Globalization of the traditional Okinawan art of Shotokan karate

Abstract

Since the eighteenth century, the traditional Okinawan art of Shotokan karate has transformed into a global sport. The violent history of Okinawa in the late 1700s led to the art’s initial creation. In its early years, karate was banned by the government and all practice of it had to take place in secret. Karate was practiced just in Okinawa for over a century. The spread of karate into Japan in 1922 initiated its move towards a Western migration. Through a combination of mass media and the experience of spectators and practitioners, karate spread around the globe. In 1970, international karate competitions began to take place. This initiated the popularization of the sport of karate, introducing more changes to the sport based on the preferences of the spectators. The World Karate Federation (WKF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) together took this art and created an Olympic sport.     

The fiddle of using the Paralympic Games as a vehicle for expanding [dis]ability sport participation

Abstract

In this paper, we highlight the need to explore the excessive significance given to the Paralympic Games as a vehicle for the encouragement of participation of people with a disability within sport. The media spectacle around the games that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has worked tirelessly to develop has become, for policy-makers and the public alike, a sufficient outlet for disability sport provision. The honourable goals of the IPC articulated through the ethos of Paralympism have been assumed to be valid for all people with a disability, yet in terms of widening participation, their utility is limited. This paper first illuminates the relationship between the International Olympic Committee and the IPC before we turn our attention to the ethos of Paralympism. Highlighting the necessity for ‘sport for all’, we use a human rights lens, aided by a capabilities approach to facilitate better ways to educate the public about the need for equality of access to sporting participation opportunities.     

Tanking,Shirking, and Running Dead: The Role of Economics and Large Data Sets in Identifying Competition Corruption and its Causes

Abstract

This paper will offer an economic history perspective on match-fixing based on economic models which explain corruption as a rational decision-making process in which a potentially corrupt athlete weighs up various probabilities. Examples will be taken from sport worldwide including American college sports, NBA basketball, British horseracing, Australian Rules football, and sumo wrestling in Japan where large databases of actual results over time have allowed possible patterns of match-fixing (as opposed to individual instances) to be identified by the use of probability theory.     

Sport in Singapore (1945–1948): From Rehabilitation to Olympic Status

Abstract

After the Japanese Occupation ended in September 1945, Singapore experienced a brief period of British Military Administration. During the next three years of rehabilitation under civil administration, sport in Singapore became an instrument of identity creation. Administrators and stakeholders strove to establish an international profile. There was a desire to forge a Pan-Malayan sporting body and then the priority was to join the Olympic Movement. Tensions arose between interdependent organizations and the individuals representing interest groups. Civil administrators were predominantly British. The Chinese, who retained strong affiliations to nationalist China, represented the vast majority of the population. These two communities had their own ideas on how best to promote sport. A complicating factor was the growing threat of communism and the transition in political power in China. Two plans evolved that created a unique setting for representative sport in Singapore. Membership of the International Olympic Committee was the first step for athletes aspiring to represent the new Singapore Colony team itself. For the Chinese there was an alternative path. They became motivated to attend the China Games in Shanghai, with the hope that it would lead to selection for the China team at the Olympic Games in London.     

A Female Medallist at the 1928 Olympic Art Competitions: The Sculptress Renée Sintenis

Abstract

Olympic Art Competitions were part of the Olympic programme for 36 years in the first half of the twentieth century. According to sport history research, one of the reasons for their suspension was the participation of unknown artists. A careful analysis of the sources used by sport historians reveals that little is known about the artists. Even less is known about female artists in this context. Investigating the example of the German sculptress Renée Sintenis (1888–1965), medallist of the 1928 Olympic Art Competitions, is an attempt to address this research gap. Biographical research about the sculptress provides art historical evidence for her successful career, her impressive oeuvre and her outstanding societal position as a female artist; and, in doing so, backs up the publications by sport historians. Furthermore, the paper illustrates the circumstances under which female artists participated in the Olympic Art Competitions, evidencing that the artistic competitions had not been a topic on the agenda of the International Olympic Committee. Importantly, it also demonstrates that Pierre de Coubertin’s artistic family environment influenced his thinking about female artists in the Olympic Art Competitions.     

