Ping Pong is not the best of all sports

I'm going to go with my favorite sport, track and field. This includes all track events as well as discus, javelin, shot put, pole vault, high jump, long jump, triple jump, the decathlon, and the heptathlon. The resolution of this debate is going to change a bit, per my opponent's request. It will be ping pong is not as good a sport as track and field. BoP is shared. Track is better than ping pong in many ways. Since much of the debate between which sport is "better" often revolves are subjectivity, a fairly objective way to go about figuring out which sport is "better" is to assess which fits the definition of "sport" better. My opponent has provided the definition:"an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature" So let's break that down: 1. "An athletic activity" Although ping-pong IS an athletic activity, meaning it so far fits the definition of sport, track and field is often referred to as Athletics [1]. Why is this? Track is the original athletic activity. Its origins can be traced back to 776 B. C [2]. It is the sport with the longest standing athletic tradition still upheld, and demonstrates the basic functions needed to be an athlete (along with some more complex ones). Ping Pong, however, started as a parlor game in the 19th century, evolving from lawn tennis which came from real tennis[3]. Ping pong athletes also perform less vigorous athletic activity. Therefore T&F is more of an athletic activity. 2. "requiring skill" Although ping pong requires skill in one discipline, finding ways to make an opponent unable to hit the ball back, T&F requires skill in many disciplines. Decathletes must master the 100m dash (reaction time and speed), 400m dash (reaction time, speed, and endurance), 1500 meter run (endurance and speed), 110 meter hurdles (reaction time, speed, coordination, flexibility), high jump (power, flexibility, form), long jump and triple jump (speed and power), javelin (power, technique, speed), and shot put and discus (power, throwing technique). This requires prodigious skill and training [4]. Therefore, although"ping pong requires skill, T&F requires large amounts of skill in many more areas, and therefore more net skill. 3. "physical prowess" This one is rather obvious. Track takes vastly more physical prowess than ping pong. Anyone can play either one, (as I expect my opponent to bring up "old people can play ping pong") track even has its own "masters" division for older athletes [5], but track requires more physical ability to WIN. If this is doubted by my opponent, ESPN scientifically ranked sports on difficulty. Pole Vault ranks 16, high jump 33, long and triple jump 34, sprints 38, distance 40, and middle distance 43 [6]. Ping Pong is ranked 47. Ashton Eaton, a decathlete, has the title of "Greatest Athlete in the World" [7]. "Therefore T&F takes more physical ability and skill than ping pong. 4. "a competitive nature" This one is unfortunately immeasurable. You cannot measure which athletes are trying harder, though track is more difficult, as demonstrated above, so it can be inferred that track athletes SHOULD be working harder. Other objective arguments: A) Track has a much greater positive economic impact than ping pong [8]. This is due to its popularity and scale, track being more globally popular and track venues able to host more spectators. B) Track is more popular, both globally during the year [9] and especially during the Olympics, when both sports are available side by side [10]. Conclusion Although ping pong is a sport, it is vastly more popular in its "parlor game" form than any actual table tennis competition. The sport of ping pong pales in comparison in virtually every way to track and field. T&F better fits the definition of sport, and therefore is a better sport, objectively. Thanks for the debate. Good Luck! Up top is some Usain Bolt footage to entertain you: . http://www.youtube.com... Sources [1]. http://en.m.wikipedia.org... [2]. http://www.olympic.org... [3]. http://www.ittf.com... [4]. http://www.brianmac.co.uk... [5]. http://masterstrack.com... [6]. http://sports.espn.go.com... [7]. http://espn.go.com... [8]. http://www.mondotrackusa.com...(R060613)_en.pdf [9] . http://www.post-gazette.com... [10] . http://www.topendsports.com...