Don’t bring it on: the case against cheerleading as a collegiate sport

The 2010 Quinnipiac cheerleading case raises interesting questions about the nature of both cheerleading and sport, as well as about the moral character of each. In this paper we explore some of those questions, and argue that no form of college cheerleading currently in existence deserves, from a moral point of view, to be recognized as a sport for Title IX purposes. To reach that conclusion, we evaluate cheerleading using a quasi-legal argument based on the NCAA’s definition of sport and conclude that cheerleading fails to qualify as a legitimate sport. A philosophical argument leads to the same conclusion, primarily because of the essential entertainment-aspect of cheerleading. We then examine a consequentialist moral case for making cheerleading an intercollegiate sport and argue that the balance of moral reasons is against doing so. Finally, we look at cheerleading’s newest offspring – Acrobatics and Tumbling, and STUNT – and express our moral reservations about their current claims to be worthy of Title IX recognition. While we would not claim that any single one of our arguments is decisive, we are convinced that the cumulative weight of the arguments against granting intercollegiate sport status to any of the forms of cheerleading or its derivatives is, at present, irresistible.     

Gender Differences in Coaching Philosophy: The Case of Female Basketball Teams

Abstract

With the advent of Title IX, the proportion of female participants in interscholastic sport has risen sharply while the proportion of female coaches has dropped precipitously. This paper seeks to determine whether there are any differences in coaching philosophy by gender. Questionnaires were sent to the coaches of 600 high school girls' basketball teams selected randomly from the 48 contiguous states. There were 250 usable ones returned for a response rate of 42%. The questionnaires included items designed to assess the attitudes and behaviors of coaches in five areas of coaching philosophy: (1) the coach's role in the overall development of athletes; (2) conditions believed essential to maximize team performance; (3) team rules used; (4) use of sports aphorisms; and (5) expectations of athletes. Summing the findings, we found that in 83 of the 100 comparisons there were no statistical differences in the means of the male and female coaches. In the 17 instances where there were statistically significant differences, 14 times the female coaches were on the more traditional side. Several possible explanations for this interesting finding are discussed.     

Opening a Window on Early Twentieth-Century School Sport in Cape Town Society

An attempt was made at recording structured sport in non-White schools in Cape Town, South Africa, prior to 1956. The study was introduced with a historical presentation of sport at mission schools. It was shown how these schools inherited a legacy of deprivation and neglect that impacted upon sport participation. Yet, champion sportspersons at these schools gained some recognition in a racist and hostile society. This was possible due to the efforts of a few Teachers' League of South Africa (TLSA) campaigners who saw sport development as part of their mission of uplifting children in their charge. The TLSA attempted organising athletic meetings from 1916 onwards. Teachers belonging to this organisation were instrumental in establishing the first mass-based school sport organisation in Cape Town in 1928, the Central School Sports Union (CSU). This organisation was the only avenue of meaningful sport participation for most of Cape Town's marginalised children. A study of the CSU enables historians to open a window not only on social and political complexities of school sport but also on the broader early twentieth-century Cape society.     

A Theory of Sport and Politics

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

The role of sport in community capacity building: An examination of sport for development research and practice

Population health promotion and preventing disease remain important global policy goals. Because of the complex nature of health, and the recognition of the limits of individual-oriented health promotion strategies, recent decades have seen increased interest by public health researchers and practitioners in community-level approaches to health promotion. Increasingly, community-level approaches have been based upon the theoretical concept of community capacity. Community capacity is seen as a critical mechanism for supporting and promoting community-level health and through the sport for development (SFD) model, there is evidence of sport being an important practice for community development. However, little is known about the potential role of sport as a mechanism for building community capacity. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to examine the efficacy of sport to contribute to the process of community capacity building. Using seven established dimensions of community capacity, there is evidence that many SFD practices can effectively facilitate dimensions of community capacity when conducted in intentional, culturally relevant ways. Specifically, sport has demonstrated efficacy in building local skills, knowledge, and resources, increasing social cohesion, facilitating structures and mechanisms for community dialog, leadership development, and encouraging civic participation. More research is needed to understand sport's ability to promote capacity building through collective action, developing value systems that support democracy and inclusion, and encouraging critical reflection. To increase the usefulness of sport to support community health development, SFD principles should be included as part of sport management university curricula. Additionally, practitioners need grounding in community and human development research to support non-sport components of programs. Finally, participatory action research techniques should be used by researchers and practitioners. Sport-based development often generates high interest from residents, funders, and policy makers. By applying principles of community capacity building, sport may be uniquely positioned to enhance sustainable community health development initiatives.     