Sport burnout inventory–Dual career form for student-athletes: Assessing validity and reliability in a Finnish sample of adolescent athletes

BackgroundThe pressure of pursuing an athletic career simultaneously with education may set adolescent student-athletes at risk for sport and school burnout. Although the 2 life domains of student-athletes are strongly intertwined, so far, there has not been an instrument for investigating sport burnout parallel to school burnout. The aim of the present study was to introduce a sport burnout measure for adolescents in a dual career context and investigate its validity and reliability by using confirmatory factor analysis.MethodsThe participants were 391 student-athletes (51% females) who filled in a questionnaire of sport burnout and background variables in the beginning of upper secondary school.ResultsA 3-factor model or a second-order-factor model described the data better and gave better reliability indices than a 1-factor model. The 3 dimensions of sport burnout were shown to be separate, but closely related constructs. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was obtained by correlating the 3 sport burnout dimensions with depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and sport task values.ConclusionThe results suggest that Sport Burnout Inventory–Dual Career Form (SpBI-DC) is a valid and reliable instrument for investigating sport burnout among adolescent student-athletes.     

A “gathering of enthusiastic expense account tourists”?

The paper addresses the question whether the cooperative relationship between organized sport and state actors has left an impact on the legislative organization of sport policy-making. The idea of whether the Sport Committee of the Bundestag can be categorized as a constituency committee staffed mainly with lobbyists from the sport associations and backbenchers is examined. Empirical results for the hypotheses are mixed. Committee assignments and career trajectories show some features supporting the idea that membership in the Sport Committee is mainly interesting for legislators with a strong sport background. However, committee members have strong party ties suggesting that the committee is also of relevance for the political parties and is under party control. The Sport Committee member’s ties with the sport bodies indicate patterns of co-optation between sport and legislature.     

Ties That Bond: Youth Sport as a Vehicle for Social Identity and Positive Youth Development

An emerging area of research has focused on understanding how the group dynamics of a sport team influence positive youth development (PYD). The identities that youth form through their membership in sport teams (i.e., social identities) have been found to influence teammate behavior and team performance. Yet, minimal work exists on social identity and PYD in youth sport. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social identity and PYD in sport. Method: Youth engaged in recreational sport (N = 219; M_age = 11.61 years, SD = 1.39 years) completed measures of social identity and PYD in sport. The social identity measure assessed 3 dimensions including ingroup ties (IGT; perceptions of similarity, bonding, belongingness), cognitive centrality (importance of being a team member), and ingroup affect (IGA; feelings associated with group membership). A regression analysis was performed separately for 4 PYD outcomes (personal and social skills, goal setting, initiative, negative experiences) with the 3 dimensions of social identity entered as predictors. Results: Regression analyses revealed that IGT and IGA were positively associated with personal and social skills (R² Adj. = .29). Further, IGT predicted initiative (R² Adj. = .16), whereas IGA was positively associated with goal setting (R² Adj. = .17) and negatively associated with negative experiences (R² Adj. = .08). Conclusion: The findings extend previous research highlighting the benefits of social identity on teammate behavior and team performance and demonstrate how social identity may contribute to PYD through sport.     

Competitive balance trends in elite table tennis: the Olympic Games and World Championships 1988-2016

ABSTRACT

Competitive balance is important because it enhances outcome uncertainty and therefore it promotes spectator interest, and encourages government investment in a sport. This article analyses the distribution of gold medals, medals, medal points and top eight points amongst nations in table tennis from 1988 to 2016 at the Olympic Games and the World Championships respectively. A normalised version of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and a coefficient of variation are calculated for each nation’s share of these performance indicators. The key findings are that China dominates both events, with successful female players being more dominant than their male counterparts. The competitive balance for gold medals has declined, whilst there is a trend towards improved competitive balance for top eight points for women, suggesting that more teams are featuring in the top eight (but not necessarily the top three) placings. This research has implications for the development of table tennis competitions. Compared to other racket sports, the issue of competitive imbalance in table tennis is particularly thorny, which threatens the long-term development of this sport. Accordingly, some measures are recommended for the International Olympic Committee and the International Table Tennis Federation to propel a more balanced development of international table tennis.     

