The Discursive Construction of National Identity through the Swiss Magazine SKI Before World War I

The media discourse is significant in terms of the spread of Nordic skiing in Europe. The term sport, however, was an imprecise translation of the Nordic ‘Idraet’. Idraet meant the combination of sportsman and scholarship. The book The First Crossing of Greenland can be seen as a trigger for the so-called ‘Nansen-Feaver’, which spread Idraet after 1890. German-speaking magazines amalgamated it with ‘Wilhelminian’ Nordic enthusiasm. It was the birth of ski clubs everywhere. A German student, Wilhelm Paulcke, intended to copy Nansen's style. Subsequently, a successful alpine winter trip stylised him to the Central European Nansen. His goal was to build a Central European ski association and to unite all German-speaking skiers. But, Swiss Ski Association (SSV) was founded one year before the Central European Ski Association (MESV) consisting of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. And the Swiss would only have joined the MESV when their magazine SKI became the association's official publication. A few German clubs were opposed and renounced. They did not want to accept neither French-speaking members nor articles. Paulcke finally accepted the SKI, but later, the SSV decided to choose their independent way and leave the MESV. A national sport was growing up.     

Sport physiology research and governing gender in sport—a power–knowledge relation?

This article sets out to show how physiological knowledge about sex/gender relates to power issues within sport. The sport physiology research at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (Swedish acronym: GIH) during the twentieth century is analysed in relation to the political rationality concerning gender at GIH and within the Swedish Sports Confederation during the same period. The analysis is constituted by Michel Foucault's notion of power–knowledge relations and regimes oftruth. The construction of sex/gender in the physiological research changes over time. Comparative studies on the function of ‘sexual difference’ during strenuous work, which, in hindsight, might be seen to restrict women's sport participation, was gradually displaced by a lack of interest in sexual difference, and later by a growing fascination with sexual difference from a ‘gender perspective’ in terms of women being ‘different but equal’ to men. This displacement goes hand in hand with a displacement of the political rationality concerning gender at GIH and within the Swedish Sports Confederation, where a pre-World War II strategy of excluding women's competitive sport participation, restricting women's physical exercise to gymnastics, was after 1945 followed by a strategy of including women. This was at first in the name of ‘women's right to do sport’—where the physiological research advocated this endeavour—and later in the name of ‘women's right to do sport on their own terms’. However, the research was still being conducted based on the male physiology as the norm.     

Federal Government Involvement in Australian Disability Sport, 1981–2015

Abstract

Few historical accounts of Australian sport policy have explicitly profiled the federal government’s involvement in disability sport. In this paper, we draw on the concept of ableism as a lens to address this lacuna. In doing so, we profile the history of the Commonwealth government involvement in disability sport and explore how the policy of ‘mainstreaming’ has emerged through partnerships led by the Australian Paralympic Committee with National Sporting Originations (NSOs) and government. We highlight that whilst these changes have arguably made mainstream NSOs more aware of their legal obligations and have led to positive changes in the provision of opportunities for people with a disability through the development of ‘Paralympic pathways’, there is some evidence of potential caveats of ‘mainstreaming’. Specifically, we point to an emerging body of evidence which suggests that despite these policy measures, people with disabilities still report being marginalized and excluded from ‘mainstream’ sporting programmes. Therefore, we question if less governmental leadership is the right path given the limitations of the present policy framework. Additionally, we highlight how performance-based funding mechanisms such as ‘Winning Edge’ are narrowing who is eligible for funding and thus curtailing finite resources for only the most ‘abled’ of the disabled.     

From Development of Sport to Development through Sport: A Paradigm Shift for Sport Development in South Korea

During the past several decades, South Korea has gained tremendous international recognition by achieving an excellent performance in a variety of international sport competitions and hosting numerous mega-sporting events. Although success in elite sport (i.e. Development of Sport approach) has contributed to making South Korea one of the sport powerhouses in the world, South Korea has paid very little attention to the role that sport can play as a tool for social and personal development (i.e. Development through Sport approach). Similarly, scholars also paid little attention to the ‘development through sport’ approach in South Korea while predominantly focusing their attention in taking the ‘development of sport’ approach. In recent years, however, the South Korean government has begun to show interest in the ‘development through sport’ approach to become a truly advanced sporting nation. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore how South Korea's paradigm in sport has historically shifted from ‘development of sport’ to ‘development through sport’ in its socio-political context.     

