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In der Soziologie des Bewertens spielt Sport bislang kaum eine Rolle. Das überrascht, denn der Sport erweist sich mit seinen Zähl- und Messverfahren schon auf den ersten Blick als bewertungsaffin. Aber auch auf den zweiten Blick offenbart sich ein zentraler Berührungspunkt beider Bereiche: Ohne den Einsatz von digital gestützten Leistungsanalysen sind sportliche »Topleistungen« nicht erreichbar. Die Beiträger•innen geben einen Einblick in die Semantik der Leistungsgesellschaft und zeigen, dass der Sport als instruktiver Fall für die Bewertungssoziologie gelten kann.

There's more to sports than what occurs during games. Check your social media, listen to sports talk radio, or watch ESPN--there are daily stories of social issues in sports regarding concussions, playing hurt, gambling, Olympics and politics, athletes as social activists, paying college athletes, recruiting violations, academics, youth sports, diversity and gender issues, hazing, athletes'mental health, disabled athletes'rights, sportsmanship, and media coverage. How do these issues affect athletes, fans, and society? Written equally for casual and hardcore fans, this book analyzes social and ethical issues in sports in a lively, journalistic manner, combining quotes from writers, broadcasters, athletes, coaches and others with the author's observations. It shows pros and cons of how sports affect our daily lives and society. While sports inspire and excite us and lead to social change like the civil rights movement, Title IX, and rights of disabled people, controversies surrounding sports can be divisive even as sports work as a uniting factor in society.

Engaging with critical gaps and building on existing knowledge, this volume of Research in the Sociology of Sport brings to the fore new stories from across Oceania, extending the horizon of regional sport scholarship beyond the Global North and tackling the ever-critical question of global disparity and sport. Taking stock of existing knowledge and sociological relevance, contributors reveal the latest research on the sports and issues most widely studied in the region to date, such as sport migrations in rugby unions and sport for development. Presenting insights from emerging research on indigenous or ‘traditional'sports such as indigenised cricket, outrigger canoeing and indigenous physical activities/games, chapters fill a lacuna in existing scholarship with a further emphasis on women's football, minority ethnic women's engagement with sport/exercise and ethnic politics in sport. Positioning these narratives as fundamental to the central project of the sociology of sport, rather than simply an exercise in inclusion, Towards a Pacific Island Sociology of Sport offers an exciting opportunity for sociology of sport scholars to widen the scope of their research in search of fuller understandings of the forms, meanings, dynamics and impacts of sport for Pacific peoples.

This book takes a close look at social media in sport and considers its significance for sport business and for the wider relationship between sport and society.Presenting new research, case studies and data, it examines the way people use social media, the changing art of managing social media platforms, and the theory and concepts that inform research on this important topic. Featuring the work of leading sport researchers from around the world, the book presents evidence-based analysis of contemporary topics including fan engagement, athlete activism, branding and sponsorship strategies, sportswashing, public relations and crisis communication. It presents case studies from sports and events such as the Olympic Games, the WNBA, professional football leagues, and Peloton, and across social media platforms including TikTok, Twitter and Instagram.This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in sport media, sport business, the sociology of sport, digital business, or new media studies.

En las últimas décadas, la investigación en torno a los deportes desde las ciencias sociales y humanas fue creciendo y adquiriendo cada vez mayor legitimidad académica. En este proceso quedó de manifiesto que el fenómeno deportivo posibilita observaciones y reflexiones de gran agudeza sobre la sociedad en que vivimos, desde una perspectiva global y local. Este libro procura presentar un cuadro de situación amplio de los estudios sociales sobre deportes, con atención en los enfoques teórico-metodológicos y las propias prácticas deportivas –junto con sus instituciones y referentes–, y en las agendas académicas en distintos países y regiones, como la Argentina, Brasil y América Latina en su conjunto, Estados Unidos, Australia, España, Gran Bretaña y Francia. El público especializado y quienes se inician en el tema podrán conocer más sobre los deportes, comprender la sinergia con la que se pensó históricamente la relación entre deporte y sociedad, y recorrer de qué modo, en el cruce entre teoría, agendas mediáticas y campo empírico, fue posible pensar el deporte a partir de preguntas sobre su lugar en la construcción de identidades, el género, lo político, el cuerpo, la memoria colectiva, las violencias, las masculinidades, la inclusión social y los racismos, entre otros tópicos.

