‘It just makes you feel invincible’: a Foucauldian analysis of children's experiences of organised team sports

The childhood years are highlighted as a crucial time when ongoing participation in physical activity can be nurtured and maintained. The nurturing of a child's proclivity to participate in organised sport normally falls into the domain of adults. While both parents and coaches have been identified as key influences on children's enjoyment of sport, some negative perceptions exist about their roles. Although children's perspectives are increasingly being acknowledged as valuable, it would appear that young children are still marginalised as active participants in areas of health-related research. The primary objective of this study was to give space to children's views of organised sport and to examine how adult behaviours affected these children's enjoyment of sport. This qualitative study utilised eight focus group interviews with a total of 30 children (aged 6–11 years) in the Greater Auckland area of New Zealand. This paper presents a Foucauldian discourse analysis of children's views relating to their sporting experiences. Children articulated three discursive constructions of sport: sport as competition, sport as fun and sport as fair play. The dominance of sport as competition would appear to serve the needs of coaches and parents more than those of children. Coaches who appear to be firmly positioned within a competitive discourse of sport use their power to support coaching practices that clash with the guidelines provided for them by their sporting bodies. Our analysis shows that many children may be exposed to discursive practices that are not conducive to a child-centred sporting environment. Through the exercise of disciplinary measures, there is pressure on children to conform to the normative behaviours associated with a dominant competitive sport discourse.     

Women's Participation in Sport in Portugal during the New State Regime

The period of Portuguese history known as the New State (1930–1974) was marked by a strong ideology that had a great impact upon gender relations and on women's status and their participation in sport. During this period a variety of arguments grounded in aesthetics, morals, health and women's biology were put forward not only to encourage women's involvement in sport but also to control the kinds of sports in which women could be involved, as well as the intensity of sports practice. In spite of the state's attempt to control women's involvement in sport, there were women who resisted this control by pursuing sport, thus showing the existence of spaces within the sports figuration that were used to express ideas different from those disseminated by the regime. In this context the campaign for women's sport, which developed in the 1930s, was important. This paper seeks to examine women's participation in sport and in particular in all-female sports clubs and the controversies that surrounded the campaign for women's sport and the creation of such clubs.     

第 29 届奥运会后的国际竞技体育展望

结合当前的国际金融危机,从国际竞技体育本身、竞技体育的发展保障以及竞技体育发展带来的效益等角度,对国际竞技体育的发展现状和趋势进行展望.第29届奥运会后各国在竞技体育领域内的竞争将日趋激烈,主要竞技体育强国的竞技体育竞争实力将会进一步提高;以举国体制为基本理念的竞技体育政策将会在各国陆续出现;奥运会项目可能不会出现较大程度的变化,非奥运竞技体育项目将会迎来发展的有利时机;全球金融危机将会在一定程度上减缓国际竞技体育的步伐,但是体育经济将会成为现代社会经济发展的新增长点;竞技体育训练的科技含量不断增加,体育科技朝着集约化的方向发展;竞技体育作为一种文化活动,已经成为人们生活的一部分.     

Deception in Sport: A New Taxonomy of Intra-Lusory Guiles

Almost four decades ago, Kathleen Pearson examined deceptive practices in sport using a distinction between strategic and definitional deception. However, the complexity and dynamic nature of sport is not limited to this dual-categorization of deceptive acts and there are other features of deception in sport unaccounted for in Pearson's constructs. By employing Torres’s elucidation of the structure of skills and Suits's concept of the lusory-attitude, a more thorough taxonomy of in-contest sport deception will be presented. Despite the ubiquitous presence of deception in sport, few scholars have examined this concept in the sport philosophy literature since Pearson’s contribution. This paper hopes to advance a deeper understanding of deceptive practices in competitive sport and also comment on the ethical permissibility of certain sport skills from a moral perspective.     

Cycle of Conflict: A Decade of Strife in English Professional Rugby

Rugby union was the last major international sport to embrace open professionalism. In the years leading up to the abandonment of the amateur principle by the sport's world governing body, the (English) Rugby Football Union's rearguard action on both domestic and international fronts left it ill-equipped to cope with the realities of a new world order. This discussion will provide a brief review of the circumstances that led to rugby union's change of status; examine in detail how and why conflicts that emerged in the aftermath of professionalism were particular to the English experience; analyse events that have sustained these conflicts over a decade; and offer an assessment of future prospects for stability in the domestic game.     

