International Review for the Sociology of Sport recent issues

Global Festivals Through a National Prism: The Global--National Nexus in South Korean Media Coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

Jung Woo Lee, , Maguire, J. — 2009-02-25

This study investigates the global—national nexus in the media representation of the Olympic Games and examines the ways in which the notions of globalization and Korean nationalism are represented. Attention is paid to the South Korean media coverage of opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. While globalization was promoted through themes such as global friendship and fraternity, the media also framed the event with reference to anti-Japanese sentiments and an expression of unitary Korea nationalism — both of which are central elements of Korean nationalism. On this basis, it is clear that a complex interplay between the global and the national impetus is evident. The media coverage is investigated in a qualitative manner, and a thematic analysis is used. The research, from a process sociological perspective, offers a useful insight into understanding Korean national identity politics in the global era.

Campus Newspaper Coverage of Varsity Sports: Getting Closer to Equitable and Sports-related Representations of Female Athletes?

MacKay, S., Dallaire, C. — 2009-02-25

This study examined the coverage of women's and men's varsity sport teams in the English- and French-language student newspapers at the University of Ottawa, Canada, during three academic years from 2004 to 2007. The analysis revealed unique findings, considering that previous research on campus print media had shown an enduring disparity of coverage featuring female athletes. In contrast, our descriptive statistics exposed few differences in the number or length of published articles and photographs of male and female athletes. In fact, female athletes tended to receive more coverage. Men's sports, however, were featured more often on the front page of the newspapers. A textual analysis of the coverage shows that sportswomen were not sexualized and were rarely trivialized. In general, rather than representing sportswomen as gendered subjects, the student-run newspapers discursively constructed them as `just athletes'.

Just a Few Rogues?: Football Ultras, Clubs and Politics in Contemporary Italy

Scalia, V. — 2009-02-25

Two people, a policeman and a football supporter, died in Italy in 2007 after clashes between police and football supporters. Italian public opinion asked for more repressive measures to fight football related violence. Both politicians and football clubs supported this view, thus blaming ultras, as Italian organized football supporters are called, for wrecking football. That does not acknowledge the place of ultras in Italian football culture. Ultras are organized groups with an independent subculture that enjoys the legitimacy of other football supporters. Their organization, their reputation, made them suitable for a role of intermediation between supporters, politics and clubs. As a consequence of this, both politicians and football clubs use ultras for their purposes.

Protection of Children in Competitive Sport: Some Critical Questions for London 2012

Weber, R. — 2009-02-25

Sport for children — although a popular and healthy free-time activity in general — under certain circumstances can be harmful. This article explores how children engaged in elite sport may suffer from health problems, lack of education and limited or no free time. Furthermore, it considers the ways through which they may be exploited by their training and competing environments and how their right to freedom of association is often limited. Adopting a human rights approach, this contribution seeks to examine national as well as international measures to protect child athletes. An analysis of existing regulation identifies shortcomings and is followed by suggestions on how to improve child protection in elite sport.

Sexuality as a Structural Principle in Sport Participation: Negotiating Sports Spaces

Elling, A., Janssens, J. — 2009-02-25

In this article we present the results of a Dutch study about sport participation among self-identified homo/bisexual men and women, compared to a matched group of heterosexual men and women. It is argued that quantitative research can further enrich the existing knowledge in the field of sport and sexuality, which is mainly based on qualitative studies from a poststructuralist perspective. Findings both challenge and confirm stereotypical images of sport involvement by gays and lesbians. The results show that sexual `mappings' of different sports spaces do not only exist cognitively, but influence the actual sporting biographies of men and women with different sexual identifications. Gay men are underrepresented in mainstream club sports and traditional `masculine' team sports and over-represented in commercially based fitness sports. However, most non-heterosexual women and men have discovered mainstream sports spaces where they can participate without being confronted too much with homonegativity and heteronormativity. Simultaneously, many are reluctant to join `counter spaces', like LGTB sports organizations and reflect a certain compliance with heteronormativity.