This is the first book to explore in breadth and in depth the complex intersections between sport, leisure, and social justice.This book examines the relations of power that produce social inequalities and considers how sport and leisure spaces can perpetuate those relations, or act as sites of resistance, and makes a powerful call for an activist scholarship in sport and leisure studies. Presenting original theoretical and empirical work by leading international researchers and practitioners in sport and leisure, this book addresses the central social issues that lie at the heart of critical social science – including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, religious persecution, socio-economic deprivation, and the climate crisis – and asks how these issues are expressed or mediated in the context of sport and leisure practices. Covering an incredibly diverse range of topics and cases – including sex testing in sport; sport for refugees; pedagogical practices in physical education; community sport development; events and human rights; and athlete activism – this book also surveys the history of sport and social justice research, as well as outlining theoretical and methodological foundations for this field of enquiry.The Routledge Handbook of Sport, Leisure and Social Justice is an indispensable resource for any advanced student, researcher, policymaker, practitioner, or activist with an interest in the sociology, culture, politics, history, development, governance, media and marketing, and business and management of sport and leisure.

'An essential source on African American athletes and Olympic history.” —Booklist, Starred Review, and Named a Booklist Top 10 Sports Book of 2023The first book to fully chronicle the struggles and triumphs of African American athletes in the Modern Olympic summer games.In the modern Olympic Games, from 1896 through the present, African American athletes have sought to honor themselves, their race, and their nation on the global stage. But even as these incredible athletes have served to promote visions of racial harmony in the supposedly-apolitical Olympic setting, many have also bravely used the games as a means to bring attention to racial disparities in their country and around the world.In Black Mercuries: African American Athletes, Race, and the Modern Olympic Games, David K. Wiggins, Kevin B. Witherspoon, and Mark Dyreson explore in detail the varied experiences of African American athletes, specifically in the summer games. They examine the lives and careers of such luminaries as Jesse Owens, Rafer Johnson, Wilma Rudolph, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Michael Johnson, and Simone Biles, but also many African American Olympians who have garnered relatively little attention and whose names have largely been lost from historical memory.In recounting the stories of these Black Olympians, Black Mercuries makes clear that their superior athletic skills did not always shield them from the racial tropes and insensitivity spewed by fellow athletes, the media, spectators, and many others. Yet, in part because of the struggles they faced, African American Olympians have been extraordinarily important symbolically throughout Olympic history, serving as role models to future Black athletes and often putting their careers on the line to speak out against enduring racial inequality and discriminatory practices in all walks of life.

This volume of wide-ranging essays by sport historians and sociologists examines the complex relations of war, peace and sport through a series of case studies from South and North America, Europe, North Africa, Asia and New Zealand.From formal military training in the late nineteenth century to contemporary esports, the relationship between military and sporting cultures has endured across nations in times of conflict and peace. This collection contextualizes debates around the morality and desirability of continuing to play sport against the backdrop of war as others are dying for their nation. It also examines the legacy and memory of particular wars as expressed in a range of sporting practices in the immediate aftermath of conflicts such as the World Wars and wars of independence. At the same time, this book analyses the history of sport and peace by considering how sport can operate as a pacification in some contexts and a tool of reconciliation in others.Together, and through an introductory framing essay, these essays offer scholars of sport, conflict studies and cultural history more broadly a multinational analysis of the war-peace-sport nexus that has operated throughout the world since the late nineteenth century.Chapter 11 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.taylorfrancis.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Funded by Tokyo University.

This book explores the various ways in which participation in sport and physical activity might contribute to effective solutions within criminal justice systems.Focusing on a range of different sporting and physical activities across an array of social contexts involving both adult and youth populations, the book offers insight into the way in which sport and physical activity is interpreted by participants and practitioners, and how these interpretations relate to broader policy objectives within and across justice systems. It focuses on a series of key issues, including how sport policy (national and international) has developed in recent years in this area; how and to what extent such policy developments have impacted organisations and interventions (both custodial and non-custodial) across sport and criminal justice systems and sectors; and how participant cohorts (such as disadvantaged and/or ‘at-risk'young people) have experienced these changes.With shifting debates around criminal justice and the need for policy and practical solutions to extend beyond tougher and longer sentencing, this book is important reading for students, researchers, and practitioners working in sport pedagogy, sport-for-development, sport and leisure management, sport coaching, physical education, criminology, youth work, youth studies, social work, and health studies.

