LGBTQ parents’ experiences of community youth sport: Change your forms,change your (hetero) norms

This interpretive study sought to critically examine lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) parents’ experiences of community organized youth sport. Using a constant comparative method of data analysis, the authors examined perspectives of participants from Australia, Canada, and the United States. Three emergent themes best reflected the parents’ experiences: (a) anticipating sexual stigma and finding accepting communities; (b) confronting assumptions of heterosexuality; and (c) educating but not flag waving. Emphasis is placed on the parents intersecting social identities and notions of privilege (e.g., socio-economic resources and the ability to live in socially progressive areas), and how it altered their experiences within the community youth sport context. The findings call attention to the responsibility of youth sport organisations to create a climate of social change through inclusive language, behaviours, and program design.     

Playing to your opponent’s weakness – or strength

Playing to your opponent’s weakness is a strategy commonly adopted in head-to-head sports. I argue, however, that competitors in head-to-head sports should adopt the opposite strategy: playing to your opponent’s strength (PTS). To do so, I first distinguish two senses of victory and explain what constitutes a meaningful victory in head-to-head sports. I then examine the implications of mutualism as exhibited in Robert L. Simon’s view that sport is a mutual quest for excellence through challenge. Finally, I defend the notion that competitors in head-to-head sports should adopt PTS by stating and answering seven objections.     

A ménage À trois: the eye,the hand and on-line processing

This review summarizes research conducted in our laboratories over the past 5 years aimed at determining the temporal and spatial relationships between eye and hand movements and the amount of central processing that must occur before performing a manual aiming movement, relative to the amount of processing that is done online. All of our research to date points to a two-component model of speed-accuracy control in manual aiming. Several studies have shown that eye and hand movements in manual aiming are inextricably linked both temporally and spatially. Typically, the eye arrives in the vicinity of the target first; this coincides with peak acceleration of the finger during the initial impulse phase of a movement. There is also significant temporal and spatial coupling of the finger, elbow and shoulder in aiming, and movements appear to evolve in a proximal-to-distal fashion. Movements are endpoint driven and variability is reduced with distal approximation to the target. This movement control strategy means that visual information is not only available for use in modifying responses, but there is sufficient time available for its use. In sequential complex aiming movements, the use of visual feedback and on-line processing become even more important. Practice does not diminish the need for on-line processing; rather, its use appears to ensure greater movement efficiency.     

A ménage à trois: the eye, the hand and on-line processing

This review summarizes research conducted in our laboratories over the past 5 years aimed at determining the temporal and spatial relationships between eye and hand movements and the amount of central processing that must occur before performing a manual aiming movement, relative to the amount of processing that is done online. All of our research to date points to a two-component model of speed-accuracy control in manual aiming. Several studies have shown that eye and hand movements in manual aiming are inextricably linked both temporally and spatially. Typically, the eye arrives in the vicinity of the target first; this coincides with peak acceleration of the finger during the initial impulse phase of a movement. There is also significant temporal and spatial coupling of the finger, elbow and shoulder in aiming, and movements appear to evolve in a proximal-to-distal fashion. Movements are endpoint driven and variability is reduced with distal approximation to the target. This movement control strategy means that visual information is not only available for use in modifying responses, but there is sufficient time available for its use. In sequential complex aiming movements, the use of visual feedback and on-line processing become even more important. Practice does not diminish the need for on-line processing; rather, its use appears to ensure greater movement efficiency.     

‘Putting up your Dukes’: Statues social memory and Duke Paoa Kahanamoku

Public statues that commemorate the lives and achievements of athletes are pervasive and influential forms of social memory in Western societies. Despite this important nexus between cultural practice and history making, there is a relative void of critical studies of statuary dedicated to athletes. This article will attempt to contribute to a broader understanding in this area by considering a bronze statue of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, the Hawaiian Olympian, swimmer and surfer, at Waikīkī, Hawaii. This prominent monument demonstrates the processes of remembering and forgetting that are integral to acts of social memory. In this case, Kahanamoku's identity as a surfer is foregrounded over his legacy as a swimmer. The distillation and use of Kahanamoku's memory in this representation is enmeshed in deeper cultural forces about Hawaii's identity. Competing meanings of the statue's symbolism indicate its role as a ‘hollow icon’, and illustrate the way that apparently static objects representing the sporting past are in fact objects of the present.     

