A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the

victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

in a challenge, contest or

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further (artificial) divisions at one or more of these levels, as in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. Their champions can be accordingly styled, e.g. national champion, world champion.

Meaning

In certain disciplines, there are specific titles for champions, either descriptive, as the

baspehlivan Oil wrestling ( tr, Yağlı güreş), also called grease wrestling, is a traditional Turkish sport, where participants, called ''pehlivan'' (wrestlers) or ''baspehlivan'' (master wrestlers), wrestle while covered in oil. Competitions are held in ...

in Turkish oil wrestling, yokozuna in Japanese

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

; or copied from social hierarchies, such as the ''koning'' and ''keizer'' ('king' and 'emperor') in traditional

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

competitions (not just national, also at lower levels) in the Low Countries. Champions 2009

* In a broader sense, nearly any sort of competition can be considered a championship, and the winner of it a champion. Thus, there are championships for many non-sporting competitions such as

spelling bee A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite ...

s or wargames. In this context, it is used as a noun. * It is also possible to ''champion a cause''. In an ideological sense, encompassing religion, a champion may be an evangelist, a visionary advocate who clears the field for the triumph of the idea. Or the champion may merely make a strong case for a new corporate division to a resistant board of directors. Such a champion may take on responsibility for publicizing the project and garnering funding. But in this case he or she is beyond a simple promoter. The word is thus used as a verb. * In economic policy, a national champion is a large company that is dominant in its field and favored by the government of the country in which it is based in the belief that it will be in that country's interests if the company is successful in foreign markets. The practice is controversial, and economists mostly don't believe it's beneficial, but it has long been used in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and other countries.

The original meaning of the word partakes of both these senses: in the Feudal Era,

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s were expected to be champions and paragons of both prowess in combat and of causes, the latter most commonly being either patriotic, romantic or religious in nature (thus becoming models of virtue). This reaches its most literal meaning in a trial by combat, in which each combatant champions the cause of one side of the trial. A " King's Champion" is appointed for ceremonial purposes at the coronation of an English Monarch, to defeat any challenger to the monarch's right to be crowned. Champion warfare refers to a type of battle, most commonly found in the

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

and

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

of ancient history, in which the outcome of the conflict is determined by single combat, an individual

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

between the best soldiers ("champions") from each opposing army.

World champion

World champion is a title used to denote a winner of a

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in a particular sport (such as

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

), discipline or game. Being a champion at any sport or game requires an extraordinary amount of focus, discipline, drive and complete dedication, usually from a young age. What separates a world champion from the average competitor aside from natural ability and environmental advantages with access to the best training facilities, is the ability to focus on their goal and to become the best of the best, the obsession to continually improve and mental conditioning required to focus on becoming the best in the world at their given subject.

References

External links

* *{{cite EB1911, wstitle=Champion , volume=5 , short=x Terminology used in multiple sports fr:Champion#De nos jours