Recreation, Entertainment, Sport and Leisure

Recreation is the whole spectrum of activities that take place outside of normal working, be that work in the workplace, work as study, or work in the home. Many of us will have never considered this before, but we engage in recreation as part of a therapeutic refreshment of body and /or mind.

Entertainment is a recreational activity that is broadly passive on behalf of the participants (those being entertained), and broadly active on behalf of the hosts (the entertainers).

Leisure and sport are also recreational activities, however in these activities, the participants become highly involved in generating or creating the activity that they are undertaking, and the host (if there is a host) is broadly passive.

The Recreation Matrix (below) is designed to demonstrate this.




In the above matrix, where a recreational activity has minimal participant involvement in its creation, and a highly active host, this constitutes entertainment in its purest form. In a musical stage show, hosts are highly active participating in acting, singing, and dancing, and the audience is broadly passive, i.e. people sat watching and interacting with sporadic applause and laughter, in this case almost pure entertainment exists.

In the above matrix, where a recreational activity has maximum participant involvement in its creation, and a passive host, this constitutes leisure or sport in its purest form. In a game of squash the participants are highly active within the game, the host may have provided the facility but otherwise has no involvement - this is pure sport. In a game of chess the participants are again involved in the playing of the game, and there is no host, so therefore no host activity - this is pure leisure.

My Recreation Matrix is work in progress, and I would be happy to hear your thoughts on this, whether you agree with it, or want to pull it apart completely.