“The process isn’t a case of report it and stop”: Athletes’ lived experience of whistleblowing on doping in sport

Whistleblowing is effective for exposing doping in sport, garnering increased support and promotion within the global anti-doping community. However, limited attention has been afforded towards understanding the doping whistleblowing process. In response, the authors convey a sense of the whistleblowing context by using the actual words of whistleblowers to illuminate their experience. To achieve this aim, the authors have adopted a narrative approach. Three doping whistleblowers were interviewed regarding their lived experiences of whistleblowing on doping and the data has been represented in the form of one composite creative non-fiction story. The story narrates the whistleblowing experience as a process whereby individuals must (a) determine what they witnessed and experienced was doping, (b) make the decision and take action to report it, and (c) deal with the myriad of consequences and emotions. It also highlights the dilemma faced by whistleblowers who are likely equally compelled to adhere to the moral of loyalty and fairness; yet in this context they are unable to do both. Stemming from the story presented and the forms of retribution experienced, the authors offer practical suggestions for sporting organisations to address in order to empower others to whistleblow on doping in sport. Specifically, organisations should establish and implement whistleblowing policies that: (a) provide protection for whistleblowers, (b) mandate whistleblowing education, and (c) identify an independent person for individuals to seek guidance and support from before, during and following the act of whistleblowing.     

The effect of equipment scaling on children’s sport performance: the case for tennis

The influence of scaling court-size and net height on children’s tennis performance was examined. Sixteen boys (9.7 ± 0.5 years) had to perform a 30-min match in four different conditions, where court-size and/or net height were scaled by using a scaling ratio based on the differences in temporal demands between the children and the adult game. These 30-min matches were analysed using Tennis Analyst (FairPlay Ltd., Jindalee, QLD, Australia) software to determine typical tennis match performance characteristics. Children hit more winners, more forced errors, played more volleys, struck more shots from a comfortable height and played in a more forward court position when the net was scaled. Scaling both the court and net lead to a faster children’s game, more closely approximating what is typical of the adult game. The differences between the typical tennis performance variables recorded suggested that scaling the net led to a more aggressive way of playing. Further, children enjoyed playing on the standard court–scaled net condition more than standard adult conditions. It is suggested that optimising the scaling of net height may be as critical as other task constraints, such as racquet length or court-size, as it leads to a more engaging learning environment for experienced children.     

Sport managers’ perspectives on poverty and sport: The role of local sport authorities

Poverty and social exclusion are ‘wicked issues’ and require a joint approach from a wide array of policy fields. As practicing sport has become a customary activity, it has a part to play in fighting social exclusion. But to what extent is this a realistic expectation? Drawing on qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews at twenty local sport authorities in Flanders (Belgium), the aim of this study is to gain insight in the experiences of local sport authorities with people in poverty, and to identify barriers and facilitators for investing in the inclusion of this social group. Results indicate that facilitating inclusion for people in poverty is a challenging task for local sport managers. Policy initiatives, if any, often remain limited to providing financial discounts. Only a minority of local sport managers reported more comprehensive policies, involving different strategies. A major problem is the limited understanding and expertise of local sport managers with regard to poverty. Therefore, cooperation between sport managers and organisations from the social sector is crucial. Recommendations as to how the role of local sport authorities as a facilitator of social inclusion can be strengthened are formulated.     

The NASCAR experience: Examining the influence of fantasy sport participation on ‘non-fans’

While NASCAR has traditionally been among the most watched sports in the US, the brand has suffered due to economic conditions and waning interest. As a result, NASCAR has focused its promotional efforts on new marketing and revenue-generating strategies to raise awareness of the sport. One way to increase awareness is through fantasy sports, which have seen a marked uptick in global popularity. However, using fantasy sports to activate involvement among self-described non-fans of a particular sport remains a relatively unexplored area. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of fantasy sports on attitude and certain behavioral factors using a mixed-method, comparison group design. Employing the path analytic model to examine relationships among variables, results indicate significant differences between study conditions and regression analyses show how patronage intentions were influenced. Focus group data buttress the quantitative results and support the use of fantasy sports as a way to convert self-identified sport non-fans into involved fans.     