This book examines the bodies, communities, and cultures that evolve in different online doping spaces. By engaging in critical analysis of the interrelatedness of online and offline doped realities, the book provides a comprehensive analysis influenced by digital sociology and feminist theory. It focuses on the intersection of doping, bodies, and technology, and is structured around three interconnected themes prominent in doping research but less acknowledged in online environments: doping spaces and communities; gender and power relationships; and the relationship between online activities and offline social life. Building on extensive online research with different drug communities and doping spaces, the authors illustrate how the online world of doping has developed into a digital ecosystem, and present an argument for understanding doping as a cyborgified concept. It will be of interest to students and researchers of sport and digital sociology, media studies, social work, drug studies and gender studies

Gesellschaften, die durch globale Entwicklungen, Migration und sozialen Wandel geprägt sind, stehen vor Herausforderungen, die den Zusammenhalt und Nachhaltige Entwicklung beeinflussen. Das Buch bietet eine Sammlung von Fachtexten, die aus sozialwissenschaftlichen, psychologischen und migrationspädagogischen Ansätzen abgeleitet sind. Für Akteur•innen der Sportpolitik definiert es strukturelle Voraussetzungen für ein ganzheitliches sportbezogenes Bildungsverständnis. Pädagog•innen in unterschiedlichen Sportsettings erhalten wichtige Impulse, um Bildungsprozesse systematisch anzuregen und gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt durch Sport zu fördern. Wenn der Sport eine Ressource für soziale Kontakte, die Erfahrung von Zugehörigkeit und erfülltes Freizeitleben für Alle sein soll, dann sind transformatorische Prozesse notwendig. Die Beiträge zeigen auf, wie durch Organisationsentwicklung, Netzwerke und Bildungslandschaften, vielfaltsgerechte Sportdidaktiksowie durch Qualifizierung im Kontext von Sport for Development (SfD)-Programmen die Transformation gelingen kann.

In dem Band werden konkrete Bildungszugänge für Kinder und Jugendliche auf den Feldern des Sports aufgezeigt. Solche Bildungszugänge fokussieren spezifische und z. T. auch niederschwellige Möglichkeiten einer Bildung im Sport und sollen adäquate Bildungschancen anbahnen: über bestimmte Bildungsinhalte und Bildungsmomente, Bildungsfiguren und Bildungsmedien, Bildungsorte und Bildungslandschaften. Hierzu werden orientierende Beiträge und viele gelungene Beispiele sich öffnender Bildungszugänge beigesteuert. Für alle Beteiligten im agonalen, informellen, kommerziellen und humanitären Sport können solche Offerten die Bildungsarbeit im Sport unterstützen.

Drawing on original research, this book looks at what sport can tell us about the social processes, patterns and outcomes of forced migration and the'refugee crisis'.Adopting a systems theory framework and examining different sport disciplines, performance levels and settings, it represents a significant contribution to our understanding of one of the most urgent social issues facing the modern world. The book explores four key aspects of sport's intersection with forced migration. Firstly, it looks at how the media covers sport in relation to the'refugee crisis', specifically coverage of refugee elite athletes. Secondly, it examines the adaptation of sport organisations to the'refugee crisis', including the culture, programmes and structures that promote or obstruct sport for refugees. Thirdly, the book looks at sport in refugee sites, and how sport can be used as therapy, an escape or empowerment for refugees but also how it can reinforce the divisions between staff and the refugees themselves. Finally, the book looks at how forced migration influences and is influenced by participation in elite sport, by examining the biographies of elite migrant athletes.A richly descriptive, critical and illuminating piece of work, this book is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport, migration, sociology or the relationship between sport and wider society.The Open Access version of this book, available at www. taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

This book considers the ability of individuals and communities to maintain healthy relationships with their surroundings—before, during and after catastrophic events—through physical activity and sporting practices.Broad and ambitious in scope, this book uses sport and physical activity as a lens through which to examine our catastrophic societies and spaces. Acknowledging that catastrophes are complex, overlapping phenomena in need of sophisticated, interdisciplinary solutions, this book explores the social, economic, ecological and moral injustices that determine the personal and emotional impact of catastrophe. Drawing from international case studies, this book uniquely explores the different landscapes and contexts of catastrophe as well as the affective qualities of sporting practices. This includes topics such as DIY skateparks in Jamaica; former child soldiers in Africa; the funding of sport, recreation and cultural activities by extractive industries in northern Canada; mountain biking in the UK; and urban exploration in New Zealand. Featuring the work of ex-professional athletes, artists, anthropologists, sociologists, political ecologists, community development workers and philosophers, this book offers new perspectives on capitalism, nature, sociality, morality and identity.This is essential reading for academics and practitioners in sociology, disaster studies, sport-for-development and political ecology.

