Performers' responses to stressors encountered in sport organisations

Abstract

We investigated athletes' responses to organisational stressors. Ten sport performers (five males and five females) were interviewed with regard to the organisational-related demands they had encountered and their responses to these stressors. The main emotional responses that were revealed were anger, anxiety, disappointment, distress, happiness, hope, relief, reproach and resentment. The main attitudinal responses were beliefs, motivation and satisfaction. The main behavioural responses were categorised as verbal and physical. The data indicate that performers generally respond to organisational stressors with a wide range of emotions, attitudes and behaviours. The findings are discussed in relation to the extant literature and in terms of their implications for applied practice and future research. Consultants should employ reactive strategies alongside proactive approaches to ensure that performers are psychologically prepared to manage and cope with any demands that are not eliminated. Future research should focus on performers' cognitive appraisals of the organisational stressors they encounter.     

Strategic alliances in sport tourism: National sport organisations and sport tour operators

This qualitative case study provides a sport-oriented perspective of sport tourism. It examines a strategic alliance between an Australian national sport organisation (NSO), the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), and a sport tour operator (STO), FanFirm. The study contributes insights into how NSOs can facilitate and develop sport tourism for major events through alliances with STOs. Findings indicate that by collaborating with the STO, the ARU accrued a range of intangible and financial benefits, which in turn provided an impetus for ongoing maintenance of the strategic alliance. In addition, the alliance was perceived to deliver advantages beyond the NSO–STO nexus, with rugby fans and host governments of rugby events also benefiting. The study demonstrates that sport organisations can play a role in maximising the tourism outcomes of major events and also suggests that smaller-scale, ‘bottom-up’ cross-sector alliances can contribute to maximising tourism outcomes of major sport events.     

The organisational stressors encountered by athletes with a disability

Organisational stressors have been found to be prevalent and problematic for sport performers, with research identifying demographic differences in the stressors encountered. Nevertheless, extant sport psychology research on the topic of stress has generally focused on able-bodied athletes; whilst that which has been conducted on performers with a disability has typically recruited relatively small samples to explore a narrow selection of organisational stressors, or examined other components of the stress process. The purpose of the present study was to explore the various organisational stressors that athletes with a disability encounter. The sample comprised 18 elite athletes with a disability (10 male, 8 female) who had a classified disability and experience of competing at a major championships in their sport (e.g., Paralympic Games, World Championships). Participants took part in a semi-structured interview which was analysed by drawing from grounded theory procedures. A total of 316 organisational stressors were identified, which were abstracted into 31 concepts and four, previously conceptualised, exploratory schemes: leadership and personnel issues, cultural and team issues, logistical and environmental issues, and performance and personal issues. This study not only provides the first illustration of the prevalence of organisational stressors for athletes with a disability, but also significantly points to salient similarities and distinct differences between the stress experiences of performers with and without a disability.     

Board roles in organisations with a dual board system: Empirical evidence from Taiwanese nonprofit sport organisations

Research on the roles of the board of unitary board systems is well established, while explorations of dual board systems are very limited. We know little about nonprofit sport organisations board roles in countries such as Taiwan that operate with a dual board structure. In consequence, this study explored the roles taken by the board of directors and the board of supervisors in Taiwanese nonprofit sport organisations. Four overarching board of director roles were identified: manage vision and purpose; board duty; human resource and fundraising; and stakeholder focus. For the board of supervisors two primary functions emerged: monitoring results; and board duty and process. The findings of the study extend our understanding of the governance of nonprofit sport organisations and the differences that exist between dual board and single board systems of governance.     

A post-social conceptual framework for exploring object narratives in sport organisations

In this article we propose a theoretical framework for narrative analysis that gives voice to objects in sport organisations. Despite considerable interest in the symbolic and mnemonic potency of some sporting objects – most notably memorabilia – many organisational objects go unnoticed, whilst little attention has been paid to methods for gathering stories from inanimate objects. We suggest that material objects in sport organisations participate in narrative production and therefore constitute a rich investigative site. We adopt a post-social approach to narrative methodology where objects are recognised as non-human actors in organisational sense-making, not as narrative repositories that ‘contain’ stories and memories. A three-domain research framework is developed recommending an approach to eliciting an object narrative within a sport organisation. First, object materiality exposes the significant networks of forces, materials and people – and therefore episodes and actors – that engage with and through objects. Second, since people and objects are enmeshed in sequenced, workplace activities, object practice allows organisational agents to define what stories objects can tell whilst objects reciprocally bound the scope of human performance. Third, object biography provides a strategy to map the connections and transitions that occur over the lifecourse of an object, which reveals a changing web of organisational relations.     