Tinkering through transition: on ‘doctoring’ as an early-career academic in physical education and sport pedagogy

This article addresses the notion of ‘making it’ as an early-career academic in physical education and sport pedagogy. In it, we draw on the tradition of material semiotics to reflect on our shared journeys from doctoral student to beginning scholar and beyond. By attuning ourselves to the relationality, materiality and precariousness of our experiences, we offer an answer to the question of what it takes to ‘make it’ as an early-career academic by advocating the practice of ‘making do’ or ‘doctoring.’ We develop this argument, first, by describing the narrative methods we used to conduct our inquiry and by explaining the material-semiotic ideas we used to explore the stories it generated. Then, we tell tales of our transitions from higher degree research student to early-career academic, focusing specifically on our ongoing, collective efforts to make do. In our discussion, we explore these narratives and attend to three features of our actions and activities as early-career academics; namely semiotic relationality, material heterogeneity and the precarious processes of heterogeneous engineering through which we sought to make a career in our field. We conclude by encouraging beginning scholars in physical education and sport pedagogy to become sensitive to these aspects of their own agency, and to experiment, experience and tinker together in ways that are attentive, inventive, caring and persistent.     

What limits of legitimate discourse? The case of elite sport as ‘thinkable’ official knowledge in the Norwegian national curriculum

In 2006, elite sport was introduced into the Norwegian national curriculum as an elective subject in the pre-tertiary school. Grades achieved in this 5-hours-a-week subject count towards school-leavers' overall attainment grades. Prior to 2006, this subject was only offered as a specially adapted, alternative pedagogy in private schools. The paper analyzes how ideas about elite performance have become mainstream, particularly in light of the seeming lack of public policy supporting such a development. By using Bernstein's conceptual tools, it analyzes the few existing policy statements about elite sport in the pre-tertiary education sector and builds on interview data with key policy players in the Norwegian Parliament in order to shed light on this seemingly market-driven development. It asks which discourses have legitimated the transformation of elite sport skills, knowledge and values from an exclusive private school niche to national curricular knowledge to meet the physically, most-able and ambitious athlete-students in the pre-tertiary schools, and in so doing, include the development of sport athletes as an educational task of the comprehensive school system. Finally, it addresses whether agencies outside education policy circles may have affected the legitimation of elite sport as elective curricular knowledge to a certain group of students.     

‘Governmentality’ in the origins of European female PE and sport: the Spanish case study (1883–1936)

The purpose of the paper is twofold: (1) to contribute to the analysis of the origins of modern European female PE and sports from a power perspective, inspired by Foucault's work; and (2) to present a detailed analysis of female PE and sport in Spain (1883–1936) as a specific European case study. It is argued that these physical activities could be conceived in the Spanish case as part of a specific kind of ‘governmentality’ with a dual nature. On the one hand they represented disciplinary ‘technologies of power’ over the female body. Selected physical activities—dictated mainly from the hygienic-moral position of the Regeneracionistas (‘Regenerationists’)—were exerted as a kind of ‘bio-power’ for the control of the female population. On the other hand, such kind of activities (especially sports) represented certain ‘technologies of the self’ for middle and upper class women. Through participation in sports, women gained a more active and public role in the Spanish society of the era, obtaining some degree of autonomy in self-governance over their bodies and their lives.     

‘You don’t want to stand out as the bigger one’: exploring how PE and school sport participation is influenced by pupils and their peers

Background: Population health concerns related to physical inactivity and obesity appear in policy documents, government campaigns and popular media across western societies. Children and young people have been targeted for physical activity promotion and schools have been positioned as sites for intervention. In particular, Physical Education and school sport (PESS) has been framed as a key part of the solution. While some interventionist programmes in schools have reported positive outcomes, they have also been criticised for stigmatising fatness, contributing to a culture of surveillance and fuelling body image anxieties. Despite ongoing work to ameliorate these critical issues by addressing physical activity promotion discourses, curricula and teaching practices many of the same challenges persist. In seeking alternative explanations (and solutions) this paper shifts attention to exploring the role of pupils and their peers.

Purpose: While the critical literature on health and physical education has been illuminating, few studies explore the role of pupils and their peers. Further research is necessary to understand how school peers contribute to pupils’ engagement with PESS. This paper, therefore, draws on Bourdieu’s notion of physical capital and seeks to understand how pupils’ physical activity is influenced by lived-body experiences in school spaces.

The study: Data were produced from a 6-month bricolage-based study with pupils (N?=?29, aged 13–14) across four diverse school settings in England. Multiple qualitative methods were deployed to enhance methodological rigour with what is often a challenging age group for research. Data were interpreted and theorised using the concept of physical capital.