Knowledge, Power and Politics: Contesting `Evidence-based' National Sport Policy

Piggin, J., Jackson, S. J., Lewis, M. — 2009-02-25

This article analyses the sources of knowledge New Zealand sport and recreation policy-makers rely on when forming public policy. Specifically, utilizing a Foucauldian lens of governmentality, we consider how New Zealand sport and recreation policy is influenced by various sources of knowledge. Through analysis of official policy documents, media releases and interviews with senior New Zealand policy managers, we argue that despite claims of positivistic, `evidence-based' policy, writers draw on a wide range of knowledge sources. Thus, despite being governed by positivism, policy-makers themselves utilize other, multifarious sources of knowledge in order to construct national sport policy. We offer considerations for the future setting of such public policy, and in particular suggest the existing rationale for the formulation of public policy could be altered to acknowledge these wide ranging knowledges.

Book Review: David L. Andrews, Daniel S. Mason and Michael L. Silk (eds), Qualitative Methods in Sports Studies. New York: Berg, 2005, 202 pp. ISBN 97818 59737897 (pbk), US$28.95, 9781859737842 (hbk), US$89.95

Cove, L. — 2009-02-25

Book Review: Neil Wigglesworth, The Story of Sport in England. London: Routledge, 2007, pp. xii + 208 incl., index, {pound}21.99, ISBN 978 0 415 37264 0 (pbk), 978 0 415 35381 6 (hbk)

Lake, R. J. — 2009-02-25

`White Men Can't Jump': Race, Gender and Natural Athleticism

Azzarito, L., Harrison, L. — 2008-12-16

This study examined the ways young people negotiate, take up and/or resist dominant discourses of race, athleticism and sport in school physical education contexts in the southeastern United States. The participants in this performance ethnography study were 28 high school students and one physical education teacher/coach. Data from multiple sources were collected, including field notes, and formal and informal interviews with each participant. The results of this study show that white boys complied with the notion of blacks' `natural' physical superiority, and black boys occupied an ambiguous position within dominant discourses of race and natural athleticism; while girls, in general, rejected racialized discourses of the body, instead adopting a liberal humanistic position. Considering these findings, we advocate for sport educators' and physical education teachers' adoption of critical media pedagogy to promote a democratic consciousness among young people in sport and physical education settings.

Discourses On Mass Versus Elite Sport and Pre-Adult Football in Norway

Helle-Valle, J. — 2008-12-16

This article focuses on the discursive framework of pre-adult football in Norway. The analytical starting point features debates in two major Norwegian newspapers, started by the head of the elite division of the Norwegian national sport organization. His main concern is to discuss the conditions for elite sport — focusing on legitimation and talent development. This discussion serves as a focus for the investigation of the social anchoring of organized sport. It is argued that the state's interest in the population's health, the way sport is organized, and dominant values related to children, together form the discourse of pre-adult sport. The main characteristics of this discourse are that the values of mass sport dominate, the issue of mass versus elite sport is relatively mute, and that clear discursive positions are hard to detect.

Player Welfare and Privacy in the Sports Entertainment Industry: Player Development Managers and Risk Management in Australian Football League Clubs

Kelly, P., Hickey, C. — 2008-12-16

In an era when games at the elite level are sports entertainment businesses many of the elite performers in different industries have evolved into celebrities: they exist as images, icons and brands whose every thought, action, change of style or partner is commodified and consumed. This article reports on one aspect of a research project that was funded by the Australian Football League (AFL) to explore the emergence and evolution of a `professional identity' for AFL footballers. Drawing on Foucault's later work on the care of the Self we focus on the ways in which player identities are governed by coaches, club officials, and the AFL Commission/Executive; and the manner in which players conduct themselves in ways that can be characterized as professional — or not. The article explores the roles of Player Development Managers (PDMs) in emerging processes of risk and player management that can be seen as intrusive in players' lives. The research we report on produced evidence of tensions between the paternalistic, profiling and reporting elements of various risk management practices at the Club level — in an environment where what it means to be a professional footballer is taking on new forms.