Out of your zone? 21 years of travel and performance in Super Rugby

ABSTRACT

The extent to which travel has affected Super Rugby teams’ performances was analysed using outcomes of all matches played from the beginning of the competition in 1996 to the end of the 2016 season. Points difference and matches won or lost were predicted with general and generalized mixed linear models. The predictors were the linear effects of number of time zones crossed and travel duration based on the teams’ locations for each match and their locations in the previous week. The away-match disadvantage was also estimated, along with trends in all these effects. In 1996 the predicted combined effect of eastward travel across 12 time zones was a reduction of 5.8 points scored per match, resulting in 4.1 more matches lost every 10 matches. Corresponding effects for westward travel were 6.4 points and 3.1 matches. In 2016 effects travelling eastward were 3.7 points and 2.3 matches, whereas travelling westward the effects were 3.7 points and 1.5 matches. These travel effects were due mainly to the away-match disadvantage: 5.7 points and 3.2 matches in 1996; 5.2 points and 2.3 matches in 2016. Teams in Super Rugby are dealing successfully with long-haul travel and should now focus on reducing the away-match disadvantage.     

Effects of unsteady conditions on propulsion generated by the hand’s motion in swimming: a systematic review

The understanding of swimming propulsion is a key factor in the improvement of performance in this sport. Propulsive forces have been quantified under steady conditions since the 1970s, but actual swimming involves unsteady conditions. Thus, the purpose of the present article was to review the effects of unsteady conditions on swimming propulsion based on studies that have compared steady and unsteady conditions while exploring their methods, their limitations and their results, as well as encouraging new studies based on the findings of this systematic review. A multiple database search was performed, and only those studies that met all eligibility criteria were included. Six studies that compared steady and unsteady conditions using physical experiments or numerical simulations were selected. The selected studies verified the effects of one or more factors that characterise a condition as unsteady on the propulsive forces. Consequently, much research is necessary to understand the effect of each individual variable that characterises a condition as unsteady on swimming propulsion, as well as the effects of these variables as a whole on swimming propulsion.     

‘I'm your teacher,I'm Brazilian!’ Authenticity and authority in European capoeira

Capoeira, the Brazilian dance and martial art is now globalised and taught widely outside Brazil. Instruction is provided by Brazilians who are living in self-imposed exile from their homeland. The authentic capoeira that such teachers provide is a major attraction for non-Brazilian students. However, there is little research available on the motivations and strategies of overseas capoeira instructors. Building on a long term ethnographic study, this paper showcases the goals and strategies of one successful Brazilian teacher, from the Beribazu Group of Capoeira, working in the UK. This teacher reflects upon his four interlocking aims for his students and the strategies for achieving them. They should develop social cohesion, appreciate Brazilian culture, play good capoeira and learn to move their bodies acrobatically, flexibly and beautifully. Two sociologists embed the teacher's perspective on his work in an analytic framework derived from Bourdieu.     

The Hand of God,the Hand of the Devil: a sociological interpretation of Maradona’s hand goal

Based on the moral problem of Maradona’s goal, known as the ‘Hand of God’, this essay presents a theoretical discussion using the perspective of figurational sociology of how game rules and moral rules are related. It does not aim to solve the moral dispute occasioned by actions like the ‘Hand of God’, but concentrates on a much more limited discussion (appealing to far fewer people) in which we strive to reach a proper sociological understanding. Indeed, we believe that the ‘Hand of God’ is a paradigmatic event for sociological reasoning. This is not to claim that sociology can give any final answers, but to suggest the opposite, namely that an understanding of the value of ‘hand goals’ can be very important for understanding the limits of sociological reason.     

The influence of the hand’s acceleration and the relative contribution of drag and lift forces in front crawl swimming

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the hand’s acceleration on the propulsive forces and the relative contribution of the drag and lift on their resultant force in the separate phases of the front crawl underwater arm stroke. Ten female swimmers swam one trial of all-out 25-m front crawl. The underwater motion of each swimmer’s right hand was recorded using four camcorders and four periscope systems. Anatomical landmarks were digitised, and the propulsive forces generated by the swimmer’s hand were estimated from the kinematic data in conjunction with hydrodynamic coefficients. When the hand’s acceleration was taken into account, the magnitude of the propulsive forces was greater, with the exception of the mean drag force during the final part of the underwater arm stroke. The mean drag force was greater than the mean lift force in the middle part, while the mean lift force was greater than the mean drag force in the final part of the underwater arm stroke. Thus, swimmers should accelerate their hands from the beginning of their backward motion, press the water with large pitch angles during the middle part and sweep with small pitch angles during the final part of their underwater arm stroke.     

