by Imaad Asad

Created on: July 08, 2008   Last Updated: July 10, 2008

To spell success in any sport, you need to possess the 5 S's; Skill, speed, stamina, style and sportsman spirit.

Sportsmanship is, in a basic sense, conforming to the rules of sport. It may also be considered as the will to go out & win fairly or lose gracefully. This is a term called etiquicy. More grandly it may be considered the ethos of sport. It is interesting that the motivation for sport is often an elusive element. Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. Some people define good sportsmanship as the "golden rule" of sports in other words, "Treating the people you play with and against as you'd like to be treated yourself. Keep that one simple rule in mind, and you'll always be looked upon as an athlete who understands and honors the rules of sportsmanship." You demonstrate good sportsmanship when you show respect for yourself, your teammates, and your opponents, for the coaches on both sides, and for the referees, judges, and other officials.

Sportsmanship typically is regarded as a component of morality in sport, composed of three related and perhaps overlapping concepts: fair play, sportsman spirit, and character. Fair play refers to all participants having an equitable chance to pursue victory and acting toward others in an honest, straightforward, and a firm and dignified manner even when others do not play fairly. It includes respect for others including team members, opponents, and officials. Character refers to dispositions, values and habits that determine the way that person normally responds to desires, fears, challenges, opportunities, failures and successes and is typically seen in polite behaviors toward others such as helping an opponent up or shaking hands after a match.

Facets of sportsmanship have been identified as a player's full commitment to participation (e.g., showing up, working hard during all practices and games, acknowledging one's mistakes and trying to improve), respect and concern for rules and officials, respect and concern for social conventions (e.g., shaking hands, recognizing the good performance of an opponent), respect and concern for the opponent (e.g., lending one's equipment to the opponent, agreeing to play even if the opponent is late, not taking advantage of injured opponents), avoiding poor attitudes toward participation (e.g., not adopting a win-at-all-costs

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