Benefits and Detriments of African American Male Athletes' Participation in a Big-Time College Football Program

Singer, J. N. — 2008-12-16

The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the nature and status of four African American male athletes' educational experiences as participants in a big-time college football program at a predominantly white institution of higher education (PWIHE) in the United States of America. A focus group and individual interviews revealed that although these African American males felt that they derived certain tangible and intangible benefits from being participants in this football program, the term `student-athlete' was an inaccurate description of who they are, especially given the expectations and tremendous time demands their participation in football related activities placed on them. These general findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research in college sport.

`Imagine, a Man Playing Netball!': Masculinities and Sport in New Zealand

Tagg, B. — 2008-12-16

This article provides a textual analysis of selected media representations of men's netballers in New Zealand, an analysis of interviews with members of the Otago men's netball team, and a brief description of the author's participant-observation research in this area. The article discusses and challenges stereotypical representations of men who play netball — a sport originally designed specifically for women, and historically dominated by women — as either effeminate or gay cross-dressers. While the idea that men's netballers are perverse `gender-benders' remains widespread, the increasing popularity of social mixed-gender netball, combined with the determined efforts of established men's netballers, is beginning to challenge popular preconceptions. Men's netball provides recreational opportunities for both men who subscribe to hegemonic definitions of masculinity and for men who espouse more marginalized masculinities. Some evidence even suggests that despite altercations between homophobic Otago players and `queer' players from other teams during the 1990s, men's netball has actually provided opportunities for some players to challenge homophobia.

The Establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency: A Study of the Management of Organizational Change and Unplanned Outcomes

Hanstad, D. V., Smith, A., Waddington, I. — 2008-11-24

This article examines the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which was established following the World Conference on Doping in Sport convened by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and held in Lausanne in 1999. More specifically, the article draws upon Elias's game models to analyse: i) the way in which the IOC sought to manage this process of change in such a way that its longstanding position as the world's leading anti-doping organization would be reinforced; and ii) the IOC's inability to control this process, with the result that the IOC failed to achieve any of its objectives, its position as the world's anti-doping organization was actually undermined, and world leadership passed to a new organization which had a significant measure of independence from the IOC.

Athletic Career Termination Model in the Czech Republic: A Qualitative Exploration

Kadlcik, J., Flemr, L. — 2008-11-24

This study was designed to explore the process of sport career termination in the Czech Republic, and was based on the theoretical-conceptual background of sport career transition models (Stambulova, 1997, 2003; Taylor and Ogilvie, 1994, 2001). Participants were six male and five female former elite athletes, averaging 14.6 years of athletic career experience. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Eleven general dimensions emerged from the hierarchical content analysis. Manifold reasons for sport career termination and various planning strategies to retire from sport activities were identified. Several factors contributing to the positive adaptation to athletic retirement as well as factors constraining the transitional process are described. Significant others and coping strategies played important roles during the transition process. Athletes experienced significant changes in their lives after retirement in social, psychosocial, health and economic spheres of their lives.

The Use of Anabolic Steroids and Other Prohibited Substances By Gym Enthusiasts in Cyprus

Kartakoullis, N. L., Phellas, C., Pouloukas, S., Petrou, M., Loizou, C. — 2008-11-24

The use of prohibited substances in sport does not solely concern athletes, but it is also quite common among other categories of the population: people who do not engage in competitive sports but use doping substances for a number of other reasons. This article is based on a survey that was administered to 532 people of both sexes, aged 14 years and above, in 22 gyms around Cyprus. The respondents engaged in one or more sports with a very small percentage (6%) participating in competitive sports. The results showed that 11.6 percent of the respondents had used or were using prohibited substances in order to improve their performance. The use of prohibited substances seemed to be higher among certain interviewees sharing common characteristics, that is, gender, age, education and socio-economic status. Doping was common among body-builders. The research also examined the reasons for the use of prohibited substances in relation to: the reasons for exercising; the nature of the sport; smoking and drinking habits; and the level of use within the wider environment.

