Regulation of professional sport in a changing broadcasting environment: Australian club and sport broadcaster perspectives

Broadcasting is undergoing massive changes with technology introducing new delivery opportunities and thereby more broadcasters into the equation. Emerging technology in the sport broadcasting environment is complicated by the existing league and broadcasting regulations. League-based regulations impact on income distribution and product distribution, while broadcasting regulations, largely imposed by the elected Federal Government of the day, are enacted to ensure that commercial and public interests are being supported. Introducing a stakeholder interest-based approach, the regulation affecting professional sport clubs and broadcasters was examined in order to identify how they would respond to the regulation imposed on them in the emerging broadcasting environment.In depth interviewing of senior managers of Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) clubs as well as sport broadcasters was undertaken with the data analysed, and emergent themes recorded. Results indicate that league, broadcaster and government regulations impact on the clubs and broadcasters in a variety of ways, with clubs facing regulation from the league and the broadcasters, while the broadcasters and league face regulation from the government legislation enacted. The results indicate that these organisations need to be aware of the conditions that arise from the existing and emerging broadcast regulatory environment in order to better understand and respond to it.     

Not everything is a contest: sport,nature sport,and friluftsliv

Two prevalent assumptions in the philosophy of sport literature are that all sports are games and that all games are contests, meant to determine who is the better at the skills definitive of the sport. If these are correct, it would follow that all sports are contests and that a range of sporting activities, including nature sports, are not in fact sports at all. This paper first confronts the notion that sport and games must seek to resolve skill superiority through consideration of sport activities that have no such aim. The reduction of sport to game is also shown to be untenable and due to misunderstanding the point of sport activities, specifically, why people engage in them. This leads to reconsideration of the dominance of an instrumental conception of sport and the pursuit of excellence as anthropomaximising efficiency. The Norwegian tradition of frilutsliv is explored as a counterpoint to both conventional and nature sport.     

Sports tribes and academic identity: teaching the sociology of sport in a changing disciplinary landscape

Using data from 15 semi-structured interviews with UK-based early/mid-career academics, this paper offers an empirically informed assessment of how lecturers teaching/researching the sociology of sport are managing their careers in a changing higher education landscape. Those interviewed were involved in the delivery of sociological content to a range of sports-themed courses with the interviews focusing on the changing fashions in studying sport (including a rapid increase in enrolment on certain sports-themed courses), and on the nature of the relationships with colleagues working in the same area (i.e. sport), but who teach/research it from a different discipline. The paper draws upon the processes of individualisation which lay at the root of reflexive modernisation to better understand the lived experiences of those interviewed. Using the metaphors of tribes, doors and boundaries, I assess the extent to which those interviewed felt there were opportunities for an interdisciplinary pedagogic approach to ‘sport’. The paper explores the relationship between the sociology of sport and its parent discipline (i.e. sociology) and where it might feature in a future (post-disciplinary?) landscape.     

On passion and sports fans: a look at football

The purpose of the present research was to test the applicability of the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) to being a sport (football) fan. Three studies provided support for this dualistic conceptualization of passion. Study 1 showed that harmonious passion was positively associated with adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory), whereas obsessive passion was positively associated with maladaptive behaviours (e.g. risking losing one's job to go to a game). Study 2 used a short Passion Scale and showed that harmonious passion was positively related to the positive affective life of fans during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, psychological health (self-esteem and life satisfaction), and public displays of adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory into the streets), whereas obsessive passion was predictive of maladaptive affective life (e.g. hating opposing teams' fans) and behaviours (e.g. mocking opposing teams' fans). Finally, Study 3 examined the role of obsessive passion as a predictor of partner's conflict that in turn undermined partner's relationship satisfaction. Overall, the present results provided support for the Dualistic Model of Passion. The conceptual and applied implications of the findings are discussed.     

The moral worth of sport reconsidered: Contributions of recreational sport and competitive sport to life aspirations and psychological well-being

Abstract

Based on self-determination theory, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that importance ratings of life aspirations would mediate the effects of participation in recreational and competitive sport on psychological well-being. In addition, the effects of sport participation on psychological well-being were hypothesized to indicate that, compared with competitive athletes, recreational athletes would report higher psychological well-being. The participants were 118 university students (83 males, 35 females) with a mean age of 20.8 years (s = 7.6). In accordance with the initial hypotheses, a path analysis supported the mediating effect of importance ratings of life aspirations, but not of attainment ratings of life aspirations, on the relationship between participation in recreational and competitive sport and psychological well-being. The indirect effects observed for importance ratings supported the conclusion that recreational athletes showed a preference for intrinsic life aspirations compared with competitive athletes and reported higher psychological well-being. Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that the moral worth of sport does not reside so much in the frequency with which individuals engage in sport but in the goals and values people express through sport participation.     

The moral worth of sport reconsidered: contributions of recreational sport and competitive sport to life aspirations and psychological well-being

Based on self-determination theory, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that importance ratings of life aspirations would mediate the effects of participation in recreational and competitive sport on psychological well-being. In addition, the effects of sport participation on psychological well-being were hypothesized to indicate that, compared with competitive athletes, recreational athletes would report higher psychological well-being. The participants were 118 university students (83 males, 35 females) with a mean age of 20.8 years (s = 7.6). In accordance with the initial hypotheses, a path analysis supported the mediating effect of importance ratings of life aspirations, but not of attainment ratings of life aspirations, on the relationship between participation in recreational and competitive sport and psychological well-being. The indirect effects observed for importance ratings supported the conclusion that recreational athletes showed a preference for intrinsic life aspirations compared with competitive athletes and reported higher psychological well-being. Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that the moral worth of sport does not reside so much in the frequency with which individuals engage in sport but in the goals and values people express through sport participation.     

