• Scott Kretchmar’s (2005) range of philosophic questions

1. What makes sport possible in the first place?

He asks how sport depends on opposition and contrast, such as winning vs. losing, success vs. failure, and self vs. opponent.

2. What is a “test” in sport?

Kretchmar examines sport as a test of ability, asking:

·       What conditions make something a genuine test?

·       How do uncertainty and difficulty create meaningful athletic challenges?

·       How do vulnerability (success is possible) and impregnability (failure is possible) coexist?

3. How does uncertainty shape athletic experience?

He explores how athletes live with both:

·       the hope of success, and

·       the risk of failure,
creating what he calls a kind of “sweet tension.”

4. How is a contest different from a test?

Kretchmar asks:

·       When does an individual test become a contest?

·       What changes when another person is added?

·       Why must opponents attempt the same test for comparison to make sense?

5. Are opponents really opposites?

He questions whether competitors are true opposites or actually very similar people attempting the same task, differing only in degree of success.

6. Why do people find sport meaningful?

He suggests sport appeals to people because both tests and contests place them in situations filled with uncertainty, challenge, and measurable accomplishment.