El ocio de las personas y las dimensiones que lo confi guran son cada vez más importantes para construir la felicidad y el bienestar social. El derecho a la práctica del ocio, en el caso de los colectivos con menos recursos y oportunidades, debe ser garantizado desde las diferentes políticas, instituciones y profesionales que trabajan y promueven la inclusión social. En este libro participan expertos e investigadores en la temática del ocio. En los diferentes capítulos se presentan prácticas de ocio valiosas que permiten una socialización, especialmente en la juventud, con mayores garantías y que no depende tanto de la capacidad de acceso a las actividades y espacios de ocio. Esta obra tiene interés al promover alternativas de ocio valiosas e inclusivas en las que la participación es una vía de aprendizaje dentro del proceso de socialización a lo largo de la vida de las personas. También, se realizan propuestas que pueden inspirer a representantes de instituciones y entidades sociales, profesionales e investigadores interesados en la intervención socioeducativa en diferentes contextos sociales. Estas propuestas se basan en resultados de investigación y contribuyen a adaptar espacios de ocio desde el rigor de la innovación que implica la transferencia social del conocimiento.

This book offers a brief history of how autoethnography has been employed in studies of sport and physical (in)activity to date and makes an explicit call for anti-colonial approaches – challenging scholars of physical culture to interrogate and write against the colonial assumptions at work in so many physical cultural and academic spaces.It presents examples of autoethnographic work that interrogate physical cultural practices as both produced by, and generative of, settler-colonial logics and structures, including research into outdoor recreation, youth sport experiences, and sport spectatorship. It situates this work in the context of key paradigmatic issues in social scientific research, including ontology, epistemology, axiology, ethics, and praxis, and looks ahead at the shape that social relations might take beyond settler colonialism.Drawing on cutting-edge research and presenting innovative theoretical perspectives, this book is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in physical cultural studies, sport studies, outdoor studies, sociology, cultural studies, or qualitative research methods in the social sciences.

This open access book adopts a cultural sociology of materiality to explore the hallmark of the female athlete: the ponytail. Studying a wealth of news articles about ponytails in sports and society, Broch uncovers this hairstyle's polyvocality and argues that it is a total social phenomenon. By separating his approach from the cultural studies tradition, Broch highlights how hair is imbued with codes, narratives, and myth that allow its wearers to understand, maneuver, and criticize social gender relations in deeply personal ways. Using multiple theories about hair, bodies, myths, and icons, he creates a multidimensional method to show how icons are imitated and used. As women navigate their practical lives, health issues, and gendered expectations, the ponytail materializes their dynamic maneuvering of cultural and social environments. Sporting a ponytail—itself an embodiment of movement—is filled with a performativity of social movements: a cultural kinetics that is never apolitical.

The institution of sport has pervasive roots that are steeped in patriarchy. Despite this tradition, sport is at the forefront in making us aware of personal and social issues in global societies. However, sociological attention to family and sport is long overdue and sorely needed. Providing timely knowledge and long-awaited insights into pressing issues, this volume of Research in the Sociology of Sport establishes family and sport as a clearly identified field of study within sociology. Focusing on how families participate in sport in global societies where traditional norms are rapidly evolving, this edited collection presents unique contributions to an under researched area of sociological inquiry. Offering a wide range of perspectives and a multidisciplinary approach, contributors provide applicable solutions to this sociological oversight, and nuanced scholarship that invites future consideration. Divided into three major sections, chapters explore traditional values that are actively challenged by both children and adults, examine the effects of cultural shifts on family relationships, and assess the patriarchal structure of sport participation in global societies. Highlighting the microlevel of the family to grapple with contemporary social issues at the macrolevel of society, Family and Sport: Notable Contributions to Sociology charts new territory to advance a valuable understanding of family and sport issues.

