" might be the British usage.

The Olympic village will house 4000 athletes from 22 sports ... the NZ athletes will be led in by hockey captain Jo Jolly-Sticks at the opening ceremony ... that kind of thing.

https://www.olympic.org.nz/athletes/

[Sporting]

NZ usage is as valid as any other.

[tee rex]

Sweet as, chur.

[ad hoc]

I confess to being utterly baffled by this contention, by sane, intelligent people, that hammer throwing is the same sport as the 3000 metre steeplechase. Seriously. Blows my mind. The whole governing bodies/organisers thing seems like a red herring (as a counterpoint I wouldn't call men's and women's tennis different sports because they have different governing bodies).

SMH, as the kids say

[ad hoc]

Just to be clear, I see that you singlesportites have a logic of sorts that you're using to support your world view. It's just a logic that I had never previously considered or perceived or even imagined the existence of. It's like one of those intercultural experiences when you suddenly encounter an entirely different way of perceiving the world. Just... wow