Kicking Around International Sport: West Germany's Return to the International Community Through Football

In 1948, the American Military Government worked with Swiss soccer officials to organise Germany's first post-war international matches, three simultaneous German–Swiss intercity games. The American occupation authorities viewed these games as part of their broader efforts to help teach Germans about democracy, as a way for the international community to begin the process of reaccepting Germany and as a way to raise funds for charitable purposes tied to the reconstruction efforts. These games received tremendous popular support in Germany and Switzerland from football officials, the general public and the press. These German–Swiss games also facilitated Germany's return to the international community by forcing one of the most powerful international sport federations to address Germany's exclusion. Through a combination of materials from military governments, football federations and the press, this article examines how states used the internationalism of sport to obtain diplomatic aims. With these three intercity matches, football provided a venue for Germans to participate in relations with other countries while Germany itself remained excluded from the traditional international relations of diplomats.     

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

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

高校体育与城市社区体育和谐发展的研究

高校体育与城市社区体育和谐发展,其根本目的是达到学校体育社会化和社会体育学校化.通过分析高校体育与城市社区体育如何实现人力、物力的相互有效利用,对推动城市社区体育的蓬勃发展具有积极而深远的影响,同时也为高校体育体制改革和教学改革提供理论与实践依据.     

Managing sport for health: An introduction to the special issue

Sport is often viewed as vehicle to achieve positive health outcomes. While sport's potential to contribute to health is rarely disputed, sport is not always managed in ways that specifically prioritise health objectives, and evidence regarding sport's contribution to health has been inconsistent to date. This special issue was designed to advance a research agenda in relation to the management of sport for health. Articles published in the special issue examine sport management practices that impact health, both positively and negatively. The authors identified three overarching themes, with respect to how sport can be managed towards the achievement of health outcomes: sport should be aligned with community needs and should be empowering; sport should be adaptable and evolving to ensure sport culture values health; and, sport organisations should leverage partnership for health to promote organisational sustainability. In future research, scholars are encouraged to further examine the three identified themes and expand on other findings presented in the special issue, towards a stronger evidence base in relation to the management of sport for health. Opportunities exist to continue to advance knowledge regarding the potential for management strategies, models, and practices to lead to positive-and importantly, negatives-health outcomes through sport. If sport management scholars and practitioners are to meaningfully contribute to health agendas, health objectives must play a central role in reshaping sport systems and strategies toward the achievement of such outcomes.     

From Ling Gymnastics to Sport Science: The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences,GIH, from 1813 to 2013

In 2013, the former Royal Gymnastic Central Institute, now the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), celebrated its bicentenary. The purpose of this paper is to describe, by means of a literature review, the holding blocks that have contributed to the continuity of the oldest institute for PE teacher education in the world. For the first hundred years Ling gymnastics represented a legitimate system for the schooling of the body, the promotion of health and the rehabilitation of the sick. This resulted in strong markers of exclusivity, keeping the institution together. The next hundred years saw the discontinuity of Ling gymnastics, including medical gymnastics, and a call for sport education. The new cornerstones were exercise science research and the establishment of the Institute as an autonomous university college with the assignment to meet society's continued need for knowledge of how to support healthy citizens. Today's challenges for GIH include dealing with a changing society, the conflicting dimensions of (competitive) sport, and the more philanthropic ideas of body and physicality.     