This book offers research findings of the different types of human rights issues that concern athletes and sports programs and the issue of how organizations are addressing safety and human rights issues. The study of sports has not typically been considered as a human rights field. In recent years it is clear that athletes have experienced a variety of human rights violations. As a result, many sports programs have been confronted with criminal violations of abuse and maltreatment. Some sports organizations are developing athlete bills of rights in response. The book provides readers with an overview of the importance of human rights policies and practices in sports, and a synthesis of where the field of sport human rights could be developed. The chapters explores human rights in sports from both organizational and interpersonal approaches. There are both organizational and individual factors associated with human rights. There can be rights violations by coaches, trainers, doctors, or even other athletes. Violations can be physical, sexual, emotional, social, or financial. Organizational policies vary from being very equitable and rights-respecting to those that put athletes at risk or discriminate against them. This book is the first of its kind that links together sports and human rights in a systematic way.

This book takes a deep dive into the factors that lead to countries'success in elite sport. While some researchers have suggested looking at the political, economic, demographic, geographic and cultural characteristics of a country, other scholars have advocated that meso-level strategies such as financial support, governance, and talent identification systems are the factors that need to be taken into consideration. Taking into account the two sides of this debate, the authors review and evaluate these various components. They go on to use this review to propose a new holistic framework of analysis that includes the macro, meso and micro-level factors that lead to national success in elite sport. This is a valuable resource for researchers and students interested in sport management, particularly the subject of sport governance. In addition, sports consultants and policymakers will find this to be an eye-opening read.

This book explores how cultural, social and political change happens through a unique analysis of the ‘ethical turn'in skateboarding today. Insights shared by key change-makers and industry insiders cover themes including First Nations, Black and People of Color, skater-run creative innovations, anti-colonialism, anti-racism initiatives, and a growing focus on equity and empowering skaters historically discriminated against due to gender and/or sexuality. These dynamic changes are also connected to conceptual and theoretical frameworks from skate research, journalism, and sociology. This is a must-read for anyone interested in subcultures and social change.

This book presents a critical rethinking of assumptions that have informed our understanding of women's engagement in contact sport, based on an in-depth ethnography with an English rugby team. Looking at the day-to-day concerns of women who play rugby, this work provides a refreshing perspective on different ways of doing femininities in postfeminist times. Women's rugby is one of the world's fastest growing sports, yet it is also a physical game that is traditionally the preserve of men. Tackling Stereotypes reveals the cultural and symbolic stigma that ‘sticks'to women's rugby players and the tactics they use to carve out space for themselves and fight for legitimacy. It also argues that players engage in pragmatic politics, informed by their participation, that aims to enact realistic change. Branchu develops a situational sociology that furthers debates in the understanding of gender, belonging, becoming, embodiment, resistance politics, and the sociological study of sport.

La sociología es una ciencia que tiene como propósito hacer pensar sobre la realidad social, analizarla críticamente, visualizar ésta desde una mirada holística, global y, a la vez, singular, que cambia a lo largo del tiempo y que es heterogénea, Pero esta mirada no es un fin en sí mismo, Los datos sociológicos son de vital importancia, porque nos ayudan a ubicar la realidad social y denunciar o criticar situaciones de injusticia social y favorecer el diseño de políticas públicas,Esa visión holística de la vida social nos permite reconocer la influencia recíproca entre los pilares de la socialización (familia, sistema educativo, sistema político, economía y religión) y el deporte, los valores y actitudes que lo caracterizan, los hábitos y comportamientos deportivos, la desigual distribución de esta práctica entre hombres y mujeres, jóvenes y mayores, clases populares y clases altas, grupos étnicos y personas de distinta orientación sexual y todo ello según diferentes épocas y lugares,En este volumen se recogen las contribuciones de un nutrido grupo de especialistas que abordan cuestiones de interés social como la perspectiva de género en el deporte, las violencias sexuales, la violencia sobre menores, la edad, la clase social y la diversidad sexual, las identidades y emociones en el deporte, la gestión de conflictos, el tratamiento informativo, los usos de los espacios públicos y los nuevos deportes alternativos, la emergencia del deporte en el medio natural y su contribución al desarrollo rural, su papel en la intervención social y la irrupción de las nuevas tecnologías digitales, Todo ello con el propósito de enriquecer el conocimiento del fenómeno deportivo, tanto en las aulas universitarias como en el ámbito científico y en el de la opinión pública,

