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Objective: The emigration of elite athletes from Iran has adversely affected the nation's growth and development. This study seeks to identify the determinants influencing the migration of elite Iranian athletes. Methods and Materials: This research utilized a qualitative approach employing systematic grounded theory methodology. Participants were purposefully selected and included male and female national athletes who had changed citizenship and relocated abroad for athletic purposes. Data collection was conducted through 10 Persian and English articles and 16 interviews. Findings: The data analysis resulted in the identification of 136 initial codes. These codes were consolidated into 12 subcategories, which included personal reasons, sports growth and development, favorable conditions in the destination country, personal weaknesses and psychological elements, resources, facilities and infrastructure, economic problems in the country, financial issues for athletes, sports management weaknesses, political restrictions, cultural challenges, and social issues. Furthermore, these subcategories were organized into three main categories: intra-personal factors, economic factors, and extra-personal factors. Conclusion: The study suggests that senior officials should address discriminatory perspectives, ensure justice within the sports sector, provide equal opportunities, enhance management practices, offer economic support to athletes, combat discrimination, decouple politics from sports, and respect the privacy of athletes, particularly women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This 4-page publication is one in the series Risk Management for 4-H Youth Development Work. It discusses the 4-H Shooting Sports Program, which teaches young people the safe and responsible use of firearms, principles of archery, and hunting basics. Written by Jerry Culen, Dale Pracht, Paula Davis, Stefanie Prevatt, and Janet Psikogios and published by the UF/IFAS 4-H Youth Development Department, June 2018. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/4h390

This study aimed to identify the effect of trust in and contents of sports-related policies during COVID-19 on public policy satisfaction and examine the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention. People living in Korea were selected as the study population using convenience sampling, and 441 responses were collected using an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. The results indicated that policy trust had a positive effect on policy satisfaction in the order of consistency, expertise, and existing policy performance. In addition, social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness, which are sub-factors of policy content, had a positive effect on policy satisfaction. Furthermore, sports policy satisfaction had a negative effect on sports participation intention. This study suggests that the government should equally consider policy trust and content when establishing sports-related policies and strive to establish policies based on the positive functions of sports. Plain Language Summary: What is the effect of the COVID-19 policy on the intention to participate in sports? Our study began with the question of "How closely the government's sports-related policies during COVID-19 affect infection prevention?" Despite the fact that positive outcomes of physical development, emotional stability, and social harmony can be achieved through sports, we attempt to verify whether policies that restrict sports participation are effective. To this end, the relationship between sports policy, policy satisfaction, and intention to participate in sports was investigated. Data on the period of COVID-19 were collected and analyzed. As a result, first, the government should consider policy consistency, expertise, and existing policy performance complexly in the policy-making process. Second, it is necessary to construct a policy that considers social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness in implementing sports-related policies. Third, the government should come up with a sports-related policy that can elicit public understanding and empathy, not a rather rigid policy that restricts the use of sports facilities. As such, this study provides meaningful implications for the government's effective sports-related policy establishment by verifying the effect of sports-related policy trust and content on satisfaction, and further clarifying the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New sport policies often prompt organizations in the field to alter their structures and processes. Little is known, however, about the tactics of those leading institutional change around sport policy. To address this gap, the authors draw on the concept of institutional entrepreneurship—the activities of actors who leverage resources to create institutional change. Using a qualitative case study approach, the authors examine how two coalitions that served as institutional entrepreneurs in Washington and Oregon created and passed the first youth sport concussion legislation in the United States. The analysis of this study reveals that these coalitions (including victims' families, sport organizations, advocacy groups, and concussion specialists) engaged in political, technical, and cultural activities through the use of specific tactics that allowed them to harness expertise and resources and generate support for the legislation. Furthermore, the findings of this study suggest a sequencing to these activities, captured in a model of institutional entrepreneurship around sport policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between sports and politics has extensively contributed to shaping the sports system, which is evident in the creation of sports facilities and institutions in Hungary. The legal framework of sports organizations, potential of elite and grassroots athletes, incorporation of Hungarian sports into the international sports structure, and public financial funding of physical activity have been dependent on the dominant political powers and existing international diplomatic relationships. The history of sports facility development in Budapest and the role of capital in organising international sporting events faced new political challenges after World War II. During the socialist era, the main role of sports was to prove the excellence of the socialist system; therefore, political leadership provided funds to create a suitable environment for top athletes to train and compete. After the political and economic transition of 1989–1990, sports encountered the challenges of an unfamiliar market