Muscular Christianity and its makers: sporting monks and churchmen in Anglo‐Norman society, 1000–1300

This research focuses on the (scientific) interaction between civil and military institutions of physical education during the interwar period in Belgium. Based on experimental scientific research, Albert Govaerts, the Research Director of the Military Institute of Physical Education (MIPE), concluded that the Danish gymnastics method of Niels Bukh was more efficient and suitable than the traditional Swedish gymnastics method, which had become institutionalised at an academic level in Belgium since 1908. Based on Govaerts' research results, Danish gymnastics was introduced in 1934 into the entire Belgian Army as the official method of practice and, a few years later, the Danish method was also adopted ‘externally’ in a few Belgian civil institutions. A chronological transition of Scandinavian methods as a result of the modernisations that were implemented did not therefore appear to proceed so naturally in Belgium. The MIPE was to carry out a similar role as a professional profile keeper in the field of physical education in Belgium up to 1947. From a sports historiographical perspective, these Belgian results form a starting point for further international comparative research into early interaction between military and civil institutions of physical education and the associated processes of discipline building, scientification and profile keeping.     

Alcohol sponsorship and its impact on sports participants’ consumption

The aim of this study was to examine the association between alcohol consumption, alcohol sponsorship in sports and preferences of sponsored sportspeople regarding sponsorships/consumption. We investigate the impact of alcohol sponsorship on sportspeople in the Australian population using a national survey of sportspeople (N?=?2367), representing a range of club and professional sports. The results show an association between alcohol sponsorship of sport and increased alcohol consumption among sports participants (i.e. ‘sportspeople’). Additionally, a preference for sponsored alcohol brands was found by sponsored sportspeople. Our research adds to the growing evidence for policy review of alcohol sponsorship of sports and extends prior studies investigating impacts of alcohol sponsorship upon sports participants by generalizing to a large, national sample of sportspeople.     

Roller ski rolling resistance and its effects on elite athletes’ performance

Modern ski-treadmills allow cross-country skiers, biathletes and ski-orienteers to test their physical fitness in a laboratory environment whilst performing classical and freestyle (skating) techniques on roller skis. For elite athletes, the differences in performance between test occasions are quite small, thus emphasising the importance of knowing the roller skis’ rolling resistance in order to allow the correct comparison between the results of different test occasions. In this study, the roller skis’ rolling resistance was measured on the ski-treadmill’s surface using a roller ski rolling resistance measurement system specially produced for this purpose. The study investigated the influence of significant changes in rolling resistance on physiological variables. The results showed that during submaximal exercise, power, oxygen uptake, heart rate and blood lactate were significantly changed by different rolling resistances, while there were no significant or only small changes to cycle rate, cycle length and ratings of perceived exertion. Incremental maximal tests showed that time to exhaustion was significantly changed by different rolling resistances and this occurred without significant changes in maximal power, maximal oxygen uptake, maximal heart rate and blood lactate, and that the influence on ratings of perceived exertion were insignificant or small.     

The Development of Social Media and its Impact on the Intercultural Exchange of the Olympic Movement, 2004–2012

Abstract

The development of social media, in the form of Internet and mobile platforms, has rapidly flourished in the early twenty-first century. The changes in broadcasting forms of the first three Olympic Games of the twenty-first century, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, have corresponded and reflected the speedy expansion of this social media. This phenomenon invites not only attention to the historical transformation of the roles of media for the Olympic Games but also reflection on the concept of culture and intercultural exchange based on this phenomenon. This paper studies the relationships between social media, cultural exchange and the Olympic Games in the context of globalization. It argues that the characteristics of social media as ‘participation; openness; conversation; communities; connectedness’ will meet up with the goal of the Olympic Movement and aid the realization of the Olympic Ideal.     

Rivalries: China,Japan and South Korea – Memory,Modernity, Politics,Geopolitics – and Sport

Sport is an effective modern means for revealing a country's political preoccupations and geopolitical concerns. For China, Japan and South Korea, the pre-eminent countries in the recent Asian Games, sport has become a sharp tool for promoting nationalism and national identity. There is a history of bitter rivalry between these countries, not least, due to Japan's occupation of Korea and the Second Sino-Japanese War, the largest Asian war in the twentieth century. Consequently, a prominent characteristic of Korean and Chinese nationalism is anti-Japanese antipathy. This essay examines China–Japan–Korea rivalry through global sports events hosted in Asia during the past decade cumulating in the Guangzhou Asian Games. Here, the focus is on the use of these events as manifestations of resentment and revenge arising out of historic rivalries. This use may well grow in intensity as these nations grow in wealth, confidence and power as the EAST ASIAN EPOCH comes closer. This essay is the first to draw attention to the tripartite politics of sport as confrontation in the region's past, present and future.     

