sporting chance

American  

noun

1. an even or fair opportunity for a favorable outcome in an enterprise, as winning in a game of chance or in any kind of contest.

   They gave the less experienced players a sporting chance by handicapping the experts.

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Etymology

Origin of sporting chance

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

The next two teams on the list, the 1968 Cardinals and 1968 Indians, pitched in a year so offensively anemic that baseball soon lowered the mound to give hitters a sporting chance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2016

It is, rather, to give juvenile offenders a sporting chance, perhaps after decades in prison, to make the case that they deserve to get out, he said.

From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2013

With Affleck not nominated this time, and no star directors among the final five, Spielberg has a sporting chance, though the feeling here is that Ang Lee will be cited for Life of Pi.

From Time • Feb. 22, 2013

A sporting chance The south's newly formed teams have been practising on simple facilities, as the football stadium and basketball court are being repaired, says the BBC's Peter Martell in Juba.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2011

Gentility in the limit of the catch and giving the fish its sporting chance on light tackle constitute the ethical soul of angling.

From The Determined Angler and the Brook Trout an anthological volume of trout fishing, trout histories, trout lore, trout resorts, and trout tackle by Bradford, Charles Barker