economy. After a decade of adaptation, from the beginning of the twenty-first century, sports assumed a new strategic role in creating a healthier society, which included significant investments in Budapest's sports infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research based on the theoretical framework of globalisation focuses on the development of gender equality policy in the Olympic Movement and the implementation of IOC's gender equality policy in the context of Chinese elite volleyball. In addition to documentary analysis, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key insiders within Chinese elite volleyball system to provide a comprehensive understanding of the IOC's gender equality policy implementation. The analysis involved perspectives of athletes' participation, coaching positions, and leadership roles according to three main elements of the IOC's gender equality policy. The findings demonstrated that the responses of Chinese elite volleyball to IOC's gender equality policy are participative, conflictual, and passive in terms of the gender balance of athletes' participation, coaches' positions, and the representation of leadership roles respectively. IOC recommended subordinated stakeholders including NOCs to implement gender equality policy. The attitude of Chinese elite volleyball governing body towards gender equality is generally positive. However, IOC's gender equality policy is not consistently transferred at national level. Policy might be implemented with symbolic measure in China without monitoring system. Referees should be included in policy contents in addition to athletes, coaches and leaders. In addition, since IOC's gender equality policy and statistics have been keeping updated, further results with respect to the case of volleyball should be demonstrated in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Initially developed by New Zealand Rugby in 2014, the Blue Card initiative in rugby enables match officials to remove athletes from play if they are suspected to have sustained a concussion. Considerable attention has been paid by sport and health advocates to the possibilities and limitations of this initiative in safeguarding athlete health. However, little if any attention has been paid to the well-being of those responsible for administering the Blue Card (i.e., match officials). The aim of this paper was to examine match officials’ experiences with and perspectives on implementing the Blue Card initiative in Ontario, Canada, with focused attention on the tensions around their ability to manage games and participants (e.g., athletes, coaches) while attempting to safeguard athlete well-being. Methods: Using Relational Coordination Theory (RCT) as a guiding framework and qualitative research method, we highlight the rich accounts of 19 match officials’ perspectives and experiences regarding sport-related concussion (SRC) management and the Blue Card protocol. Results: Four themes were derived from the data, reflecting latent assumptions embedded within the concussion management process, which include: assumptions of trust, respect, and cooperation; assumptions of shared responsibility; assumptions of shared understanding; and assumptions of harassment-free sport. Discussion: Our findings emphasize the need to attend to social relations in concussion management and provide insight into match officials’ fraught experiences on the frontlines of concussion management. We identify factors affecting match official well-being and provide considerations for concussion management initiatives designed to improve athlete safety, such as the Blue Card. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O objetivo do presente texto foi apresentar o estado da arte dos estudos sobre as modalidades esportivas de combate (MEC). Inicialmente, é destacada a relevância destas modalidades, tanto do ponto de vista histórico, quanto em relação à sua representatividade em competições internacionais, como os Jogos Olímpicos. Também são apresentadas as áreas mais comuns de atuação do profissional de Esporte nas MEC, bem como as iniciativas de organização de eventos, publicações, grupos de estudos e instituições científicas direcionadas às MEC. Posteriormente, estudos com possibilidade de aplicação em diferentes áreas de intervenção - preparação física, técnica e tática, gestão e organização - por parte do profissional do Esporte foram destacados. Finalmente, perspectivas de novos estudos e aspectos relacionados à preparação profissional são evidenciados.The objective of the present text was to present the state of art of studies related to combat sports (CS). Initially, it is presented the relevancy of these sports, from a historical perspective to its representativeness in international competitions, as the Olympic Games. The common areas of Sport's professional intervention, the initiatives of events, publications, research groups and scientific organizations related to the CS are also presented. Additionally, studies applied to different areas of Sport's professional intervention - physical training, technical and tactical preparation, management and organization - were also illustrated. Finally, perspectives of new studies and aspects related to professional preparation were reported.

Multilevel examinations of sport policy institutionalization are scarce in sport management scholarship. As sport policies diffuse across geographic boundaries, there is often variation in the timing of adoption. In this study, the authors used event history analysis to examine the effect of institutional factors, within and between states, on the speed of youth sport concussion legislation adoption. Our quantitative analyses show that a series of intrastate factors—state norms, disruptive events, and local advocacy—had a significant influence on the timing of state policy adoption, but interstate social networks did not. Supporting qualitative data provide additional insight about the relationship between disruptive events and local advocacy in the adoption of concussion legislation. This study contributes to a better understanding of institutional factors in the diffusion of sport policy across geographic boundaries and offers an approach for future research examining variation in sport policy or practice adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the performance of sport politics. We carry out a text analysis of a year-long media debate that raged in Norwegian newspapers throughout 2016. After the Medias had critiqued how the Norwegian Confederation of Sports (NIF) spends state-provided funds, the Minister of Culture questioned the alleged civil contribution from NIF and demanded change. An archival search retrieved 488 