Defining,assessing, and developing creativity in sport: a systematic narrative review

ABSTRACT

Research on creativity in sport is gaining momentum, due to a growing interest from coaches and academics in developing strategies to increase unpredictability in individual and collective behaviour which may allow teams to gain an important advantage over their opponents. The purpose of this paper was to conduct the first systematic narrative review of the literature on sporting creativity, critically synthesising 51 years of published research (1967–2018) and proposing avenues for future research. Six databases were used, and 48 documents met search criteria. The findings are organised in four categories: (a) defining creativity, (b) correlates of creativity, (c) assessing creativity and (d) developing creativity. Creativity definitions and assessments have privileged thought processes over the ability to act. A distinction is warranted between creativity about sport and creativity in sport (in action) and aligned assessment methods. The literature does not support a single strategy for the development of sporting creativity but does support its trainability. Evidence of the effectiveness of programmes for the enhancement of sporting creativity is growing but is still limited. Furthermore, while it is recognised that coaches have a pivotal role in the development of sporting creativity, research involving them is still scarce.     

On passion and sports fans: A look at football

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to test the applicability of the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003 Vallerand, R. J., Blanchard, C. M., Mageau, G. A., Koestner, R., Ratelle, C.Léonard, M. 2003. Les passions de l'âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85: 756–767. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to being a sport (football) fan. Three studies provided support for this dualistic conceptualization of passion. Study 1 showed that harmonious passion was positively associated with adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory), whereas obsessive passion was positively associated with maladaptive behaviours (e.g. risking losing one's job to go to a game). Study 2 used a short Passion Scale and showed that harmonious passion was positively related to the positive affective life of fans during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, psychological health (self-esteem and life satisfaction), and public displays of adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory into the streets), whereas obsessive passion was predictive of maladaptive affective life (e.g. hating opposing teams' fans) and behaviours (e.g. mocking opposing teams' fans). Finally, Study 3 examined the role of obsessive passion as a predictor of partner's conflict that in turn undermined partner's relationship satisfaction. Overall, the present results provided support for the Dualistic Model of Passion. The conceptual and applied implications of the findings are discussed.     

The rise of sport in the Asia-Pacific region and a social scientific journey through Asian-Pacific sport

Abstract

In the first quarter of the twenty-first century, the social, political and economic significance of sports in the Asia-Pacific region has been continually on the rise. First, the prominence of Asian athletes at international sporting arenas has become more visible. Second, major global sports mega-events are frequently hosted in Asia-Pacific countries. Third, the Asian sport industry is rapidly expanding. Fourth, international labour migration is increasingly noticeable in the Asia-Pacific’s sport industry. Fifth, displaying national identity is another important aspect of Asia-Pacific sport today. With this increasing significance of sport in Asian society, this Asia-Pacific Sport and Social Science special issue aims to provide a scholarly public sphere wherein sound theoretical, contextual and critical reviews of sports in the region can be circulated. While this yearly special issue welcomes contributions from international academics whose research interests are in Asia-Pacific sport, we also encourage Asian scholars to submit their work to the journal. We are not biased in either direction but simply want to see both insiders’ and outsiders’ perspectives on sport in Asia-Pacific sport studies.     

Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field

In this study, we explore institutional forces affecting environmental sustainability in professional sport teams and leagues in North America. Interviews with sport executives and executives from partner groups, 122 websites and organizational documents, and 56 media reports were examined. Data revealed how environmental management practices are being diffused in professional sport organizations. Evidence indicated associative behavior among sport organizations with respect to environmental management. Data also illustrated that media played a role in driving and defining the type and extent of involvement in professional sport teams’ environmental sustainability efforts. We discuss environmental sustainability as it affects a team's or league's CSR related initiatives (i.e., averting legal recourse, saving money, as well as building stronger relationships with stakeholders (e.g., customers, fans, local communities, federal governments and corporate partners)), and speculate how these efforts might evolve and inform the development of environmental sustainability in organizations in the sport, service and entertainment sectors.     

The conventions of sport clubs: enabling and constraining the implementation of social goods through sport

In order to shed light on the possibilities for using sport as a vehicle for the realization of social goods—understood as sport having a wider social role—this paper scrutinizes Norwegian sport clubs. The study is guided by the concept of convention, which refers to individuals’ cognitive structures, and to social structure. Three sport clubs were investigated and three qualitative methods, including document analysis, observation and interviews, were employed. First, in the results section, the main sport convention is identified as being competitiveness. Secondly, it is argued that as a consequence of the main convention for sport there are limited possibilities for the realization of social goods such as health. The possibilities of sports clubs combining the convention of competitiveness with others is discussed, considering the former as substantial for practice and discussing whether the latter is mere rhetoric.     

Gender,age, and sport differences in relative age effects among US Masters swimming and track and field athletes

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine elbow joint extension power-load characteristics with and without a countermovement. Eight male participants performed maximal elbow extensions with and without a countermovement against different loads (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, and 15.0 kg). Electromyographic activity of the lateral and long heads of the triceps brachii and the biceps brachii muscles was recorded. The average joint power in the concentric phase was significantly enhanced in the countermovement condition at all loads except for 0 kg. The optimal load for the maximal joint power was greater in the countermovement (7.5 kg) than in the no countermovement condition (5.0 kg). Electromyographic activity was unchanged over the intensities and conditions. Our results suggest that the optimal load for the maximal joint power depends on the type of action (i.e. with or without a counter-movement), and that the enhanced joint power in the countermovement condition is due primarily to the storage and utilization of elastic energy.