Image dimensions of two Scandinavian endurance winter sport events

ABSTRACT

This study investigates event images of two Scandinavian endurance skiing events. It adds to the relatively limited literature on endurance sport event images and provides a better understanding of how participants perceive images of the cross country ski events Birkebeinerrennet and Vasaloppet, and to what extent the images are similar and different. A qualitative comparative case-study design was applied. The interview guide consisted of open-ended semi-structured questions, and 52 participants in Birkebeinerrennet and Vasaloppet were interviewed during March 2017. A ‘sport endurance event image’ can be composed of at least ten dimensions and associated aspects: ‘Organizational’, ‘Environmental’, ‘Emotional’, ‘Social’, ‘Historical’, ‘Physical’, ‘Competition’, ‘Cultural’, ‘Equipment’ and ‘Destination’. The findings confirm and expand earlier identified dimensions of sport event images by identifying two new dimensions (‘Equipment’ and ‘Destination’). The image of Birkebeinerrennet was more aligned with the destination than Vasaloppet, while the overall stronger and more versatile image of Vasaloppet makes it less vulnerable to loss of interest from narrow segments of participants. We offer insights about how participants perceive the race images, how two rather similar events also differ in their images, and how this can contribute to a better understanding of differences in popularity. The findings can help organisers work towards images that attract desirable visitors and participants. Future research should follow up these findings through quantitative investigations across different types of long-distance, endurance sport events taking place in different environments, seasons and regions.     

Reclaiming Canada Through Its ‘Ancient’ Sport: Lacrosse and the Native Sons of Canada in Late 1920s Alberta

Lacrosse has long been considered Canada's national sport and, beginning in the latter half of the nineteenth century, became tied to the nationalist ambitions that sought to promote a national identity through the ‘creation’ of a uniquely Canadian game. Popular in the decades prior to the turn of the twentieth century, lacrosse in Alberta began to decline after the First World War, becoming a marginal sport played only in the province's larger cities. A brief and unexpected revival of lacrosse occurred in two communities, Edmonton and Lethbridge, in the 1920s championed by a nativist organization, the Native Sons of Canada (NSC). For this group lacrosse represented a natural means to promote their ‘Canada First’ ideology to young male Albertans. In Edmonton, the Native Sons sponsored a senior men's lacrosse team that garnered some local and regional attention, while attempts by the Lethbridge assembly to promote youth lacrosse in 1927 were largely unsuccessful. Despite the continuing affinity between Canadian nationalism and lacrosse, the NSC were ineffective in their efforts to revive interest in the sport. The ‘national’ game did not provide nativists in Alberta the platform they sought to promote their nationalist agenda.     

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 Heroine of Free China: A New Image of Diplomatic Envoys and the Female Body of the Liangyou Women’s National Basketball Team in the 1950s

The Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and Communist Party that ended in 1949 caused a confrontation between the ‘Free China’ in Taiwan claimed by the Republic of China, the KMT that retreated to Taiwan, and the ‘New China’ established by the People’s Republic of China. The sport policies of the ‘Two Chinas’ were based on the respective political positions, which were affected greatly by the Cold War. Taiwan, ruled by the KMT affiliating with the camp of the capitalists led by the USA, was the revival base to connect with Chinese in several East and Southeast Asian countries and to connect with other Asian anti-Communist countries. Political and military policies contributed to Taiwan women’s basketball development during the Cold War in East Asia and the first national team named Liangyou thus emerged. The Liangyou’s life symbolized the beginning and the phased ending of women’s basketball development in Taiwan, and skilful players of noble character practised loyal diplomatic missions and publicized the strong body-mind heroine image of Free China. Their healthy and cheerful character along with a passion for basketball provided new ideas of women’s roles in post-war Taiwan. Trips for overseas competitions let players experience the outside world.     

‘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.     

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.     

‘Soldiers may Fall but Athletes Never!’: Sport as an Antidote to Nervous Diseases and National Decline in America, 1865–1905

During the second half of the nineteenth century concerns about hysteria and other nervous diseases in males became extensive in some countries. One presumed cause of such afflictions were military conflicts such as the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. The Anglo-Saxon, at least according to many British and American commentators, had more sand, pluck, and courage than did men of other nations. In the United States, concerns about ‘Soldier's Heart’, a condition brought forth by the Civil War (1861–1865), were soon replaced by ‘neurasthenia’, a term used by American physician George Miller Beard in 1869. In an 1872 article entitled ‘Are Americans Less Healthy Than Europeans’, author C. S. Young hoped that the types of ‘games of competition’ that were infused with the values of Muscular Christianity’ would become part of ‘every educational establishment in the land’ so that the youth of America would acquire not only muscular vigor but ‘the manly virtues of truth, honor, and fair play’. Some attention would be given to such values; however, attention turned increasingly to ‘gridiron football’, a game likely to be infused with rampant commercialism that rapidly became the predominating sport in American institutions of higher learning. In 1898, American physician Morton H. Prince asked whether football might cause ‘traumatic neurasthenia and hysteria’ in males in the way that these conditions sometimes occurred among men engaged in a battle, and answered his own question by replying ‘no’! Football players were so well-prepared physically and mentally that there would be ‘no shock or terror’ attendant upon their injuries as might occur in a military conflict. By the time the 1903 edition of Roosevelt’s The Rough Riders: A History of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry was published debates about intercollegiate athletics that continue today were reaching a fever pitch.     