articles and 1604 pages on the matter. Performance theory clarifies the debaters' failure and success in achieving sport political legitimacy. Success was an ongoing achievement contingent upon the actors' abilities to apply broadly available representations in the pragmatics of the dispute. Drawing on Norwegian codes of equality and by polluting the image of NIF, the Minister of Culture eventually managed to reshape Norwegian sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les sports occidentaux font partie des activités de loisirs qui ont été transférées en Indochine par les conquérants français. D'abord réservées à ces derniers, ces activités sont ensuite pratiquées par certaines fractions des élites locales en quête de transformation individuelle et collective. Un gouverneur général a joué un rôle essentiel dans ce processus d'acculturation: Pierre Pasquier a ainsi utilisé les sports pour rapprocher les élites indochinoises de la France dès 1929. Il a donc élaboré la première politique des sports en Indochine. Cet article analyse les motivations et les moyens utilisés par ce haut fonctionnaire entre 1929 et 1934. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between women's sports, female physical education, and liberal reformism is pivotal to understanding gender relations in Colombia from 1930 to 1946. The Liberal Republic was a political period when public officials placed cultural reforms at the centre of governmental attempts to 'transform' and 'modernise' Colombia. Print media, official correspondence, and legislation are crucial to grasping women's reactions to the advancement of female physical culture and how they publicly advocated for its implementation. The endeavours of the Liberal Republic to promote physical culture at the national level highlight the way in which their reformism worked in everyday life and uncover how female educators and sports enthusiasts discussed and embraced the government's initiatives from below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport in Finland has a fundamental societal role as the nation’s favourite pastime, serving also various instrumentally defined social goals. Finland for a long time combined significant successes in elite sport with high levels of physical activity among the population. In recent years, the successes, particularly in individual sports, declined but Finland remains the European country with the highest share of the population being physically active. The paper approaches these peculiarities, tracking Finnish sports’ historical institutional roots and transformations over the years. Elaborating on the recent reforms of the sports policy, the article points to two crucial processes. The first concerns the transformation of sports policy in accordance with neoliberal ideas, whereas the second relates to the depoliticisation of sport-related policymaking in Finland. The latter phenomenon is particularly interesting given the long-lasting tradition of class-based, political divisions relating to the field of sport in the Finnish context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract:Introduction: Cycling can confer public mental health advantages for diverse populations, attenuating stressors and strengthening prosocial engagement. Conversely, competitive conditions in high-performance domains may entail prominent psychiatric risk factors that require bespoke interventions. In other sports, certain national federations have introduced mental health schemes for various target populations. However, the extent to which comparable approaches have been adopted across cycling remains unclear. Methods: We sought to gain broader insights into whether European cycling federations (ECFs) have implemented dedicated programmes around mental health, focussing on N=51 ECFs affiliated with the international regulator, the Union Cycliste Internationale. Initially, a search was conducted of ECF websites. Where apposite materials were unavailable, ECFs were contacted via email and phone. Results: 62% of total ECFs (N=32) were captured in the results. Findings were analysed and coded to three categories, namely: "ECF-level literature or initiatives", "No ECF-level literature or initiatives", and "No response". Based on our interpretation, of these N=32 ECFs, n=7 (22%) highlighted literature and strategies either on their website or during contact phases. The remaining n=25 (78%) ECFs noted no official policies or initiatives. Conclusion: Across included ECFs, there appears to be limited consideration about developing mental health schemes, potentially conditioned by resource constraints or disparate organisational priorities and regulations. For those ECFs with relevant programmes, the majority focussed on high-performance contexts, with less attention towards the relationship between cycling and mental health in broader demographics. Accordingly, evidence from different associations and sports could guide effective, tailored approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can Global Sporting Governing Bodies (GSGBs) like the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) take a stand on political issues in places where a sporting event which comes under their aegis is being held without compromising their own position as neutral governing bodies of sport? Drawing upon a historical sociological approach and using the FIA and the Formula 1 world motorsport championship as its key example, this paper argues that one reason why controversy about this is growing is because FIA's current power structures were established in an era less suited to today's world of sports and stakeholdership. In order to change, we need to review the historical processes that shaped current power relations between the GSGB and its stakeholders and, through that, identify an alternative view of power which may resolve the dilemma which the relation between sport and politics currently throws up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much like a state, Puerto Rico is self-governed, but cannot interfere with federal law. However, sports federations in Puerto Rico are not governed by the existing applicable federal law. Sports federations are avoiding most of the strict regulations imposed by federal acts, mainly because Puerto Rico has its own Olympic identity, and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a separate country. As a result, the language on the federal acts has been interpreted to only apply to those organizations representing the United States. Because of this, federations avoid strict auditing procedures, and other regulations, which consequently have deterred athlete's rights, as well as the long-term development of sports on the