Findings: Pupils themselves play a significant part in establishing the physical body as a symbol of power and status in school settings. Participants understood the health risks of being both underweight and obese, but they regarded obesity as being more problematic because of the immediate social risks of ‘standing out as the bigger one’. Following this rationale, participants sought to accumulate physical capital through engaging in exercise as a purposeful calorie-burning activity intended to avoid the pity, abnormality and derision which is expected to be directed towards overweight pupils. Furthermore, during PESS in clear view of peers, distinctions between pupils’ physical capital could be made by recognising differences in sporting skill. In this context, physical capital mediated engagement in PESS in various ways.

Conclusion: This study has revealed that peers play a significant part in constructing the lived-body experiences of young people. In order to address the criticisms raised about some school-based health promotion interventions, it is crucial to attend to pupils’ relationships with peers as well as addressing policies, curricula and teaching practices. Being sensitive to peer relationships and their understanding of health may help teachers and health promoters decide how to manage the spaces where PESS takes place.     

The outcomes of running a sport camp for children and youth with visual impairments on faculty members’ teaching,research, and service activities: a case study

Abstract

We explored the outcomes of running a sport camp for children and youth with visual impairment on faculty members’ roles. Seven adapted physical activity faculty members were interviewed. Questionnaires and documents were also analyzed and a variety of strategies were employed to ensure the study’s trustworthiness. Regarding the teaching role, disability knowledge and real life examples gave faculty more credibility in conducting their class. As for the research role, the outcomes were not shared by the majority of participants and seemed to rely on aspects such as camp maturity, directors’ aptitudes, and partnerships. In turn, running the camp was a means for faculty members to perform their external service roles. These potential outcomes may become a significant part of the process by which people enact their institutional roles and may serve as a framework for future studies with a more hypothesis-driven approach.     

Communicating the need for a new field of dreams: If we don’t rebuild it will they go?

Convincing the public to finance a stadium is often contentious and even more so in smaller communities with limited funding options. In this case study of Cobb Field, the city of Billings, Montana must address the disrepair of its municipally owned baseball stadium. The field is used by a minor league professional baseball team, two American Legion teams, and a university program. Cobb Field is in violation of the rules that govern minor league professional baseball, and must seek waivers each year to allow the professional team to remain. As a result, community leaders are concerned the team could relocate. The city council wants a new stadium, but must seek approval for a tax increase from a community that has recently rejected levies for schools, libraries, and museums. Students should ponder what public relations strategies are available to the supporters of a new stadium while considering the needs, wants, and desires of the various stakeholders involved.     

‘Doing it for Dot’: exploring active ageing sport tourism experiences through the medium of creative analytical practice

ABSTRACT

This is a true story about the active sport tourists encountered at the 17th World Veterans Championships (WVC 2014), with a particular focus on the movements and memories of the world's oldest international table tennis player. Through the employment of creative analytical practice and, more specifically, creative non-fiction, I offer an (auto)ethnographical narrative designed to target your sociological imagination, engendering a deeper, personally applicable, appreciation towards the consumption and production of active sport tourism. A couple of overlapping evocative vignettes offer a candid insight into how new awareness, attraction, attachment and allegiance have been created from my personal involvement and social interaction with over 200 active ageing athletes, including an inspiring Australian centenarian named Dorothy (Dot) de Low. By sharing my story, I hope to encourage others to stop hiding in the shadows, embrace their subjectivity and share their lived experiences of active sport tourism engagement.     

‘We can do it’: Community,resistance, social solidarity,and long-term volunteering at a sport event

Much research on volunteers has focused on who the volunteers are, and what motivates them on an individual level. This study, however, aims to contextualize the long-term commitment found in a whole community of volunteers and to explain this pattern of collective volunteering not in terms of individual motivations but in terms of broader social processes. Data gathered from interviews with volunteers in Vikersund, Norway, and the analysis of local and national press coverage in the years leading up to the 2013 World Cup in Ski flying in Vikersund suggest that long-term volunteering can be understood in terms of (i) a high level of social integration (socialization, institutionalization); (ii) the creation of a collective identity focused around the ski flying hill; and (iii) the maintenance and reinforcement of strong community identity and social solidarity by local resistance to the perceived hostility of outside organizations. This focus on the broader community/social processes has implications for researchers examining sport event volunteers as well as managers of recurring sport events wishing to retain volunteers.     

