Amateurism

Amateurism is the philosophy that elevates things done without self-interest above things done for pay, especially with regard to sports which require participants to be amateurs. A zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, it faced steady decline throughout the 20th century and is now held to by few organisations, even if they maintain the word "Amateur" in their titles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The term shamateurism refers to the issues which sometimes arose at the elite level of such sports. In some cases it became possible for successful competitors to find people or organisations willing to give them financial rewards for their participation or achievements, making a "sham" of their amateur status.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sport: A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, and a scoring system. The differ...

Amateur: The word amateur has at least two connotations. In the first, more widely used manner, it means someone performing some task without pay, in contrast to a "professional" who would be paid for the same task. In this sense, labeling someone an "amateur" can have a negative connotation. For example,...

19th century: :Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical)...