Sport in the British Deaf Community

Deaf people are widely perceived as being disabled and consequently socially disadvantaged, particularly those who rely on sign language for communication. Profoundly deaf people in mainstream sport are a rarity, and at the highest levels only a few examples can be found throughout the history of professional sport. This apparent lack of participation only serves to reinforce the idea that deaf people are in some way incapable of taking part in little more than perfunctory sporting activity. However, this is not the case. Deaf people have been involved in a variety of sporting endeavours since the dawn of organized sport. In this article, the extent and diversity of deaf people's involvement in sport will be outlined, drawing on a longitudinal study of the activities of deaf club members from across north-west England. The different sports their members engaged in, the extent of such activity and the importance of such involvement in bonding and maintaining communal identity among deaf people will all be demonstrated. In doing so, it is intended that the general perception of deaf people as being socially isolated, particularly in relation to sport, will be shown to be false.     

Validity and Reliability of the 3-Day Physical Activity Recall in Singaporean Adolescents

This study aimed at determining the amount of Italian television coverage dedicated to men's and women's sport and the number of male and female viewers during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. AUDITEL-AGB Nielsen Media Research Italia provided the TV airtime data for the sport events broadcast, which were classified into three categories: men-only, women-only, and mixed-gender. The viewer sample was divided by age and gender and included three audience parameters: mean audience, share, and appreciation index. The last item is calculated from the program duration, audience permanence, and the share related to programs broadcast by other Italian channels. In particular, the appreciation index was used to investigate the relationship between (a) the viewer's and sport participants' gender and (b) the effect of Italian participation and expectations for sport achievement. The data showed that Italian male athletes outnumbered their female counterparts. Women's sport was allotted significantly less airtime than men's sport, but this imbalance was not proportional to the gender difference in the overall athletes' participation in the Games. Although the female audience represented 45% of the total, a significantly higher male mean audience and share were found. On the other hand, the appreciation of men's and women's sport events was balanced after equating for differences in media coverage. Moreover, sport achievement might have a positive effect on the trend toward equality of gender coverage, indicating that a global multisport event such as the Olympic Games is central to communicating a national image and identity independently of the athletes' gender.     

Crossing Boundaries and Changing Identities: Empowering South Asian Women through Sport and Physical Activities

The participation of women in sport is significant to socio-economic empowerment in any country. Evidence reveal that although South Asian female athletes are capable of winning medals in the Olympics, a very low percentage of the South Asian female population ever participate actively in sport. The status and circumstances to participate in sport are restricted for many female athletes in South Asia. This paper examined the main factors that influence women's sporting participation in South Asian countries. Data were analysed by using documentary analysis method. This paper analysed a combination of concepts addressing women and sport in South Asia in two ways. Firstly, it emphasises the issues and patterns of women's participation in sport in South Asian countries after the independence from the British Empire. Secondly, it highlights the benefits to South Asian societies of women's participation in sport, but argues why South Asian women are trivialised in sports participation. Results revealed the inequalities and discrimination that constrain women from participating in the South Asian sports sector as personal, social and cultural barriers. Possible solutions are provided to reduce these factors to encourage South Asian women's participation in sport. Success and the implications of South Asian governments’ interventions on women and sport are also discussed. Results of this study revealed the inequalities and discrimination that constrain women from participating in the South Asian sports sector is continuing.     

Sport stadia governance

This case concerns the fictional city of Urbanville, the state capital of Northern Australia, a pseudonym for one of Australia's eight States and Territories, where the State and municipal governments have decided to invest $600 M in the construction of a new sport stadium. The case explores the question of how the stadium will be governed once it has been constructed. The case outlines the key issues and challenges posed by Urbanville's existing sport stadia infrastructure; current issues among stakeholders and their use of existing stadia in Urbanville; and possible choices for the governance arrangements of the new stadium.     

Difficult Adaptations to Innovations in Performance Enhancement: ‘Dr Brustmann's Power Pills’ and Anti-doping in German Post-war Sport

The paper emphasizes the idea that in order to avoid present-minded moralizing research on doping history we should consider doping as a socially constructed phenomenon. By examining the most spectacular West German doping scandal of the 1950s, the so-called Brustmann affair, the paper illustrates the difficulties sport physicians as well as sport functionaries faced when it came to deal with innovations in pharmacological performance enhancement. The complexities and ambiguities surrounding doping in the 1950s make evident why turning sport physicians into sport health guardians was a logical option for the sport associations in post war Germany even though ‘doctor's dilemmas’ typical for sport medicine soon emerged.     