The mascot that wouldn’t die: a case study of fan identification and mascot loyalty

The issue of sports mascot loyalty, especially to those mascots considered offensive, was investigated through fan identification theory, and applied to the mascot controversy at a large university in the United States. Replicating a previous university survey on the mascot question, a survey of current university students (N = 3616) revealed a strong relationship between mascot loyalty and fan identification, particularly related to one’s perceptions of ‘belonging to the university sports family’, and ‘associating with sports fans’ of the university. Other important findings include age differences and the marginalization of Asian-American fans. The implications and applications of these findings were discussed.     

Politicians’ perspective on the community-related impacts of major sports events – a case study for Innsbruck-Tyrol

While scholarly attention with respect to the social impacts of sports events has increased in recent years, there is still little research discussing the wide-ranging community-related impacts stemming particularly from major sports events. Local political leaders, as (elected) representatives of the community, are important stakeholders within this context and face the challenge of balancing diverse interests in the implementation of major sports events. The purpose of this study is to assess the importance politicians attribute to event impacts that create sustainable outcomes for residents living in a host city. Based on a content analysis, a list of general event impacts (outputs and legacies) produced by major sports events was created and subsequently discussed with scholars and experts in the field to classify the criteria as community relevant or not. A final number of 56 criteria (34 of which are considered community relevant) was then used in the assessment of the politicians’ (representing either the State of Tyrol or the City of Innsbruck) attitude towards these impacts. The findings of the study indicate that, though aware of community interests, politicians nevertheless prioritize economic and touristic benefits for the host city/region such as place marketing. Moreover, politicians seem to have a better understanding of tangible impacts (e.g. infrastructure), underestimating the important intangible impacts (e.g. voluntariness) closely related to community issues. Thus, the research in hand outlines the need to sensitize governments to community interests when planning and implementing major sports events.     

Sex,sport and justice: reframing the ‘who’ of citizenship and the ‘what’ of justice in European and UK sport policy

Universalist claims are often made about sport which is, as a consequence, increasingly written into national and international policy as an entitlement of citizenship or even human right. Further, in most countries physical education (PE) is a compulsory component of children's education, and sport is seen as central to this. Consequently, in the interests of justice sport must aspire to be egalitarian, that is, relevant to and meaningful for boys and men, and girls and women. In this context three fundamental questions are asked in relation to sport: (1) Do all citizens want to participate? (2) Who counts as a citizen? and (3) What are justice and equality? Feminist political and citizenship theory particularly the work of Pateman, Lister and Fraser is used to explore these questions and interrogate the ‘who’ of citizenship and the ‘what’ of justice in relation to framing sport policy in Europe and the UK. It is argued that notwithstanding the extensive use of the Council of Europe definition of sport,¹1. ‘“Sport” means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels' (CE, 1992 CE. (1992/2001). European sports charter. Retrieved from https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=Rec(92)13&;Sector=secCM&;Language=lanEnglish&;Ver=rev&;BackColorInternet=9999CC&;BackColorIntranet=FFBB55&;BackColorLogged=FFAC75 [Google Scholar]–2001 CE. (1992/2001). European sports charter. Retrieved from https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=Rec(92)13&;Sector=secCM&;Language=lanEnglish&;Ver=rev&;BackColorInternet=9999CC&;BackColorIntranet=FFBB55&;BackColorLogged=FFAC75 [Google Scholar]). and despite or even because of the widespread adoption of the language of gender equality and gender mainstreaming, although formal sport citizenship rights might be accorded to all individuals and regarded as gender neutral, this masks a discourse of androcentric sport citizenship. This has captured European and UK sport policy and provision and is hindering further progress towards gender justice in sport and therefore PE. Given the universal and compulsory aspirations of sport particularly within PE, gender justice should be conceptualised not only as cultural recognition, political representation and economic redistribution within the normalised frame of competitive performance sport or ‘sport for sports sake’; but also as a critical meta-political remapping and reframing of sport as sport and physical recreation or ‘sport for all’.     

‘Samurai’ politics: Japanese cultural identity in global sport – The Olympic Games as a representational strategy

Modern Japan has considered global sport an appropriate forum for not only defining the national cultural identity of Japan but also for conducting its international diplomacy. The recent phenomenon of Japanese baseball athletes ‘defecting’ from Japanese leagues to play for the American baseball leagues has often been described in political terms. This paper argues that the current trend of analysing Japanese nationals playing baseball in America in political terms can be historically contextualized by reviewing the bids by Japanese cities for the 1940, 1964, 1998 and 2016 Olympic Games.