Is Dancing A Sport?

Is dancing a sport? It might sound like a silly question, but a number of sports betting sites have been forced by popular demand to offer odds on televised dance competitions such as Strictly Come Dancing, and the trend looks set to continue. Unfortunately, even if the participants consider dancing to be a sport, those of us who bet can’t afford to approach it as such.

Yes, dancing involves skill, stamina, dexterity and plenty of other physical qualities that can be found on a football pitch or tennis court, but the problem for bettors is that the outcome of dance competitions are not determined by objective performance markers such as goals scored. Instead, they are determined by a panel of judges, or – in the case of television shows like Strictly Come Dancing – by the vote of the general public. This makes them much more subjective and virtually impossible to predict using traditional form analysis techniques.

So does this mean that we should avoid betting on televised dance competitions? Not necessarily, but if you are going to consider placing a bet with a dance-friendly bookmaker such as Paddy Power, here are some tips that you would do well to bear in mind...

1 – Think Popularity
It isn’t necessarily the best dancer that will win a competition that involves a public vote. Just as important is the popularity of the people taking part. If a great dancer is unpopular with the public they are unlikely to win by vote, but a merely average dancer with lots of popularity can still have a very real chance of winning.

2 – Don’t Be An Early Bird
Betting on the eventual winner of a televised dance competition that will last for a dozen weeks or so is seldom a good idea. This is because the voting politics and popularity of contestants will influences the chances of everyone concerned quite dramatically as the competition progresses. Our advice is to bet on the eventual winner only when the end of the competition is no more than a couple of weeks away.

3 – Don’t Bet Big
The subjective voting process used to determine the outcome of dance competitions means that surprises are par for the course. It is therefore sensible to keep your bets to a modest size and bet for interest rather than big profits.

So, is dancing a sport? Technically, it probably is, but it’s not the kind of sport that you should bet on without a lot of care. Instead, stick to sports like football, horse racing and tennis for your main bets and, if you really must bet on dance competitions like Strictly Come Dancing, make sure you strictly follow the advice we have just provided.

Click here to go back to the News homepage.