Coping with stressors in elite sport: A coach perspective

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to supplement previous work that identified the stressors experienced by coaches and examine the coping strategies that elite-level coaches employ to overcome stressors. Three elite coaches were interviewed and were required to identify three prominent stressors that they had experienced before discussing how they attempted to cope with them. The selected stressors included both performance and organizational types, and the associated coping attempts included strategies conforming to problem-, emotion-, avoidance-, appraisal-, and approach-focused dimensions. While specific forms of coping were identified, findings also highlighted that coping strategies were employed across performance and organizational stressors, rather than being employed for one or the other. Implications for future research opportunities within the area are presented.     

Organisational stressors,coping, and outcomes in competitive sport

Organisational stressors are associated with positive and negative outcomes in extant literature; however, little is known about which demands predict which outcomes. Extant theory and literature also suggests that coping style may influence an individual’s resilience or vulnerability to stressors and, subsequently, their psychological responses and outcomes. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine the main effects of organisational stressors and coping styles on various outcomes (e.g., positive and negative affect, performance satisfaction). Sport performers (n = 414) completed measures of organisational stressors, coping styles, positive and negative affect, and performance satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses revealed positive relationships of both goals and development stressors (duration and intensity) and team and culture stressors (frequency and intensity) on negative affect. Furthermore, problem-focused coping was positively related to positive affect, and emotion-focused coping was positively related to negative affect. This study furthers theoretical knowledge regarding the associations that both organisational stressors (and their dimensions) and coping styles can have with various outcomes, and practical understanding regarding the optimal design of stress management interventions.     

Psychological resilience in sport performers: a review of stressors and protective factors

Abstract

Psychological resilience is important in sport because athletes must utilise and optimise a range of mental qualities to withstand the pressures that they experience. In this article, we discuss psychological resilience in sport performers via a review of the stressors athletes encounter and the protective factors that help them withstand these demands. It is hoped that synthesising what is known in these areas will help researchers gain a deeper profundity of resilience in sport, and also provide a rigorous and robust foundation for the development of a sport-specific measure of resilience. With these points in mind, we divided the narrative into two main sections. In the first section, we review the different types of stressors encountered by sport performers under three main categories: competitive, organisational and personal. Based on our recent research examining psychological resilience in Olympics champions, in the second section we discuss the five main families of psychological factors (viz. positive personality, motivation, confidence, focus, perceived social support) that protect the best athletes from the potential negative effect of stressors. It is anticipated that this review will help sport psychology researchers examine the interplay between stressors and protective factors, which will, in turn, focus the analytical lens on the processes underlying psychological resilience in athletes.     

Stress in elite sport performers: a comparative study of competitive and organizational stressors

The purpose of this study was to compare the content and quantity of competitive and organizational stressors in elite athletes. Ten international performers were interviewed about sources of stress. Content analysis of the data involved categorizing the demands associated primarily and directly with competitive performance (#CS = 21) under the post hoc dimension "performance issues", and the demands associated primarily and directly with the sport organization (#OS = 72) under one of the following four post hoc dimensions: "environmental issues", "personal issues", "leadership issues" and "team issues". Frequency analysis revealed that the participants mentioned the competitive stressors (sigma = 95) less than the organizational stressors (sigma = 215). Further analysis within these categories showed that the mean number of participants citing individual competitive stressors (M = 4.52) was greater than the mean number of participants citing individual organizational stressors (M = 2.99). The findings indicate that elite athletes experience and recall more demands associated primarily and directly with the sport organization than with competitive performance. Furthermore, this population appears more likely to mention similar competitive stressors but varied organizational stressors, probably because the former are inherent and endemic to elite sport, whereas the latter are essentially extraneous and widely distributed.     

Stress in elite sport performers: A comparative study of competitive and organizational stressors

The purpose of this study was to compare the content and quantity of competitive and organizational stressors in elite athletes. Ten international performers were interviewed about sources of stress. Content analysis of the data involved categorizing the demands associated primarily and directly with competitive performance (#CS = 21) under the post hoc dimension “performance issues”, and the demands associated primarily and directly with the sport organization (#OS = 72) under one of the following four post hoc dimensions: “environmental issues”, “personal issues”, “leadership issues” and “team issues”. Frequency analysis revealed that the participants mentioned the competitive stressors (Σ = 95) less than the organizational stressors (Σ = 215). Further analysis within these categories showed that the mean number of participants citing individual competitive stressors (M = 4.52) was greater than the mean number of participants citing individual organizational stressors (M = 2.99). The findings indicate that elite athletes experience and recall more demands associated primarily and directly with the sport organization than with competitive performance. Furthermore, this population appears more likely to mention similar competitive stressors but varied organizational stressors, probably because the former are inherent and endemic to elite sport, whereas the latter are essentially extraneous and widely distributed.     