The Politics of Sport Diplomacy and Reunification in Divided Korea: One Nation, Two Countries and Three Flags

Merkel, U. — 2008-11-24

This article examines the use of sport as a foreign policy and diplomatic tool on the politically divided Korean peninsula. The recent increase in sport exchanges between the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north offer a unique opportunity to analyse the changing role and efficacy of contemporary sport diplomacy. The research investigates and critically evaluates the political agenda of these events on the divided peninsula. The theoretical framework of this study derives from the pluralist paradigm of International Relations. Therefore this article does not only deal with state initiatives and governmental policies but also with non-state and non-governmental organizations. The article focuses on sport's contribution to the improvement of inter-Korean relations and the reunification of the Korean nation, a key policy objective of both countries, in one of the very few remaining politically divided societies. Due to sport's versatile symbolic potency sport diplomacy goes far beyond the promotion of détente between the two Korean states and makes a significant contribution to the foreign policy agenda.

Resistance to Technological Innovation in Elite Sport

Trabal, P. — 2008-11-24

In 1998, the French Canoe and Kayak Federation embarked on the creation of a new kayak. However, there was concern it would not succeed in its venture due to `social resistance'. This article aims therefore to reveal the social characteristics of those showing opposition to technological innovation, as well as those who are calling for it, and to determine the reasons behind reticence. A questionnaire was handed out to elite athletes, and interviews conducted with national coaches. The results show that, contrary to preliminary hypotheses, all athletes (including those of flat water racing) generally view such a project in a favourable light. The coaches express different types of `resistance' — a term which should be used with caution, as it suggests legitimacy and faith in progress — which have less to do with the social position of the actors than with criticism of past and present policies of the Federation.

Book Review: R. Beamish and I. Ritchie, Fastest, Highest, Strongest: A Critique of High-performance Sport. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2006, pp. 193 (incl. index), cover price unknown, ISBN 10: 0 415 77042 4 (hbk), ISBN 10: 0 415 77043 2 (pbk), ISBN 10: 0 203 96785 2 (ebk)

Killick, L. — 2008-11-24

Book Review: M. Messner, Out of Play: Critical Essays on Gender and Sport. Albany: SUNY Press, 2007, 227 pp., ISBN 978 0 7914 7172 2 (pbk)

Velija, P. — 2008-11-24

Using Social Movement Theory To Study Outcomes in Sport-Related Social Movements

Davis-Delano, L. R., Crosset, T. — 2008-09-03

In this study, we systematically examine the relevance of five bodies of social movement theory to the outcomes of two sport-related social movements — struggles over funding of sport facilities and struggles over Native American mascots. Thirty-eight themes were culled from the five bodies of social movement theory and explored via 83 semi-structured interviews with social movement and countermovement actors from 20 different sites in the United States. Surprisingly, we found only eight of the 38 themes that we studied are pivotal to the outcomes of both social movements. The analysis also reveals that no single theoretical approach adequately explains the outcomes of both movements. Parts of Resource Mobilization theory are useful, while Political Process and Cultural theories offer the most explanatory power. We find that a few internal aspects of social movement groups interact with some cultural and structural forces external to these groups to shape social movement outcomes. Sport sociologists are urged to continue the systematic study of social movement theory, but to move beyond the limitations of this study to focus on other social movements, geographical locations, and aspects of social movements.

From Inside the Newsroom: Paralympic Media and the `Production' of Elite Disability

Howe, P. D. — 2008-09-03

It has long been understood that the media has the power to shape the representation of social issues and effectively manage the understanding that the public has of the world. Control of information in media centres at major sporting events such as the Paralympic Games is vital if agencies such as the International Paralympic Committee and national affiliates such as the British Paralympic Association are to properly manage the image of elite sport for the disabled. Information that print journalists receive in this environment is already highly mediated and the added influence of editors who often have strong views as to what is appropriate for their target audience means that the final published product often is devoid of cultural understanding of Paralympic sport. As such the shaping of printed media texts related to sport for the disabled is not distinct from the mainstream. However, while there have been numerous studies exploring the media representation of Paralympic athletes, there has been no critical discussion surrounding the actual production of printed media texts around this community. Using ethnographic and anthropological approaches, this article attempts to address this lacuna by researching the lived experience of these media production processes.

