Perhaps someone out there in the blogosphere can answer a question that has been on my mind all week. That question is whether shuffleboard is a game or a sport.

The question came up last weekend when I started talking with a good friend of mine about how to play shuffleboard. I had learned to play outdoor shuffleboard from my grandfather when I was young. My friend had learned how to play table shuffleboard at the bars when he was in college. The two versions of shuffleboard are similar but they’re different enough that we were able to debate for quite awhile about what the rules of play were.

Eventually, the debate ended and we settled down. I made an offhand comment about how it was interesting that they played this sport at a bar. That’s when the debate began to ramp up again. My friend insists that shuffleboard is not a sport. He believes that it’s just a game. I grew up thinking that it was a sport and I’m certain that’s true - at least for the outdoor version.

So, what do you think? Is shuffleboard a sport or a game? Or can it be both depending on which version of it you’re talking about?

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