Transformation of Women's Mass Sport in the Process of Urbanisation in Contemporary China

Since the 1980s, China has initiated a new era of urbanisation. Urbanisation, like a social engine, has driven a dramatic change in the way that people take part in sport. The particular focus of this article is to explore the impact of urban development on the systematic transformation of women's sport at the grass-roots level. Based on Riess's perspective of the relationship between cities and sport, and socialist feminist's points of view concerning female sport, this research applied a qualitative research paradigm using an in-depth interview method to examine the major social forces which stimulated the rise of women's mass sport in urban China. It is argued that urban development has provided Chinese women with a governmental guarantee, comparatively free individual choices and diversified opportunities to pursue their own interests and fulfilment in and through sport. Generally speaking, Chinese women's mass sport has improved. However, there are still limitations within the institutional structure, physical structure and value systems of the urban society, as well as its sport subsystem to support the sustainable development of women's mass sport. Ideas concerning women's inferiority and gender inequality still remain during this transformation.     

体育产业政策的发布对资本市场的普遍有效性研究

为了了解我国体育产业政策的发布对资本市场的有效性,选取了5个近几年发布的体育产业政策,以体育为主营业务的A股上市公司为研究对象,采用事件研究法考察这些政策发布前后体育类股市的反应情况,实证后发现市场对不同政策的反应是不同的,而且并非所有体育产业政策的发布都会对体育产业股票市场产生显著的冲击。并结合国内专家的研究,进一步分析产生这种情况的原因以及作用机理,最后给出相应的结论以及启示。     

Sport and Recreation on Robben Island

The article provides insight into an important part of South Africa's sport history that has not been explored yet: What was the role sport and recreation played on Robben Island in the days when it served as political prison? The research has been a collaborative project of the Department for Cultural Affairs and Sport, Western Cape Sports Council, Mayibuye Centre and the University of the Western Cape's Interdisciplinary Center for Sport Science and Development. Facilitated by the establishment of a ‘Robben Island General Recreational Committee' in the 1960s, sport and recreation took a very special form on the Island. Unknown to South Africans and the world, during Apartheid, sport and recreation on Robben Island were used as a vehicle to unite people and to promote values of respect, integrity, dignity, teamwork and fair play as an integral part of a holistic person. Leisure activities became a place of triumph of human spirit, body and soul. The research facilitated the process of digitisation of archives from the Island. Numerous sources were discovered, giving an insight into the role of sport and recreation for many of South Africa's past and present leaders. The study also highlights the role sport and recreation played in the unique journey to freedom and democracy.     

A Theory of Sport and Politics

The study of international relations purports to explain how nation-states and individuals interact around the globe. Yet one major area of such interaction – international sport – remains exceedingly understudied. This in spite of the fact that countries have gone to war over sport, fought for sovereign recognition through sport, and that citizens around the world have it as a daily part of their lives. Indeed it is astounding that a phenomenon that matters so much has been so little studied by a field that purports to explain relations between states and humans around the world. These deficiencies became more apparent in 2008 when we witnessed the world's biggest country hosting the world's biggest sporting event. The Beijing Olympics, though entertaining and exciting, showed how little we have thought about the link between sport and international politics. This article introduces a framework for understanding the link between sport and politics. Its point of entry is to argue that many of the questions about how China portrayed itself during the Olympics and whether the Games marked China's rise as a responsible power cannot be answered without first understanding how sport in general is related to a country's political development, and its sense of nationhood. My arguments do not represent new breakthroughs in political science, rather I attempt merely to offer a systematic way of thinking about how sports and the Olympics matter in world politics through three inter-related causal pathways relating to a country's sense of self, its diplomacy, and its capacity for change.     