Thinking about the same things differently: Examining perceptions of a non-profit community sport organisation

This paper explores the differing perceptions and identity responses (identification, apathy and disidentification) that potentially exist in relation to one non-profit Community Sport Organisation (CSO), and whether they explain variations in individuals’ existing values and beliefs, sport interest, community identification and views about one organisation's legitimacy. Data were collected using a quantitative online survey (n = 390), then analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to test three hypotheses investigating whether existing values and beliefs, shared community values, local players, organisational practices and sport interest varied based on perception of organisational image and identity response. Based on the contributions of this study, non-profit CSOs should spend time developing understanding of the key dimensions that make them relevant to constituents and to decipher the values and beliefs that underpin what external audiences expect from organisations. In addition, understanding specifically what a CSO's audience expects is fundamental if the organisation is to be perceived as legitimate in relation to its purpose.     

Reflections from a Hybrid Scholar

Abstract

In this paper, I reflect on my journey towards becoming a sport historian. I show how I find myself caught in the middle between sport history, sport management, and sport for development and peace (SDP), and how I essentially view myself as an SDP scholar. The paper further illustrate how I perceive the position of sport history in Norway, and argue that in order for sport history to grow or even continue as a subject in the Norwegian sport educations, we, the Norwegian sport historians, need to step up our game in terms of research and recruitment.     

The professionalisation of sports coaching: relations of power,resistance and compliance

This paper analyses the capacity of youth sport volunteering to contribute to the development of social capital. Following a review of the emergence of social capital as a key theme in UK sport policy, the paper focuses on the ability of a structured sports volunteering programme to equip young people with skills for effective volunteering, and provide opportunities for ‘social connectedness’ through sports volunteer placements. The study uses survey data (n=160) and qualitative interviews (n=10) with young people to examine how the national Step into Sport programme impacts on participants’ personal and skill development, and on their commitment to community involvement. Interviews with education and sport professionals (n=33) provide additional expert perspectives on the programme's impact on participants. Both sets of respondents report strong individual benefits to participants from their involvement, and increased social connectedness in a range of contexts. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the study for claims about the potential contribution of sport to social capital.     

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.     

Sport event innovativeness: Conceptualization,measurement, and its impact on consumer behavior

Although scholars have had a long-standing interest in product innovation based on technological development, limited attention has been devoted to the study of the innovation of sport event experiences. Two quantitative studies, from the consumer's perspective, were completed to validate the proposed conceptualization of sport event innovativeness composed of six dimensions (player performance, respectful access, self-service technology, aesthetic environment, fan community, and loyalty program), and to examine the hypothesized relationships impacting consumer behavior. Including the dimensions of player performance, fan community, and loyalty program, extends previous research that has focused primarily on technology and process-based innovations. The results indicate the effects of the six dimensions on overall innovativeness are contingent on a consumer's age. The ideas merit further research with respect to formulating an explanation of what factors contribute most to connecting consumers to sport organizations through innovative sport event experiences.     

‘That is like a 24 hours-day tournament!’: using social media to further an authentic sport experience within sport education

Several studies demonstrate that Sport Education supports the development of an authentic experience of sport. Social media has the potential to further the development of an authentic sport experience since it is a key aspect of contemporary sport culture and can be a space for individuals to interact during the Sport Education. Yet the evidence-base on the use of social media within Sport Education is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore how social media supports the development of an authentic sport experience within Sport Education. The context of this study was within a female recreational community sport futsal club. Players engaged with Sport Education as a focus for their sessions for 13 weeks. The Sport Education season embedded the six key features. During the Sport Education season, players interacted with each other through Facebook. Data were generated from; (1) researcher/player field journal, (2) Facebook posts and (3) post-season player interviews. Data analysis involved inductive, constant comparison and member-checking methods. Results showed that players’ uses of Facebook supported the development of an authentic sport experience. Players’ uses of Facebook strengthened the development of three key Sport Education features; affiliation, festivity and season. Based on the limited amount of research on the impact of social media within Sport Education and community sport, future studies should continue to examine the effectiveness of social media as an interactional tool to enhance the development of an authentic sport experience.     