民族传统体育参与新农村体育建设研究

探讨民族传统体育参与新农村体育建设的相关问题.民族传统体育参与新农村体育建设的意义在于,提高农民健康水平,促进经济发展,促进农村体育资源最大化,有利于突出文化特色和促进“乡风文明”建设.在此基础上,对民族传统体育参与新农村建设的原则、目标和模式进行探索,并提出对策,为新农村体育建设提供参考.     

阳光体育运动视域下的学校体育的一分钟管理

对开展阳光体育运动的背景、目的以及一分钟管理思想进行了介绍,并提出了阳光体育运动背景下学校体育管理的必要性,最后提出了在学校体育管理中运用一分钟管理理论,能够提高学生体育锻炼的积极性,而且对实现学校体育的科学有效的管理具有深远的意义.     

The moral worth of sport reconsidered: Contributions of recreational sport and competitive sport to life aspirations and psychological well-being

Abstract

Based on self-determination theory, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that importance ratings of life aspirations would mediate the effects of participation in recreational and competitive sport on psychological well-being. In addition, the effects of sport participation on psychological well-being were hypothesized to indicate that, compared with competitive athletes, recreational athletes would report higher psychological well-being. The participants were 118 university students (83 males, 35 females) with a mean age of 20.8 years (s = 7.6). In accordance with the initial hypotheses, a path analysis supported the mediating effect of importance ratings of life aspirations, but not of attainment ratings of life aspirations, on the relationship between participation in recreational and competitive sport and psychological well-being. The indirect effects observed for importance ratings supported the conclusion that recreational athletes showed a preference for intrinsic life aspirations compared with competitive athletes and reported higher psychological well-being. Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that the moral worth of sport does not reside so much in the frequency with which individuals engage in sport but in the goals and values people express through sport participation.     

"戏化"的体育——中国体育的土壤特征与气候流变

对早期中国与希腊戏剧之间发展异同的比较,揭示了希腊体育、中国“豪侠”、“武风”、戏剧三者之间相互的包容性,深层次地探讨中国早期戏剧中的体育特征。早期中国体育土壤特征不仅仅存在于“豪侠”、“武风”的军事活动中而更多的表现在早期戏剧活动之中。     

The moral worth of sport reconsidered: contributions of recreational sport and competitive sport to life aspirations and psychological well-being

Based on self-determination theory, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that importance ratings of life aspirations would mediate the effects of participation in recreational and competitive sport on psychological well-being. In addition, the effects of sport participation on psychological well-being were hypothesized to indicate that, compared with competitive athletes, recreational athletes would report higher psychological well-being. The participants were 118 university students (83 males, 35 females) with a mean age of 20.8 years (s = 7.6). In accordance with the initial hypotheses, a path analysis supported the mediating effect of importance ratings of life aspirations, but not of attainment ratings of life aspirations, on the relationship between participation in recreational and competitive sport and psychological well-being. The indirect effects observed for importance ratings supported the conclusion that recreational athletes showed a preference for intrinsic life aspirations compared with competitive athletes and reported higher psychological well-being. Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that the moral worth of sport does not reside so much in the frequency with which individuals engage in sport but in the goals and values people express through sport participation.     

体育赛事中体育产品有效提供的机制研究

长期以来,我国理论界对体育产品的定义存在着很大的分歧,本研究从现代市场学的角度对体育产品进行了定义:体育产品是一种体育产业的生产组织为消费者参与(亲身参加、观赏等)体育活动而生产、提供的一种服务.体育产品是非实物形态的服务产品(包括竞技表演服务和健身娱乐服务),属于提供服务的第三产业范畴.在此基础上,针对体育产品的消费特征进行深入分析,对体育产品在我国大型体育赛事中提供机制的运行方式和制约条件进行分析,以期为构建可以实现体育产品有效提供的体育产品复合的多元的制度模式提供理论基础和制度建议.     

Shame in sport

ABSTRACT

To date, there has been little philosophical consideration of the concept of shame in sport, yet sport seems to be an environment conducive to the experience of shame due to its public and unequivocal nature demonstrating failure and success. Whilst much of the philosophical commentary of shame in sport suggests it acts as a quasi-virtue that holds the spirit of sport together and prevents cheating and other bad behaviour, I will argue that the real experience of shame (in contrast to embarrassment or guilt) is an adverse emotion, that undermines athlete well being and a good sports experience. This paper will provide an analysis of the concept of shame and its relation to other similar emotions, consider its ethical function, and evaluate its effect upon elite athletes in sport. I will conclude by arguing that those involved in sport need to recognise the destructive effect that shame can have upon individuals, how it can manifest itself in other negative emotions such as anger and depression and how sports authorities need to work harder to counter the pervasive and negative effects of shame in sport.