The doping self-reporting game: The paradox of a ‘false-telling’ mechanism and its potential research and policy implications

Establishing a requirement for, justifying public spending on, and evaluating the effectiveness of anti-doping policies all accentuate the need for reliable estimates of doping prevalence in sport. To date, despite considerable effort and much empirical research, this critical information is still not available. Methodological concerns that make doping epidemiology research difficult have been noted, and to some degree addressed in relation to under-reporting bias. In this paper, we use a simple game model to outline a potential responding behaviour among self-reporting athletes on the use of doping that could potentially invalidate any prevalence estimation arising from self-reports. We show a paradoxical situation in which a potential strategic behaviour inevitably leads to a game where the ‘lying’ is a dominant strategy for both doping users and non-users. A slightly more advanced look at the situation might possibly alter this seemingly absurd conclusion, however not in a direction offering any easy solutions for empirical doping research. Although we acknowledge that the proportions of respondents engaging in false telling are likely to vary across samples and differ between doping users and clean athletes, our simple model effectively draws attention to a neglected side of evasive responding in surveys. The response bias that potentially could lead to under- and over-reporting should be considered when self-reported prevalence rates are used to inform anti-doping prevention and intervention policies. Survey methodologies that are able to account for potential distortions would make a considerable contribution to doping research.     

Physical Education Students’ Ownership,Empowerment, and Satisfaction With PE and Physical Activity

Individuals experiencing a highly caring, task-involving, and low ego-involving exercise climate have reported greater ownership in exercise class and empowerment to exercise in general. Purpose: This study examined the relationship between ownership and empowerment in exercise, with 2 context-specific outcomes, satisfaction with physical education (PE) and physical activity, respectively. Given the mission of PE to foster individuals’ lifelong physical activity habit, the perceptions of high school students were collected for this study. Ownership in exercise was hypothesized to be significantly, positively correlated with students reporting satisfaction in PE more than their satisfaction in physical activity, whereas empowerment in exercise was hypothesized to be more strongly, positively correlated with students’ physical activity satisfaction. A second purpose of this study was to test the measurement quality of the updated Empowerment in Exercise Scale (EES; now 13 items). Method: High school students (N = 502, 43% female) in a Midwestern U.S. school district completed a survey. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the internal measurement structure of the EES (λ = .62–.91; McDonald’s omega = .89) across student gender (strong invariance). Additionally, the structural equation modeling analysis revealed only 1 parameter moderated by the students’ gender (latent mean of ownership). The hypotheses were supported, such that ownership in exercise was more strongly correlated with PE satisfaction (r = .87) and empowerment in exercise had a stronger correlation with physical activity satisfaction (r = .92). Conclusion: These results support the beneficial effect a satisfying experience in PE can have on students’ satisfaction with physical activity outside of school.     

The role of sport in reflecting and shaping group dynamics: The “intergroup relations continuum” and its application to Fijian rugby and soccer

A significant body of knowledge exists around the role of intergroup relations in sport for development and peace (SFDP). However, while numerous SFDP researchers have investigated overt conflict, scholars have typically overlooked the varied nature of intergroup relations in comparatively stable SFDP environments. In addressing that issue, the authors explore intergroup relations in the context of Fiji, a country which in recent years has moved from a society characterized by the politics of coup d'état to democratic government and relatively peaceful social relations. That said, Fiji has long been shaped by a fundamental cultural divide between Indigenous Fijians (iTaukei) and Fijians of Indian ancestry (Indo-Fijians): this is reflected in the de facto separatism between these groups in relation to their role in rugby union and Association football (soccer). The authors present a qualitative framework—the Intergroup Relations Continuum (IRC)—by which to map intergroup relations as they apply in Fiji according to identity, ethnicity and sport. While the IRC is applied here in a Fijian context, the model is intended to be generalizable, aiming to provide a practical instrument for researchers, sport managers, policymakers and local stakeholders. The goal is to allow them to visually illustrate group affinities, rivalries, and sensibilities in terms of collective relationships that characterize sport and society.     

Topspin in putters — a study of vertical gear-effect and its dependence on shaft coupling

Imparting topspin on a golf ball from putter impact can be achieved either by oblique impact from negative-lofted putter faces or by vertical eccentric impact (commonly referred to as ‘vertical gear-effect’). Negative loft gives a small amount of topspin but should preferably be combined with positive putter-head trajectory to give the ball lift at impact. Vertical gear-effect can provide high spin rates for impacts above the sweet spot and desirably gives the ball a small upward lift at impact. This paper outlines the theory of spin generation in putter impact, discusses how high vertical gear-effect can be implemented and considers the effect that such designs have on putt length control, directional accuracy and impact vibration. Ballistic measurement techniques to validate putter designs are described and an unexpected experimental result dependent on shaft coupling is analysed.     

Cultural Imperialism,Nationalism, and the Modernization of Physical Education and Sport in China, 1840–1949

Abstract

This paper examines how missionary educational institutions and Young Men’s Christian Association physical education and sport programmes, in conjunction with the nation-building project of the Nationalist government, transformed and modernized physical education and sport in China from 1840 to 1937. The concepts of cultural imperialism and nationalism are central to this study, to understand how the two interacted in the process of the development of modern physical education and sports in China. This paper argues that the cultural imperialism model is ineffective for an understanding of the impact of missionaries on Chinese society and the subsequent transformation and indigenization of physical education and sport in modern China. More precisely, the way in which Chinese nationalism played an active role in resisting, selecting, and reshaping the cultural products (modern physical education and sport) evidences a process that was an active negotiation, rather than a passive consumption, of Western culture. This said, Christian physical education and sport programmes had long-lasting effects on how physical education and sports became the way to define ‘modern’ bodies as they were incorporated into the wider education programme of modernizing China under the Nationalist government.     