‘Being in your body’ and ‘being in the moment’: the dancing body-subject and inhabited transcendence

Sports studies is currently dominated by the intellectualist approach to understanding skill and expertise, meaning that questions about the phenomenological nature of skilled performance in sport have generally been overshadowed by the emphasis on the cognitive. By contrast, this article responds to calls for a phenomenology of sporting embodiment by opening up a philosophical exploration of the nature of athletic being-in-the-world. In particular, the paper explores the conceptualisation of immanence and transcendence in relation to the embodied practice of dance, engaging with Merleau-Ponty’s important insight that the body can be a source of transcendence. I also draw on data from in-depth qualitative interviews with professional contemporary dancers to explore dancers’ concepts of ‘being in your body’ and ‘being in the moment’, and to suggest that during the actual embodied practice of dance, dancers do not experience transcendence and immanence as they are conceptualised in philosophy. Rather, I argue, dancers experience a third mode of being that is somehow in-between these two binary terms. I have called this ‘inhabited transcendence’.     

‘Just open your eyes a bit more’: the methodological challenges of researching black and minority ethnic students' experiences of physical education teacher education

In this paper we discuss some of the challenges of centralising ‘race’ and ethnicity in Physical Education (PE) research, through reflecting on the design and implementation of a study exploring Black and minority ethnic students' experiences of their teacher education. Our aim in the paper is to contribute to ongoing theoretical and methodological debates about intersectionality, and specifically about difference and power in the research process. As McCorkel and Myers notes, the ‘researchers’ backstage'—the assumptions, motivations, narratives and relations—that underpin any research are not always made visible and yet are highly significant in judging the quality and substance of the resulting project. As feminists, we argue that the invisibility of ‘race’ and ethnicity within Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE), and PE research more widely, is untenable; however, we also show how centralising ‘race’ and ethnicity raised significant methodological and epistemological questions, particularly given our position as White researchers and lecturers. In this paper, we reflect on a number of aspects of our research ‘journey’: the theoretical and methodological challenges of operationalising concepts of ‘race’ and ethnicity, the practical issues and dilemmas involved in recruiting participants for the study, the difficulties of ‘talking race’ personally and professionally and challenges of representing the experiences of ‘others’.     

‘Let’s work on your weaknesses’: Australian CrossFit coaching,masculinity and neoliberal framings of ‘health’ and ‘fitness’

CrossFit (CF) is one of the fastest growing exercise regimens in the world. However, sociologists have been relatively slow in examining the place of CF coaches in contemporary CF fitness culture. CF coaches are key figures in the production, promotion and consumption of CF fitness services. Therefore, coaches are a sociologically compelling group to examine. Drawing on interviews with male CF coaches in Tasmania, Australia, this paper argues that the way that CF coaches become qualified, interact with clients and understand ‘health’ and ‘fitness’ is shaped by the confluence of masculinity and neoliberalism. As CF grows in Australia alongside other fitness regimens, these findings pose a unique set of concerns for the Australian fitness industry, especially in relation to the ways that CF coaches translate the meaning and practice of ‘health’ and ‘fitness’ to their athletes.     

‘How do you feel? What is your heart doing?’ … ‘It’s jumping’: the body and health in Early Years Education

Policy agendas for early childhood education in the UK as in many countries elsewhere are driven by expectations that play will impact positively on a child’s educational attainment, health and well-being. This paper focuses on health knowledge, social class and cultural reproduction within early year education in England, looking specifically at how health discourse is framed by Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) policy imperatives and subsequently by practitioners as they re-contextualise health knowledge through play across three socially and culturally different early years education (EYE) settings within England. Across the three settings, 15 practitioners and 80 children, aged 3–4 years old, participated in the research. Drawing on the theoretical work of Basil Bernstein particularly his concepts, ‘pedagogic device’ and ‘classification’ (c) and ‘framing’ (f), the paper documents how health is designed, defined, constructed and experienced through play pedagogy within each of these EYE settings. The analyses illustrate how the different organisational and curriculum structures, pedagogical interactions and transactions of each setting cultivate distinctive relationships to health knowledge. These relationships, in turn, play their part in the reproduction of social class and cultural inequalities, despite the best intentions of EYE policy to address these matters.