<p>Okay, this is completely unimportant, but I have read this term a few times on here, and shockingly I can’t easily find a definition on Google. THe only sports I can think of with helmets are lacrosse, football, baseball (batting helmets), and a few others like wrestling, and water polo that wear those little plastic, fabric or leather helmets.</p>
<p>What exactly does this mean and which sports does this include?</p>
<p>Usually it means lacrosse, football, hockey. </p>
<p>Contact sports include soccer and basketball but not track and swimming, and then within contact sports are collision sports. Collision sports, helmet sports – same thing in my book.</p>
<p>^^^
Okay, thanks. Like I said, not an earth-shattering question, but it occured to me I kept reading it and didn’t know what it meant.</p>
<p>Water polo is most definitely a contact sport, thus the need for the “helmet” with ear protectors.</p>
<p>fencing, maybe?</p>
<p>^^ despite the fact that fencing helmets cover more of the head than any other sport, it is not a ‘helmet’ sport. Funny.</p>
<p>I love the idea of fencing as a helmet sport, but yeah, no. (And not competitive beekeeping, either.)</p>
<p>Also, girls’/women’s lax is not a helmet sport, which is not to say that it’s not rough.</p>
<p>OK so if a sport has a helmet but is not a helmet sport…what’s a helmet sport? Competitive beekeeping is out because the poor bees don’t have any helmets.</p>
<p>Rugby ought to be a helmet sport. IMO</p>
<p>Wrestling is not a helmet sport. That is a headgear they wear to protect their ears.</p>
<p>IMO helmet sports are more of an attitude designation than an equipment designation. </p>
<p>That’s why I call them collision sports to differentiate them from contact sports.</p>
<p>yeah when someone says helmet sport they likely mean collision sports: football, hockey, rugby, lax… Maybe there’s a couple I’m missing.</p>
<p>I agree, mathmom, and I feel really lucky that so far none of my kids has wanted to play. </p>
<p>I’d say that a good working definition of “helmet sport” is one in which a lot of aggressive, physical contact is inherent in the game and encouraged without penalty, and only certain kinds of aggressive, physical contact incur penalties . . . and then only when detected by the ref.</p>
<p>There’s plenty of aggressive contact in soccer, but technically it’s not what you’re supposed to be doing - though some of it is certainly encouraged - and it will be penalized to some degree (again, if the ref sees it), so it’s not a helmet sport. Football has tackling (etc.) and hockey and lax have checking (etc.), so they are helmet sports. Women’s lax has stick-checking only, so it’s not a helmet sport (and they don’t wear helmets, or any padding at all, except for the goalie). </p>
<p>On second thought, I don’t know about the beekeeping - the bees don’t have helmets but they do have stings. We may need a ref for this one.</p>
<p>And yeah, “collision sports” is a good way to differentiate.</p>
<p>lax, football, hockey</p>
<p>the term helmet sports usually is differentiated from other sports when the academic stats and AI are being discussed …
vs
the “smart sports” which are used to bolster the AI …</p>
<p>it has to do with where the recruits fall in the AI bands…</p>
<p>if your student isn’t a recruited athlete–it doesn’t affect admissions politics</p>
<p>hope that helps</p>
<p>
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<p>I got it. Helmets and sharp things (like swords and stingers) are not “helmet sports”. If there are helmets and nothing but blunt things (hockey sticks, lax sticks), it’s a “helmet sport”. lol.</p>
<p>Sorry, I know this is a legitimate question. It’s just funny.</p>
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<p>Ok, let’s throw a horse into the mix - gotta wear a helmet when participating in equestrian (hunt seat, anyway).</p>
<p>equestrian…hmmm. Don’t they have whips? are whips technically sharp implements (they cut and sting) or blunt (no real edges)? They only wear spurs in Western, right, but then there’s no helmet.</p>
<p>^^ Well, IF they can carry whips (we generally call them crops) they are not sharp and will not cut, but will sting. I say “if”, because I am not sure of the rules in NCAA equestrian. In IHSA, you can only carry a crop with certain horses. You will be told if you can carry one or not. Hmmm, so I guess you could call it a blunt stick which by your definition would classify it as a helmet sport ;)? Who would have thought it?</p>