Chinese Desires? Olympism and Dominance,Guangzhou and Missed Opportunity,Major Leagues and Isolation on the Pacific Rim

Understanding the situation of China's self-promotion via Olympism requires us to connect two patterns. China is successful at Guangzhou and in Beijing Games at sponsoring and competing in Olympic-style sports festivals, but also surrounded by highly popular professional team sport leagues in baseball, rugby and cricket from Japan to India. China is successful in the promotion of its new capitalist economy but is critically short of energy sources and its aggressive diplomacy in pursuit of energy by land and sea has led to confrontations from Japan to Burma and even to the US ‘pivot’ to Asia. Review of theories of situation demonstrates that while a Debord-style spectacle theory might seem to explain the sporting spectacles and a realism in the tradition of Clausewitz might seem suited to the military situation, in fact approaches to situation combining realist and constructivist elements are stronger; a Deleuzian emphasis on will to power needs to be supplemented by Weberian attention to ends and ideas. Neither pattern explains the other; they connect. China makes history and its internal debates over state and middle class values can be tracked observing promotion of professional team sport in urban China and the scale of state sponsorship of Olympic-style games.     

Young people’s knowledge and understanding of health,fitness and physical activity: issues,divides and dilemmas

Critical discourse analysis was used to explore and discuss data on young people’s knowledge and understanding of health, fitness and physical activity, selected from a wider study which focused on the role of secondary schools in effectively promoting physical activity. A mixed methods approach was utilised, involving an online survey to teachers in all state secondary schools in the UK (n?=?603 responding schools) and case studies centred on eight randomly selected state secondary schools from nine Government regions across England. Within each case study school, teacher interviews and pupil focus groups were conducted involving 17 teachers and 132 children aged 12–15 years, respectively. The healthism discourse was evident in the way young people talked about health, fitness and physical activity and two key themes emerged, these being: (i) issues with young people’s knowledge and understanding of health, fitness and physical activity in the form of reductive, limited and limiting conceptions; conceptual confusion; a preoccupation with appearance, weight, fat, shape and size; limited progression in learning; and complexities in understandings; and (ii) divides between young people’s health knowledge and health behaviour, and dilemmas underpinning these divides. Improved understanding of issues with young people’s knowledge and understanding of health, fitness and physical activity and of divides and dilemmas regarding associated behaviours should assist in developing critical pedagogies which challenge the dominance and stability of the healthism discourse and more effectively promote healthy, active lifestyles amongst young people.     

A physiological,time–motion,and technical comparison of youth water polo and Acquagoal

Abstract

The aims of this study were to provide a profile of young water polo players and to compare technical and tactical aspects, movement patterns, and cardiac loads of youth water polo and Acquagoal codes. Ten young (age 12.3 years, s = 0.6) male water polo players underwent anthropometric (stature, body mass, body mass index, chest circumference, hand breadth, and length), strength, and [Vdot]O_2max evaluations. Friendly youth water polo and Acquagoal matches were arranged to evaluate heart rates and swimming patterns (horizontal and vertical, with and without the ball) of players, and technical and tactical aspects of matches (number of actions, passes, player involved in an action, lost possessions, shots, goals, and the origin and types of shot). Independent of code, matches imposed a high cardiac load on players. Vertical swimming occurred more frequently (P < 0.05) in Acquagoal (71%) than youth water polo (45%). Technical and tactical measures also differed (P < 0.05), with players performing more passes and shots inside the penalty area and showing a higher goal-to-shot ratio during youth water polo than during Acquagoal. These results indicate that youth water polo better resembles the swimming patterns of adult water polo and facilitates the technical and tactical aspects of play better than Acquagoal.     

Rattle Running,Dry Wrestling,and Boxing in … Opera,or Regional Sports and Games in the Historical and Cultural Tradition of Eastern Europe

Abstract

The article is a heartfelt plea to both Western and Eastern European sports historians to take full account of the rich sporting history of the eastern part of the continent of Europe. After describing how most of Eastern Europe fell under the domination of foreign empires, and how this lead to a disparaging attitude towards its peoples and cultures, the author specifically details how Western authors of both general cultural histories and sporting histories and encyclopaedias have ignored Eastern Europe to a quite astonishing extent. The author then goes on to argue that Eastern Europe has a sporting tradition which is at least as rich, if not richer than that of the West. To illustrate this, the phenomena of medieval Polish horse racing, Bulgarian dry wrestling, Russian folk pugilism, Polish religious games, and Asian-influenced archery are explained in some detail. It is hoped that these examples will inspire sports historians from all parts of Europe to tap the rich resources of the East, and to treat this part of Europe as central rather than peripheral to European cultural history.