island. Using the New Haven School of Thought, also known as Policy-Oriented Jurisprudence, this article analyzes the problem of lack of regulation in sports in Puerto Rico, how it has impacted the community, presents the decisions made to address this issue, and develops recommendations to improve solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, often misunderstood as a reflection of the nationalist hyper-patriotism of the Reagan Era, were in fact a crucial moment in building a neoliberal, global Los Angeles. Tracing the development of LA'84's Olympic look 'festive federalism', this article considers the ways in which organizers in fact made strenuous efforts not to associate the Games with the nation state. It argues that festive federalism – the name given to the colour scheme and iconography of LA'84 design – was more than just an Olympic look. Rather, it was a neoliberal aesthetic, a philosophy for confronting economic challenges posed by local racial contexts. Festive federalism celebrated diversity and colourblindness simultaneously and extolled the neoliberal virtues of individualism, competition, and self-reliance. In doing so, it nullified the risk posed to the Games' profitability by race-based demands in communities of colour nearby to Olympic venues. In place of race, festive federalism called for a new type of individualistic, post-racial citizen-consumer. Analyzing the application of festive federalism to the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, this article demonstrates how culture redefined race, national identity, and history for a new, neoliberal age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the institutional development of the Olympic movement in the Philippines from the American period to the contemporary era as it operates within the values of 'Excellence, Respect and Friendship' of Olympism. Using Bowen's document analysis as a qualitative tool, the paper highlights the institutional changes and policy reforms in the Philippine sports governance in the development of the Olympic movement with emphasis on the promotion of athlete welfare in the Philippines. As an added dimension, the paper offers a passing review of the recent Olympic athletes' protest in the Philippines and analyses the underlying assumptions of Filipino athletes' passivity on social issues. Furthermore, the paper examines the significance of the Philippines Olympic Committee (POC) Athletes' Commission in addressing the athletes' rights and welfare as it interrelates and aligns itself with the goals and objectives of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission. More importantly, the paper proposes an Input-Process-Output-Outcome/Result (IPOOR) Model to measure the success of the POC Athletes' Commission qualitatively in terms of the three levels of analysis espoused by the IOC Athlete's Commission namely, input, output, and results, as ways forward in the promotion and development of the strategies, programmes, and projects of the Philippine Olympic movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Second World War, sports communities in the areas incorporated into Poland became more active. The influx of settlers led to the creation of new organizations, which were based on prewar organizational patterns and traditions. Right from the outset, the People's Government utilized athletes for political and propaganda purposes. This was primarily aimed at integrating the 'Recovered Territories' with the rest of the country, a process that unfolded notably in Szczecin, the main urban center in Western Pomerania. The governing power harnessed the enthusiasm and zeal of the youth, along with the belief that sports are apolitical. Following the adaptation of the organizational structure of sports to the Soviet model, the mass indoctrination of sports communities commenced in 1950. The Communists began leveraging activists and athletes without constraints to promote a new ideology, with the goal of aligning society with the state policy of that era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the impact that foreign investments in professional sports have on the twentyfirst century geopolitical landscape and global economy as a whole. Using the LIV Golf tour, World Cup, Olympics, the Premier League, and the NBA's relationship with China as case studies, this study seeks to understand how sports has been used to normalize the rise of authoritarian capitalism around the world and how that affects our ability to respond to crises around the world, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, the killing of Jamal Khashoggi that was ordered by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, the FIFA bribery scandal that resulted in the 2022 World Cup being held in Qatar, and more. Professional sports will be used to highlight that perhaps capitalism and democracy are not as synonymous as many people believe, while also highlighting the spread of capitalism since the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union did not lead to the expansion of democracy nearly as much due to international finance prioritizing one over the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered widespread reactions. The global call for the isolation of Russia and its collaborator Belarus has also involved the world of sport, leading to the expulsion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. The decisions leading to the expulsion were analyzed from the perspective of their factors, timing, and the international sports organizations' (ISOs) traditional approach to mixing sport and politics. During these developments, various stakeholders have been exerting pressure on the ISOs by voicing their expectations towards sanctioning Russia and even using the threat of boycott. Multiple Streams Framework has been employed in an attempt to understand the decision-making processes of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), demonstrating that external pressure has played the overriding role in the process leading to the isolation of Russia and Belarus in international sport, marking the continuation of the recent evolution of ISOs' approach to the interconnection between politics and sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation examined how a network of knowledge-based professionals—the Canadian Sport for Life Leadership Team (CS4LLT)—as a newly emerging organizational form was able to influence the Canadian sport policy and governance process in an attempt to reshape Canadian sport. The analysis draws upon the epistemic community approach (Haas, 1992; Haas & Adler, 1992) and empirical data collected as part of an in-depth case study examination into the leadership team and senior