Physical Activity Relationship (PAR)

Koski, P. — 2008-09-03

This article presents a concept and an approach for analysing and understanding an individual's relationship to physical culture. Physical activity relationship (PAR) is a concept by which sport and physical activities are approached as a cultural part of life to which all of us have a relationship. According to Unruh (1980) we live in many different social worlds at the same time and based on his classification we have different roles in these social worlds. We can be strangers, tourists, regulars or insiders. The deeper we are involved in a certain social world the better we see and understand the meanings of this world. Sport and physical activities can be conceptualized as such a social world. The relationship which describes how we encounter this world and its culture is referred to here as PAR. This article suggests that although there is clear interest in personal physical activity by the field of sport and exercise science, PAR also covers three other dimensions: following, producing and consuming the meanings of sport and physical activities. Arguably, the PAR framework may be able to offer insights for those seeking to establish sport, exercise and physical activity as fundamental aspects of a healthy lifestyle and core feature of contemporary identity formation.

Rogue Men and Predatory Women: Female Fans' Perceptions of Australian Footballers' Sexual Conduct

Mewett, P., Toffoletti, K. — 2008-09-03

The 2004 Australian Football League and National Rugby League seasons started amidst claims made by women about players behaving inappropriately towards them. A raft of allegations surfaced in the media, prompting nationwide debate on the issue of sportsmen and violence. While sport sociologists have made important inroads toward understanding sexual misconduct by male athletes, much of this research appears to focus on the socio-cultural factors informing the perpetrators' actions. This study takes a different approach, analysing the perspectives of female Australian rules football fans to consider gendered narratives of sexual misconduct. Our findings demonstrate that discourses of individualism, along with a mix of socio-cultural and biological arguments, are used by women to reconcile players' misconduct with continuing support of their sport.

Understanding Sport Clubs as Sport Policy Implementers: A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis of the Implementation of Central Sport Policy through Local and Voluntary Sport Organizations

Skille, E. A. — 2008-09-03

This article aims at developing a theoretical framework for analysing the implementation of sport policy, as it is conducted by voluntary sport clubs at grassroots level. First, three options are presented and discussed: i) a classical top-down implementation model, ii) the governance theory of policy tools, and iii) the Advocacy Coalition Framework. Second, the theoretical perspectives are discussed, and criticized for failing to take sufficiently into account the implementing body of sport policy, namely the voluntary sport clubs. In that respect, an alternative theoretical framework is suggested as a possible solution for analysing the implementation of sport policy; which is the translation perspective of neo-institutionalism. It stresses that, if elements of central policy influence the implementation process at the local level, it does so by the active import, interpretation and implementation of it in the local context. The autonomy of the local sport club in relation to central policy is reinforced by the fact that the activity in sport clubs is mainly done on a voluntary basis.

Negotiations of Being and Becoming: Minority Ethnic Rugby League Players in the Cathar Country of France

Spracklen, K., Spracklen, C. — 2008-09-03

This article is based on new empirical, qualitative research with minority ethnic rugby league players in the southwest of France. Drawing on similar research on rugby league in the north and the south of England, the article examines how rugby league, traditionally viewed as a white, working-class male game (Collins, 2006; Denham, 2004; Spracklen, 1995, 2001) has had to re-imagine its symbolic boundaries as they are constituted globally and locally to accommodate the needs of players from minority ethnic backgrounds. In particular, the article examines the sense in which experiences of minority ethnic rugby league players in France compare with those of their counterparts in England (Spracklen, 2001, 2007), how rugby league is used in France to construct identity, and in what sense the norms associated with the imaginary community of rugby league are replicated or challenged by the involvement of minority ethnic rugby league players in France. Questions about what it means to be (provincial, national) French (Kumar, 2006) are posed, questions that relate to the role of sport in the construction of Frenchness, and in particular the role of rugby league (and union).