Personal development of disadvantaged youth through community sports: a theory-driven analysis of relational strategies

Abstract

Participant–practitioner relationships in community ‘sport-for-development’ practices are seen as central in working towards broader developmental outcomes. Using Noddings’ Ethics of Care as an analytical framework, we investigated relational strategies of practitioners in three community sport practices (Belgium) to understand the personal developmental potential of these relationships. Based on the data (participatory observations, interviews, focus groups), we identified the following themes that are viewed as fundamental in building relationships that hold the potential to instigate personal development for young people in disadvantaged situations: (a) time demanding interactions, (b) authenticity of practitioners, (c) equalizing expertise, (d) non-judgmental approach, (e) practitioners’ cultural capital, (f) co-organizing activities, (g) a ‘thousand chances’ philosophy, and (h) providing individual support. The identified themes can be used to develop youth-centred and qualitative evaluation methodologies that are more congruent with the daily work of community sport workers and, by doing so, go beyond a narrow quantitative ‘outcome-fixated’ evaluation dogma.     

‘Necessary Cessation from Toil and Work’: Young Christian Workers and the Question of Sport on Sundays in Post-War Melbourne

Abstract

The Young Christian Workers (YCW) is an international movement for young Catholics, engaged through a method of education called ‘See, Judge, and Act’. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the Australian YCW became known for running campaigns on a range of social issues and the provision of services – including sporting events and competitions. In this paper, the development of the Australian YCW Football Association during the 1950s is explored, and the history of YCW members’ participation in public debates about the morality of Sunday sport, which culminated in a local referendum in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell in 1959, is traced. Drawing on archival materials and interviews conducted with former young workers, the paper explores tensions within Christianity around the meaning of ‘leisure’, ‘idleness’, and Sunday as a day of observance and rest. This examination of the Melbourne debate of 1959 will show how religious tensions around Sunday sport were shaped by class, youth, and masculine identities.     

Running in the Sun: The Pyongyang Marathon and its Evolution into a Sport Tourism Event

Abstract

In April 2014, for the first time since the event was established, over 200 foreign recreational runners participated in the Pyongyang Marathon, which is part of Day of the Sun commemorating the birthday of Kim Il-sung. The decision of the North Korean regime to open the event to foreign amateurs was unusual, thus the paper examines this new approach to the marathon, and to tourism in general, by contextualizing them within an historical perspective. It is argued that tourism policy under Kim Jong-un, the third leader of the ‘Kim dynasty’, was unprecedented in terms of its systematic approach to the development of a meaningful tourism industry while also particularly emphasizing Western tourism and sport tourism. With the inclusion of the marathon into its tourism industry, North Korea strengthened its place in the worldwide trend of sport event tourism, yet the Pyongyang Marathon has stood out by being more about branding a country than a city. In this regard, this sport tourism event has offered the visitors a look into a ‘different normality’, which was indicative to the rationale of the regime that benefited from the attention it drew through its image as ‘unexpected’ and ‘mysterious’.     

‘Dashing about with the greatest gallantry’: polo in India and the British metropole, 1862–1914

ABSTRACT

The period from 1870 to the Great War was defined by a new and more intensive phase of imperialism. Following previous debates initiated by scholars such as MacKenzie, Burton, or Bayly this article analyses the impact of Empire on the metropole. In suggesting that the imperial space was not a one-way street, the paper is going beyond Said's orientalist approach. This argument uses the example of the Indian game of polo. Unlike most imperial sports, polo was adapted by the British from their colonial subjects, creating the opportunity of a common cultural space. How did polo influence socio-cultural and political power constellations in India and the metropole? The paper will provide nuance on regional contexts and the effects of sport on specific groups. Unpacking the resulting interdependencies, ambivalences, and the mutability of polo in the British imperial self-image, the paper does not neglect Indian agency. Polo showcases an interrelation of ideas and beliefs which are used to understand the respective environment as well as the internationalisation of sport. Researching sport in an imperial context and its interactions on a local and transnational level can thus display rising asymmetries of political, cultural, and social agencies in a global process.     

