Mind Sport Should Be Introduced in The Olympics

“The brain is like a muscle, when it is in use we feel very good” (Carl Sagan). The brain needs to be worked out as much as any other muscle, it is as powerful as the others. The Olympics should reconsider the option of including sports that develop the brain, not only because this muscle helps people to work in life, but as it is said, it also makes humans feel better when it is in use. A game that tests out the brain capacity could be called mind sport, and they should definitely be in the next Olympic games.

To start with, being good in mental exercise requires physical exercise. This means that to strengthen the brain it is required to develop all the body. A player of a mind sport will not keep focus on the game with a weak physic. This shows mind sports encourage the athletes to work all their body, not just the brain. It can be argued that the sport does not measure the ability of the person to move or hold the game pieces, but it is to mention that these sports have a series of rules that need to be followed. Also, it requires intellectual movements which require practice and can be judged during the game. It is not only about the final result!

To continue, these games test mental skills which are very important in life. Mental skills are used in all the areas of life such as work, at their house, family relations and many more. This is because the higher the ability you have to concentrate and develop strategies, the higher the probability you have to get things right. Including mind sport in the Olympics may encourage people to try this sport and practice it. This will lead to better results in the academic world. So, what is considered a mind sport? Sports that work on mental skills and develop the brain´s muscle can be considered mind sports. Chess or cards are some types of brain games which can be played in the Olympics. It is difficult to imagine this kind of games in the Olympics but all their skills make it a sport. For example, in the case of chess, the opponents require intellectual abilities to move their pieces at the same time that they follow the rules. They also have to maintain focus during the many hours a game could last, although it may look easy, it is really hard work which requires preparation and time. Temple University realized a study and found out that a chess game requires as much energy as a football much. However, some people claim it is not a sport and it requires no practice. In argument, lots of people play this game competitively and develop strategies through the years. On top of that, chess games are officially considered a sport in more than 120 countries. Personally, I think people don’t take that time thinking on this game so they don’t realize the many conditions it requires.

Introducing this kind of sports in the Olympics will not need much money. Game boards, in general, all really cheap and the space it is surrounded by as well. This is because it mainly and only needs a silent area with a table and several seats for the opponents to seat. It can also be useful to have a clock so the time can be checked. It is only advantages; this sport will take up time that maybe was empty because of missing sports, but most important it is economic! Moving on, mind sports will have a variety of participants. All the ages could participate in this event as everyone could train for it. No special requirement is needed, by this I mean there is not an important factor that determines if you are good or bad. As an example, in basketball, it may be useful to be tall. But, in chess, practice and a trained brain is needed, as well as effort and concentration. Talking about the audiences, everyone could be encouraged in watching this sport. In addition, brain games are played by everyone in the world, from young children to old people.

To sum up, I believe mental ability is as important as physical ability and people should be encouraged to try another kind of sports which don’t necessarily require much body power but mental. As mention, this sport will develop brains and it is of the Olympics´ interest to include it as the economy it requires is really low. Let´s make a difference and change how people think about sports and value other capacities.