Doping control in sport: An investigation of how elite athletes perceive and trust the functioning of the doping testing system in their sport

Doping testing is a key component enforced by anti-doping authorities to detect and deter doping in sport. Policy is developed to protect athletes’ right to participate in doping-free sport; and testing is a key tool to secure this right. Accordingly, athletes’ responses to anti-doping efforts are important. This article explores how the International Standards for Testing, which face different interpretations and challenges when policy is implemented, are perceived by elite athletes. Particularly, this article aims to investigate how elite athletes perceive the functioning of the testing system (i.e., the efforts of stakeholders involved in testing) in their own sport both nationally and worldwide. Moreover, it seeks to identify whether specific factors such as previous experience of testing and perceived proximity of doping have an impact on athletes’ perceptions of the testing system. The study comprises a web-based questionnaire (N = 645; response rate 43%) and uses qualitative findings to elaborate on and explain quantitative results. Results showed that two-thirds of the athletes reported the national testing programme in their sport to be appropriate. A majority of the athletes who had an opinion on the subject regarded testing programmes in some countries as not extensive enough or believed that in certain countries doping control was downgraded to win medals. Past experience of testing seemed to have a positive influence on trust in the concrete measures; however, if athletes experienced flaws during the control procedures, this could increase distrust and cause worry. The proximity of doping in an athlete's sport influenced the athlete's perception of the testing system. Particularly, athletes who need the testing system to be effective and to function well across the world show greater distrust of or dissatisfaction with the current testing system. The athletes’ diverging views indicate that contemporary anti-doping policy is simultaneously met with support, (dis)trust and frustration. By integrating the views and experiences of Danish elite athletes, this study confirms that the current testing system is confronted with obstacles, and it contributes knowledge about some of the challenges WADA faces when policy is implemented. Implications of results and recommendations for anti-doping authorities are outlined in the paper.     

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.     

高校体育与社区体育资源共享途径研究

对国内外高校体育与社区体育现状分析,提出高校体育与社区体育可以实现资源互补和资源共享,可以通过高校体育设施向公众开放、高校培养社会体育指导员服务社区和社区优秀的人力资源通过担任高校兼职教师、教练员和指导老师等途径实现资源共享。     

The School Sport Co-ordinator Programme: Changing the Role of the Physical Education Teacher?

Over the last decade or so, young people have increasingly become a focus of UK sport policy. Fuelled in part by concerns such as the increasing levels of childhood inactivity and obesity, and the lack of international success in sport, a plethora of policy initiatives aimed at young people have been developed. In April 2000, the government published its sport strategy document, A Sporting Future for All, pulling together all the threads of recent policies, and in it, restating its commitment to youth sport, sport in education, excellence and sport in the community. One such policy initiative, the School Sport Co-ordinator programme, is the focus of this paper. The School Sport Co-ordinator programme, currently being introduced into schools in England, is an initiative that involves two government departments (sport and education) and a number of other agencies, reflecting the government's current agenda to ensure 'joined up policy' thinking. It aims to develop opportunities for youth sport through co-ordinated links between PE and sport in schools, both within and outside of the formal curriculum, with those in local community sports settings. The essence of the School Sport Co-ordinator programme is to free up nominated teachers in schools from teaching to allow them time for development activities, specifically to encourage schools and community sports providers to work in partnership. This paper draws on data from an ongoing research project examining the implementation of one School Sport Co-ordinator partnership, 'Northbridge'. Drawing on in-depth interviews, it explores the perceptions of the newly established School Sport Co-ordinators of their changing role. The paper highlights some of the initial tensions and challenges for them in their task of working across different educational and sporting contexts.