The special features of sport: A critical revisit

In the world of contemporary sport it is commonly claimed that at its elite end at least, sport's management is complex because the product it delivers to participants and fans is so idiosyncratic. This claim is accompanied by the view that while professional sport is in large part just another form of business, it has a range of special features that demand a customised set of practices to ensure its effective operation. This article aims to re-examine this view in the light of sport's commercial and socio-cultural developments over the last decade. It initially proposes that while both business and sport are concerned with widening market share, building profits, and strengthening brands, the presumption that sport has a monopoly over the delivery of intense emotional experiences, tribal belonging, and strong interpersonal relationships, is difficult to defend. The article concludes that while sport's economic and social progress has created an industry that is built around complex bureaucracies that turn over many thousands of millions of dollars every year, it has also created a more diverse and heterogeneous system of structures and experiences that are difficult to conflate to a handful of neat special features.     

Swimming: The ‘Ideal’ Sport for Nineteenth-century British Women

The nineteenth-century history of swimming has predominantly been portrayed as a history of male participation, with claims that women were marginalized from the sport and never able to be involved at the same level as men. However, this article will highlight that far from marginalizing women the unique qualities of swimming enabled it to develop into the ‘ideal’ and arguably first modern, urban sport for British women. The article will draw upon two nineteenth-century ideologies which surrounded the female body and health; firstly, the ideology of female bodily incapacity and secondly, the socially constructed ideology of correct feminine behaviour. These ideologies directly influenced perceptions about the female body and health and also curtailed the development of sport for women. Nevertheless, by analysing evidence gathered from nineteenth-century texts, newspapers and women's magazines this article will suggest that swimming was an exception. Three specific qualities enabled the promotion and tolerance of female swimming to continue virtually unchallenged. These qualities were health, safety and the aquatic environment.     

A genealogical analysis of Peter Arnold's conceptual account of meaning in movement,sport and physical education

We write as critical theorists who share an interest in how conceptions of physical education are taken forward in policy and practice. In this respect, we are particularly intrigued by Peter Arnold's conceptual account of meaning in movement, sport and physical education, and the subsequent ways in which his ideas have informed national curriculum ambitions. Despite the prominence of Arnold's influence, we are concerned that there has been an insufficiently rigorous and robust review of his theorising to date, particularly in relation to where his ideas originated from. Accordingly, we critically discuss the merits of adopting a genealogical approach in order to support a detailed analysis of Arnold's conceptual account of meaning in movement, sport and physical education; one which especially focuses on learning ‘about’, ‘through’ and ‘in’ movement. We conclude by questioning a number of the complex strands of Arnold's work in the expectation that greater lucidity and purpose can emerge. This it is argued will be beneficial in terms of providing clarity on aim or aims statements in physical education, which in turn can secure greater policy coherence and practice gains.     

The Capriciousness of Play: Collingwood’s Insight

This paper argues that human psychological resilience is a central virtue in sport and in human life generally. Despite its importance, it is an overlooked virtue in philosophy of sport and classical and contemporary virtue theory. The phenomenon of human resilience has received a great deal of attention recently in other quarters, however. There is a large and instructive empirical psychological literature on resilience, but connections to virtue theory are rarely drawn and there is no agreement about what the concept refers to. This paper attempts to clarify the concept of resilience and explain how it fits into and supports a traditional Aristotelian conception of virtue. It shows how resilience figures centrally in sport and can extend and enrich our understanding of virtue and success in sport and of sport's internal values. The investigations into the nature of resilience in sport can also help us to understand better sport's contributions to human culture and well-being.     

Bangqiu: MLB's Role in Baseball's Comeback in the People's Republic of China

This article explores the growth of Chinese baseball since the early 1970s. The sport was very popular in the 1940s and 1950s as the semi-official pastime of the People's Liberation Army, but it disappeared from the country in the 1960s due to economic woes stemming from the Great Leap Forward and the anti-western fervour of the Cultural Revolution. Richard Nixon's historic meeting with Chairman Mao in 1972 ushered in a thaw in Sino–American relations that enabled veterans of 1950s competitions to take up baseball once again and teach the game to a new generation. Over the 1970s, baseball began to slowly grow in China with some modest Japanese encouragement and China began competing internationally the following decade. Over the past decade, Major League Baseball has made such a large investment in China that baseball has become the fastest growing sport in the country. At present, the country's only professional league is currently in the early stages of its development, but American talent evaluators believe that the skill of Chinese players is steadily improving and that it is not impossible to foresee a day when China produces baseball's Yao Ming from a massive pool of millions of internationally competitive athletes.