论我国体育产业的重新分类

国家统计局新调整公布的《三次产业划分规定》,已将体育与娱乐、文化并列升级为第三产业下的第一门类,与联合国使用的产业分类标准正式接轨。在这一背景下,原有的体育产业分类方式愈来愈显示出与经济学原理、我国国民经济分类背景及产业发展现状的不相符合。本文就体育产业的内涵进行探讨,重新提出分类体系。     

‘The Sole Anti-Democratic Federation in the Entire Olympic Movement’: Early International Association of Athletics Federations Development Initiatives Between Commercialization and Democratization, 1974–1987

Abstract

Studies on the development of Olympic Solidarity as a tool of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to enable National Olympic Committees of developing countries access to resources and influence in the Olympic Movement exist. However, historical scholarship has relatively neglected the development of aid programs by International Federations to explain how they made use of resources to gain influence in international sport politics. Based on extensive multi-national and multi-lingual archival research in the archives of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the German Sport University Cologne, this article explores the establishment and development of the IAAF‘s Technical Aid Program, which had been installed in 1974. Referencing a large amount of previously unknown protocols and written correspondence, the paper critically discusses the IAAF‘s development activities in light of two parallel occurring processes that shaped the federation’s character in the 1970s and 1980s decisively: its increasing commercialization and its path towards democratization in its voting system. It is argued that the IAAF development programs served as a tool to enforce commercial and sport political interests whilst the nature of support remained without clear guidance until the mid-1980s.     

Sex,drugs and science: the IOC’s and IAAF’s attempts to control fairness in sport

Abstract

This paper traces the history of two important policies in sport: rules against drugs and ‘ambiguous’ athletes in women’s events. We identify three phases in the work of the International Olympic Committee’s and International Amateur Athletic Federation’s medical committees: (1) from the mid-1960s to the 1970s, the medical grounding of the committees and the members’ worldviews encouraged the groups to enlist scientific techniques to solve drug use and sex ambiguity issues; (2) from the 1970s to the 1980s, administrative confusion underscored both committees, but scientific personnel gained legitimacy and furthered their own agendas; and (3) from the 1980s to the mid-1980s, the seeds of diversion in sex and drug tests were sown. The central finding of this study is that the stakeholders who shaped anti-doping and sex testing policies took for granted concerns regarding ethics and instead increasingly relied upon medical, scientific, and technical practices to define and control fairness in sport.     

Significant Others and Professionalized Sport Attitudes

Abstract

Using an extension of Webb's concept of professionalized sport attitudes, it was explored whether the type of significant other and degree of parental psychological support were related to professionalized sport attitudes (win/skill orientation) or to nonprofessionalized sport attitudes (fair play/total participation orientation). Comparisons were made between 1236 economically disadvantaged boys and 1096 economically disadvantaged girls enrolled in the summer portion of the National Youth Sports Program, resulting in the following findings. Males demonstrated a more professionalized sport attitude than did females. Males perceived their father/male guardian as the most important significant other whereas females perceived their mother/female guardian as the most important significant other. No relationship was found between the type of significant other (mother/female guardian, father/male guardian, teacher/coach, or friend) and professionalized sport attitudes for both boys and girls. However, parental psychological support factors were found to be related to professionalized sport attitudes for males but not for females. Explanations for the demonstrated relationship between parental psychological factors and professionalized sport attitudes were discussed which included support for the growing concern that parents may be in part responsible for developing “winning” and “skill” values in youth sport participants. This adult intervention, however, presently may only be significant for male youth sport participants.     

An Examination of Sport Participation Tracking and Adult Physical Activity for Participants of the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study

ABSTRACT

Research tracking sport participation from youth to adulthood is relatively rare, as is research that tracks youth sport participation with regard to adult physical activity (PA) levels, especially in the United States. Aims of this study were: 1) To investigate the degree to which sport participation tracked across youth, adolescence, and early adulthood in a sample of participants from the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study (MPS), and 2) Determine if differences existed in their levels of adult PA relative to prior sport participation. In total, 256 (60.8%) former participants from the MPS completed follow-up surveys regarding routine sport participation and PA across the previous year. Sport participation tracked consistently from youth to college. Further, regardless of the level of youth sport participation, adult leisure time PA was relatively consistent among groups. Although the study did not directly test the influence of the MPS on subsequent adult outcomes, our findings suggest that participants’ past sport participation was not a good predictor of adult PA for those who were involved in a program that emphasized fundamental motor skills in youth. Further investigation of such programs can help to better inform their influence on adult PA.     