Sport Canada officials. The findings support the notion that the CS4LLT, as a network of knowledge-based professionals with legitimated and authoritative and policy-relevant expertise (epistemic community), was able to influence the Canadian sport policy process through (i) influencing key governmental actors by (re)framing policy-relevant issues and (ii) establishing knowledge/truth claims surrounding athlete development, which, in turn, enabled direct and indirect involvement in and influence over the sport policy renewal process. More broadly, the study draws attention to the potential role and importance of knowledge-based professional networks as a fluid, dynamic, and responsive approach to organizing and managing sport that can reframe policy debates, insert ideas, and enable policy learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College athletics have transformed with the advent of new name, image, and likeness (NIL) policies, permitting student-athletes to earn compensation in exchange for the use of their NILs. This development was driven by a series of court decisions, ultimately constraining the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) authority and capacity to enforce its compensation-prohibiting rules. State legislatures have adopted NIL laws in an effort to obtain competitive advantages for in-state educational institutions (“institutions”), resulting in a patchwork of NIL regulations across the United States. In the midst of this varied NIL regulatory landscape, the NCAA is ill-equipped to enforce NIL rules, the market values of NILs are shrouded in mystery, and entities unaffiliated with institutions have been able to avoid accountability for sex discrimination. Though numerous federal NIL bills have been proposed in both the House and Senate, no proposal has gained traction due to the inclusion of controversial provisions. This Comment proposes a comprehensive federal scheme for NIL regulation, combining core provisions from state NIL laws, considering the failures of previous federal proposals, and addressing issues regarding the actions of collectives in the NIL dealmaking process. Specifically, this federal scheme calls for the creation of a central oversight entity with subpoena power to regulate the NIL marketplace, an express preemption of state NIL laws, the incorporation of foundational provisions from state NIL legislation, mandatory disclosure of NIL deals, the participation of institutions in the dealmaking process, and a requirement for collectives to affiliate with institutions. The combination of these provisions would allow student-athletes to earn fair market NIL compensation while being protected from discrimination in the dealmaking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the mass sport policy in Brazil established during the government regime of the Military Dictatorship. To conduct this research, journals, newspapers and official documents produced between the 1970s and 1980s were used. Conclusively, the article indicates that the Sport for All policy in Brazil, created in the context of the emergence of the leisure field in the country, contributed to the consolidation of the mass sports policy, which was fundamentally essential for the insertion of sport as a social right in the 1988 constitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the conflict over the legalisation of women's boxing in Mexico City in the 1990s. In 1995, Laura Serrano's Women's International Boxing Federation world boxing title put pressure on the legal system that had banned women from professional boxing in the Mexican capital since 1946. As the visibility of women's boxing grew in Mexico, Serrano publicly fought to end the ban in her home city. The Mexico City Boxing Commission's moral arguments and medical discourses about the female body became increasingly untenable as politics of gender equality won in importance. Using a range of sources, including Mexican newspapers and magazines, government gazettes, congress proceedings, and an autobiographical text by Serrano, this article illustrates the interplay of gender ideologies and institutional structures during an important period in Mexican political history. After seven decades of uninterrupted Institutional Revolutionary Party rule, power of the Mexican capital shifted to the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) when Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas became the city's first elected governor in 1997. Although the PRD politically claimed the end of the prohibition in 1998, the shift in power cost Serrano the best paid boxing event of her career. It took another legal reform that outlawed discrimination in sports to force the Commission to finally regulate women's boxing in 1999. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research on sports administration, considering the effect of globalization on sports & state and sports administration related to basketball in China. The introduction of policies by the General Administration of Sports (GAS) agency and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) designed to make basketball in that country more closely resemble professional sports in other countries is considered, particularly rules governing the finances of basketball teams and basketball players. CBA policies designed to encourage Chinese players not to emigrate to other countries and to limit competition among teams for foreign players are discussed. The contradiction between the values of celebrity enjoyed by players and the social ethos of the governing Communist party is noted.

Background: Sport has been identified as one of the 7 best investments for increasing physical activity levels across the life span. Several questions remain on how to effectively utilize youth sport as a strategy for increasing physical activity and improving health in youth. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main research priorities in the areas of youth sport and physical activity for health. Methods: An international expert panel was convened, selected to cover a wide spectrum of topics related to youth sport. The group developed a draft set of potential research priorities, and relevant research was scoped. Through an iterative process, the group reached consensus on the top 10 research priorities. Results: The 10 research priorities were identified related to sport participation rates, physical activity from sport, the contribution of sport to health, and the overall return on investment from youth sport. For each research priority, the current evidence is summarized, key research gaps are noted, and immediate research needs are suggested. Conclusion: The identified research priorities are intended to guide researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to increase the evidence base on which to base the design, delivery, and policies of youth sport programs to deliver health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) promoted 'mass sports and physical culture' (qunzhong tiyu) to justify its political claims and serve socialist construction. The relative ease of promoting its easily amendable forms and collective spirit earned mass callisthenics a distinctive role in Maoist physical culture. Much energy went into the distinctive creation of what became Mao-era China's (1949-1976) two most pervasive and significantly symbolic forms of mass callisthenics: broadcast callisthenics (guangbo ticao) and production callisthenics (shengchan cao). However, this development was inundated with twists and turns for the CCP, sports leaders and experts, and ordinary participants due to the Party's ambivalent egalitarian politics, which relied heavily on mass mobilization and revered proletarian expertise, reflecting its complicated and divided interpretation of the Soviet model and its recollection of its own revolutionary legacy. Through an analysis of abundant central and local materials, this article tells the unheeded story of mass callisthenics, which was a miniature of the contested anti-elitism movements of Mao-era China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joining the Olympic Movement provides smaller countries with material and symbolic benefits. The Olympic Games represent a unique symbolic stage for national recognition and identity construction. Resource-poor countries can also access sport development funding programmes. However, participation in the international sport system comes at the price of a 'coercive policy transfer'. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) requires countries to subscribe to a western sport system that includes 'sports autonomy' as a key governance principle, which restricts the discretion of national governments. Previous scholarship suggests that coercive policy transfers can create institutional and policy misfits, which inspire translation and customisation on behalf of the receiving countries. The current paper investigates the interactions between public authorities and the National Olympic Committee of Botswana, which has been imposed by the IOC as an autonomous organisation. The study of three policy processes suggests that the interactions between the National Olympic Committee and governmental authorities are shaped by a persistent institutional misfit and organisational rivalries, which are only manageable because all actors in Botswana sport policy-making share a common interest in increasing national sporting success. At the same time, it is hard to assess to what extent the coercive policy transfer has improved policy development and implementation in Botswana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recent events such as the exclusion of Russian teams from international competitions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the debate on Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup, have once again reignited the debate over the relationship between sport and politics. From athletes displaying political symbols to states vying to exclude their rivals from major tournaments, the strong connection between sport and politics in the international arena is evident. International Sport Organisations (ISOs) play a central role in connecting the global sport arena and the international system. Larger international organisations (and particularly mega international sports organisations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA), despite their claim to neutrality, are important political actors that frequently use their influence and leverage in the international arena. In particular, the significant role played by FIFA in the politics of World Cup bids and its recent involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian issue demonstrates the impossibility of being politically neutral as an ISO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical literacy is a key focus within physical education and sport policy and practice in Canada. Although physical literacy has been suggested to benefit the general population, the experiences of Indigenous peoples are noticeably absent in the physical literacy literature. To facilitate meaningful and inclusive sport policies and programmes in Canada, it is necessary to develop a physical literacy evidence-base that is grounded in the voices of Indigenous peoples. The purpose of this research was to explore Indigenous peoples' perspectives of physical literacy. Two research questions were used to guide the research process: (a) how do Indigenous coaches, educators, and youth mentors understand physical literacy?, and (b) what is the role of Indigenous coaches, educators, and youth mentors in facilitating physical literacy among Indigenous youth? Eleven Indigenous educators, coaches, and youth mentors served as collaborators in this community-based participatory research. One-on-one and sharing circle interviews were used to generate data. Collaborators' understandings of physical literacy, and their role in facilitating physical literacy among Indigenous youth, are represented by five themes: (a) wisdom sharing (b) being mindful in teachings, (c) youth-centered approaches, (d) culture and spirituality as part of being active for life, and (e) relational support. Findings from this research contributes to a more in-depth understanding of physical literacy in the research literature, and how the concept is understood in practice. Importantly, findings from this research highlight several suggestions for facilitating physical literacy among Indigenous youth that may support future physical education and sport initiatives that are inclusive of, and meaningful to, Indigenous youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing governmental involvement in sport, there has been a corresponding demand on national sport organizations (NSOs) to operate within performance measurement systems. In this study, we analyze data from New Zealand to determine NSO officials’ perceptions of (a) their reporting relationship with the central agency (Sport and Recreation New Zealand), and (b) the system of performance contracts (or “investment schedules”). Following Norman (2002), we found differing perceptions regarding the legitimacy of performance systems and three tensions emerged. First, the clarity of focus enabled by performance measurement was tempered by the perception of an ever-changing political environment. Second, NSO officials acted strategically and