Small Nation,Big Sport: Basque Ball – Its Past and Present Cultural Meanings for the Basques

Abstract

The Basques are a nation living in the Basque Country – a territory that is divided between two states – France and Spain. Isolated in the mountainous terrain they have preserved their original culture and collective identity. However, they still need to struggle for recognition, using some elements of their own culture to promote their identity and reject their status as a peripheral region of Spain or France. One of such elements is sport, especially so-called ‘traditional sports’ which this nation has preserved over centuries. The aim of this paper is thus to analyze one example of such a sport – Basque ball and its historical and present situation, connections with other elements of culture and its socio-cultural importance for the Basques.     

‘Playing with space’: a conceptual basis for investigating active sport tourism practices

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes a conceptual tool, the expression ‘playing with space’, for the analysis of active sport tourism as a meaningful social practice. The expression issues from practice theories and pragmatic understandings of space, which emphasize the processual and contextual dimensions of human action and seek to seize altogether the corporealities and shared conceptions that constitute action. On such views, sport tourists are considered as reflexive and embodied beings, enjoying sensations, mobilities and places, and constantly (re)making sense of their own practices. I argue that the notion of ‘play’ allows for a comprehensive understanding of the ways active sport tourists engage with space, where space is viewed as an object or material for this play. Three major dimensions of active sport tourism are then identified: a set of playful and game-like practices with global space resulting in shared imaginaries and large-scale mobilities; a kinaesthetic play, based on freedom and sensations and deeply engaged in the materiality of the places and the omnipresent media practices that support the other dimensions of play while being fully integrated into the experience of sport tourism. This conceptual framework is a way to better understand the motives and practices of sport tourists; it is also a way to underline wider trends of contemporary leisure cultures: such cultures are increasingly integrated into the daily spheres of activity, increasingly playful and increasingly mediatized.     

Managing diversity and European policy: Towards a typology for sport pedagogy

Abstract

This article adds to the growing body of knowledge in sport pedagogy and focuses specifically upon the intersection of gender and disability. Its purpose is twofold, to create a typology for examining good practice in sport pedagogy that is reflective and inclusive and raises awareness of the diverse needs of all participants in physical activity ‘regardless’ of gender and ability for all children. We acknowledge that access to physical activity, education and sport are complex and multifaceted, however, the main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of ‘diversity’ by focusing specifically upon the role of gender and ability. Through an examination of gender and disability policies in official European Union (EU) policy documents and commercial examples of policy-in-practice we propose a typology for diversity and diversity management. A close look at EU level is instructive because national policies of the member countries vary a lot with respect to diversity issues but should be in accordance in the main areas. Such a reading enables the building of a typology of recommendations for how such policy can be rendered in sport pedagogy practice. We suggest six significant, but related principles that include (1) mainstreaming; (2) teaching and coaching sensitive to difference; (3) empowerment; (4) inclusion; (5) adaptation; and (6) inner differentiation. This holistic typology seeks to ‘mainstream’ issues of gender and disability policy by providing a set of principles that can be applied to a range of teaching and coaching settings.     

The Development of Elite Disability Sport in China: A Critical Review

Abstract

This paper examines the use of elite disability sport by the Chinese Government to promote disability sport and to establish a disability culture and social environment in the Republic of China from 1983 to 2012. Bearing in mind that earlier Chinese society did not perceive the international disability movement as an educational process, the paper begins with an interpretation of why elite disability sport received the government’s strong support when it was introduced to China, and considers its policies in the context of the government’s possible political motivations. It then examines the elite disability sport system in order to understand operational practices that were used to achieve success. It is concluded that the support of the government is the key to elite disability sport success. This was especially the case when the China Disabled Persons’ Federation underwent intensive development, maximizing the use of resources.     

Solving sport’s ‘relative age’ problem: a systematic review of proposed solutions

ABSTRACT

Though the existence of Relative Age Effects (RAEs) has been documented through a multitude of studies spanning various sports and levels of play, application of solutions related to RAEs has been limited. In this review, the strengths and weaknesses of various proposed solutions to RAEs in youth sport are considered. Our objective was to identify, collate, and disseminate a comprehensive list of solutions related to the prevalence of RAEs in youth sport. English language, peer-reviewed articles were searched using the SPORTDiscuss database. Keywords ‘relative age’, ‘relative age effect*’, and sport* were used to locate research articles. The inclusion criteria were the following: (1) publication date between January 1980 and December 2018; (2) solutions were suggested related to RAEs. Sixty-three peer-reviewed publications contained proposed solutions to RAEs. Many solutions have been proposed to address RAEs in sport. Most are theoretical and there has been no attempt to implement them. Future research should test possible proposed solutions to RAEs in sport. However, implementing these solutions has the potential to both positively and negatively affect career and life outcomes for those athletes involved. Therefore, it is important to be cautious in how these possible solutions are tested.