Motivation for and Extent of Participation in Organized Sports by High School Seniors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to replicate previous studies in which selected demographic and socioeconomic factors were examined as influences on socialization into youth sport and (b) to extend previous research by analyzing the effects of parental influence on involvement in and motivations toward sport. The range of focus in this study was from the time of the subjects' first encounter with organized sport through the senior year of high school. Data were obtained from direct administration of the questionnaire to twelfth-grade students in four Jackson, Mississippi, high schools. Regression analysis revealed that significant independent variables accounted for nearly 26% of the variance in sport involvement in one setting and nearly 10% of the variance in motivations toward involvement in sport and recreational activities. Subjects' gender, their fathers' past athletic experiences, and mothers' educational levels were the most influential independent variables. Influences varied between school sports and out-of-school sports and over the sports career of subjects.     

Playing up to Precarity; Or,the Lost Generation

Abstract

This article considers the development of an academic precariat and its impact on sport history. It discusses the author’s own experiences as a sport historian and the impact of academic unemployment on a generation of would-be sport historians. It argues that not only is there an academic precariat within sport history but that this is the result of internal and external factors. Externally it reflects the challenges to the academy from market reforms and the neo-liberalization of the academic world, and internally it reflects the failure of senior academics to resist those reforms thereby allowing junior colleagues to take the full force of their impact. The result is a lost generation of sport historians.     

Intellectuals and Warriors: The Ideological and Political Basis of Francoist University Sport, 1933–1946

Abstract

Examining the use of sport by totalitarian regimes during the interbellum period reveals that politicians saw the potential of sport not only for patriotic expression and international exhibition but also as a means to exert control over youth. Francoism participated in such uses of sport, imitating German and Italian organizations’ development of a youth sport structure. The Franco regime emphasized sport in universities to the extent that it made physical education a required subject to obtain a degree. This study’s primary objective is to reconstruct the doctrinal genesis of Francoist university sport, tracing it to the years before the Spanish Civil War, specifically noting the international influences that sustained it and the draft regulations that gave it legal standing despite resistance from both university youth and from sport. To this end, documentary sources are analyzed, including archival material, printed sources (legal decrees written during the period examined in this study and historical accounts of the subject), publications of Falange and related organizations, and speeches and proclamations from Falange and the Sindicato Español Universitario (SEU).     

The Differential Effect of Indirect Instruction in the Teaching of Sport Skills on Critical Thinking and Self-esteem of Early Adolescent Boys Placed at Risk

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effect of sport skills instruction (SSI) and sport skills instruction plus initiative games (SSI +) on the critical thinking (CT) and self-esteem scores of early adolescent boys placed at risk. Students in the SSI + group ( n = 36) participated in initiative games classes in addition to their sport skills activities. Students in the SSI group (n = 44) participated in the sport skills activities only. Since the boys were divided by age (10-11 & 12-13), the influence of age on the dependent variables was also investigated. Classes taught by the initiative games teacher were student-centered while the sport skills classes were teacher-centered. Significant differences between teacher behaviors occurred in interaction patterns, instructional strategies, and management concerns. There were no differences on self-esteem scores. The results supported the addition of initiative games to SSI to foster CT with this group of participants.     

Sport Management with Historical Perspective

Abstract

Aspirations are prospective and forward looking; what does one seek to achieve? Reflections are retrospective and gaze backwards; has one achieved said aspirations? The following narrative, while indulgently about one individual, is also intended to reflect on wider challenges and opportunities for scholars working in sport history. Academic careers are replete with pragmatism amidst idealism: in my case it was a journey from history, to sport history, and then to sport management.     

Sport and civil society in the Nordic region

Abstract

This paper examines the key elements within the relationships of sport and civil society in Scandinavia. The analysis combines themes and developments in Nordic sport and civil society, such as the role of the welfare state and the impacts of neoliberalism, with consideration of specific national experiences, especially in Finland. The discussion has four main parts. First, we set out the principal features of the ‘Nordic model’ of society, and how it shapes sport and civil society relations. Second, we advance a Finnish case study, examining the historical connections of three sectors to the national sport culture. Third, we consider how, in recent decades, the Nordic model has encountered and sought to respond to neoliberalism and globalization processes. Finally, we explore how Nordic societies have sought to influence globalization processes and ‘global civil society’ through sport, specifically through taking lead roles within the transnational ‘sport for development and peace’ sector.