opportunistically at times, marshalling arguments around performance measures to “capture” their principal. Third, neither trust nor distrust in the system necessarily translated into compliance; some NSOs sought independence from the system. This research speaks to the legitimacy of performance systems, a significant but tenuous element to their sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociological studies of sport have established their subject matter as significant to a wide range of sociocultural concerns. Despite a broad consensus about its global importance, however, the reasons for the particular, even ‘extraordinary’, societal importance of sport today remain deeply contested. Most studies account for it by highlighting its entanglement within a range of secular phenomena including state building, rationalization, biopolitical regulation, and the ‘controlled-decontrolling’ of bodies and affects. Occupying a more marginal position within the discipline, others focus on the religious or quasi-religious characteristics of sport. Our paper suggests that neither of these positions, on their own, is best placed to capture the nature and implications of sport’s particular centrality to social life. Proposing a new theoretical approach to the subject that places competing conceptions of what we refer to as the ‘sporting sacred’ at the center of discussion, we outline, via a reconceptualization of the writings of two major classical theorists, Durkheim and Weber, a number of contrasting modalities through which sport is prized within contemporary society. These modalities, which embrace both secular and religious phenomena, can, we suggest, provide new insight into the divergent paths along which sports are being ‘pulled’ and steered in the modern era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct democracy practices such as initiatives and referenda are increasingly ignored or circumvented by political leaders who allocate subsidies toward new professional sport stadium developments. In a democracy, such a means of governing may be problematic if the outcome is unreflective of the public will. The existing literature makes several theoretical connections for this line of political decision-making, including urban growth machines and trustee-delegate representation. In this paper, these concepts are integrated with empirical evidence to support the conceptualization of civic paternalism, a term that provides partial description of the political decision-making process. Civic paternalists justify their decisions by arguing that a city's continued vibrancy and growth optimize community benefit while remaining acutely aware of their decisions' political consequences. We illustrate the concept of civic paternalism by drawing from interviews with political leaders associated with one of the most recent cases of the no-vote subsidy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this article will be sport predicated on contests between nation-states, or what we will call inter-national sport, at the elite level. While much literature on the politics of sport has focused on the proper role of the nation-state in regards to specific sport issues, few have questioned whether elite sport ought to involve nationalism as part of its competition. Most who have defended such sport argue that the benefits of nationalism and the national identity outweigh any potential unintended harm. In this article, we question these conclusions by arguing that both lusory and ethical considerations undermine elite sport’s emphasis on inter-national contests. We will be trying to argue that these artifacts no longer should play a primary role in determining eligibility or serving as the basis for determining competitive sides. We will make this argument by focusing on the ethical dilemmas posed specifically by inter-national competition including international discord and reduced quality of competition. We also argue that promoting national differences does not serve a useful lusory role in elite sport. However, we will concede that Morgan’s respect for the narratives associated with sport indicate that national identity may continue playing a limited role in elite sporting contests. So while we make an exception for a soft national cultural narrative, we conclude that such arguments taken together indicate that national identities ought to have a much diminished role, if any at all, in elite sport. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sport for development and peace (SDP) is a contemporary term for practices that have a long history, particularly in Canada's provincial and territorial north, and especially with Aboriginal peoples for whom the region is home. Using a postcolonial international relations feminist approach, theories of global governance and private authority, and by exploring recent literature on self-determination in the context of Aboriginal peoples, we investigate 1) the assumptions at work in attempts to "transfer" SDP programming models in the Two-Thirds World to Aboriginal communities across Canada; 2) how the retreat of the welfare state and neo-liberal policies have produced the "need" for SDP in Aboriginal communities; and 3) how efforts toward Aboriginal self-determination can be made through SDP. We argue that, taken together, these concepts build a useful foundation better understanding for the historical and sociopolitical processes involved in deploying SDP interventions in Aboriginal communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connection between nationalism and sport seems at once both obvious and manifest, with the most lavish praise of the nation often arising at sporting events. While a sizeable body of academic literature exists on the connection between the two concepts, it remains overlapping and unstructured. This state of the field review essay accounts for the major works in this field and categorizes it according to the function it fulfills in the subfield. Specifically, it focuses on sport as a mechanism for the diffusion and creation of nationalism, sport under conditions of globalization at Sporting Mega Events (SMEs), and the connection between sport and the distinction between civic and ethnic definitions of nationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Pierre de Coubertin's revival of the modern Olympic games, the state of California has hosted the Olympics three times and is currently preparing for the games in Los Angeles in 2028. This paper attempts to add to the history of California's Olympic legacy by examining the period prior to 1896 and demonstrating that the Olympic idea had been firmly rooted in California long before the revival of the modern Olympic games and the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Themes alluding to the Olympic idea had been exploited in California as early as the mid-nineteenth century, i.e. the time of the US annexation. In 1893 the Olympic Club in San Francisco organized the Ancient Greco-Roman Games with a statewide impact. The association of those spectacles with ancient Greek art or games attests to Californians' awareness of ancient athletics and to the significant role of the San Francisco events in a historical perspective. As the years passed the knowledge about sports with Olympic associations increased among Californians, and the 1893 Ancient Greco-Roman Games in San Francisco can be successfully considered the largest pseudo-Olympic sports event before the 1896 Summer Olympics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sporting diplomacy has long been a topic of considerable interest to sport historians. This is especially true in discussions of British colonialism in India. Building on such work, this article provides an in-depth examination of George Robert Canning Harris, the Fourth Baron Harris, who was Governor of the Presidency of Bombay from 1890 to 1895. Absent from the historical examination of cricket in the subcontinent is the extent to which the domestic press used the sport to understand the habits of local colonial leaders. Lord Harris' use of cricket as a personal governing tool will be addressed, but of greater importance will be the framing of his actions vis-à-vis cricket parlance by the local newspapers. This paper seeks to understand how cricket was used as the central framework through which both Lord Harris executed his governorship and as a means for the local press to understand the virtues of their inexperienced leader. In doing so, this work draws from several local and national Indian newspapers which comprised the Anglo-Indian press during Lord Harris' term. This article presents neither a glorification nor a critique of Lord Harris' stewardship of Bombay, but rather a critical analysis of how cricket was embraced as a framework through which colonial policies and native reactions were understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the second decade of the twentieth century, with the industrialization of the Chuquicamata mine (Atacama Desert, Chile), workers from an American mining company introduced baseball to the inhabitants of the city of Tocopilla. From an elite sport practised by the Americans and embodying social segregation, baseball evolved into a widespread social practice that identified the city at a national level. Local communities adopted baseball, becoming a sport with solid labour, ethnic, economic, and political identity. In addition, the mining capitalists instrumentalized the popular triumph of baseball to create better social relationships between American and local workers and to improve the company's corporate image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic impact studies are frequently commissioned to justify investments in sport projects. However, decisions also should include a consideration of a project's costs since it is the net return on investment that should drive decisions. Whenever taxpayer funds are expended on a sports project there is an opportunity cost. Three types of opportunity cost are discussed. Explicit costs are those for which a government entity "writes a check." They are comprised of event costs, land and infrastructure costs, and operations and maintenance costs. Implicit costs are those which remain "hidden" from most taxpayers: foregone property taxes, strategic underestimation of capital costs, displacement costs, and an inequitable nexus between payers and beneficiaries. External costs are those incurred by taxpayers beyond the boundaries of a local jurisdiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little doubt that the globalization process has developed unevenly across time and space. This is most pronounced in the context of North Korea, one of the very few remaining communist societies, which has been isolated from the rest of the world since the end of the Korean War in 1953. This paper explores the impact of globalization on sport and physical culture in North Korea. Although North Korea categorically rejects globalization, justified by its Juche policy, its response to the globalization of sport is more differentiated, multifaceted, state controlled, and ranges from stubborn resistance to wholehearted embracement. The paper argues that North Korea's historical trajectory, national needs and interests, and the ethnic nationalism prevalent in that society shape this reaction to globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To learn more about the governance of sport organizations, this study explored what meaning board members of national sport organizations (NSOs) attach to the concept of "strategic capability". In so doing, the inquiry also identified factors considered to constrain or enable board strategic function. This paper draws on a body of knowledge developed over 38 years on board strategic function, primarily from the commercial setting but also from the emerging body of work in the nonprofit and sport governance setting. Located within the interpretive research paradigm this study engaged a range of different qualitative methods including cognitive mapping and visual imagery. Working across two NSOs in New Zealand, four elements were generated that served as reference points in mapping out the meaning of a strategically able board. These were categorized as the need to have capable people, a frame of reference, facilitative board processes, and facilitative regional relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyzes the role of sport protest under the current United States presidential administration. Protest has long been a feature of sporting rituals; social unrest in this realm is not new. However, at this moment, activism in sport allows us to see larger political alliances, affinities, and solidarities in a particularly useful way. I argue that the world of sport is fostering discussion, debate, and dissent that are uncommon and largely unavailable in other spaces, which, in turn, is opening up a new counterpublic. I offer two examples of challenges athletes have made to anti-Black racism, class inequality, and sexism, with one highly visible, and one less visible. And I contend that these actions are refusals that both draw on and differ from the iconic sporting refusal of the 1960s Civil Rights era–the image of the Black athlete standing alone on the victory stand–by highlighting the role of symbolic action in prompting democratic deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]