This book examines the logic of ‘faster, higher, and stronger'and the technoscientific revolution that has driven tremendous growth in the sports economy and in sport performance over the last 100 years. It asks whether this logic needs revisiting in the light of the climate crisis and sport's environmental responsibilities.Drawing on multi-disciplinary work in sport history, sport pedagogy, sport philosophy, sport science, and environmental history, the book considers not only how sportification may have contributed to the growing environmental impact of sport but also whether it might be used as a tool of positive social change. It reflects on the ways that sport sets performance limits for other ethical reasons, such as doping controls, and asks whether sport could or should set limits for environmental reasons too. Sport, Performance and Sustainability touches on key themes in sport studies, including digitisation, activism, social media, empowerment, youth sport, and physical education.This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport, the environment, development, sociology, or culture.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Sport has the incredible power to positively influence the world, and it is with this in mind that the field of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) has seen tremendous growth over the years. Sport can strengthen social ties, advance human rights, aid economic development, promote inclusion, and more. In Sport for Development and Peace: Foundations and Applications, internationally-recognized SDP experts offer their insights, perspectives, and experiences on a range of topics within the field. The first part of the text focuses on the foundations of SDP, addressing its history, sociological aspects, specific goals—such as development, inclusion, sport participation, and conflict resolution—and political and economic implications. It closes with an evaluation and assessment of SDP programs. The second part examines the application of SDP by providing examples and insights into government involvement in SDP, not-for-profit organizations, and corporate and for-profit enterprises. Finally, the book concludes with a discussion of current trends and future implications of SDP. Written for current and future SDP managers, developers, and administrators, from the student to the professional, Sport for Development and Peace offers a comprehensive look at the many substantive and interconnected SDP topics in order to positively impact this fast-growing field.

Gender Equity in UK Sport Leadership and Governance goes beyond the headlines to provide a timely analyses of current strategy, policy, structure, and practice relating to gender equity in the leadership and governance of sport in the UK. It brings together the expertise and empirical insights from the work of scholars who are researching in this field. Providing theoretical and historical insights, the first part of this edited collection includes chapters on intersectionality and the history of women in sport leadership and governance. The chapters in the second part explore gender equity in the UK home nations, analysing policy and practice within each home country, while problematising the complexity of a dual approach that includes devolved nation policies and UK policies. The final element draws together chapters that explore organisational practices and the gender pay gap and makes visible the everyday experiences of women working in the sector. For those working in sport and researching gender equity, this collection provides evidence-based suggestions on ways we can evidence and create change within the sector through future research and applied practice.

This book brings together examples and cases from across the world to discuss how sport has and can further contribute to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. It discusses the major steps that international bodies have taken so far and can further take in the progressive integration of sport for sustainable development. Contributors from 21 countries take up at least one of the 17 UNO Sport for Development and Peace goals, and present and analyse examples of national, regional or local policies using sport as a lever for sustainable development. From traditional games to major competitions, from gender equality to social development and developing governmental transparency, the chapters showcase diverse experiences and demonstrate that sport is today much more than just physical activity. This book is based on the network of the International Research Network in Sport Tourism (IRNIST) with the collaboration of Sport 4 Impact. It is the first step of a collaboration between universities and the world of associations working in partnership with organizations such as the UN or the European Union. The book is an important resource not just for students and researchers of sport science but for policy makers, bureaucrats and sport administrators.

Competition is a basic fact of life. Living organisms need resources. When resources are limited, they fight over them. This is natural. Life in the modern world, based on rationality, ingenuity, and co-operative skills, makes it easy to forget this basic truth and to believe that it no longer applies to us human beings. Developments in the western world since the turn of the millennium appear to confirm this perception. Progress made during the 20th century in gender equality and minority rights have been followed up by schemes committed to securing equal access for all to institutions, facilities, and opportunities for success in life. The equality agenda has been pushed further toward equity by initiatives meant to make up for injustices done in the past. It may be tempting to interpret these developments as the consequence of a civilizing process that has subdued the competitive nature of human beings in favor of improved empathy and moral sensibility. Competition, fairness, and equality in sport and society aims to show that this interpretation is wrong. Based on the workings of elite sport, it argues that the fairness and equality agenda, rather than being a manifestation of a mellowing of human nature, is essentially driven by the same innate competitive impulses. What has changed is that, once basic material needs for survival are covered, as is the case in the developed world, people continue to compete in other arenas attempting to improve their position in the human hierarchies and win status and recognition.

This is the first book to explore fully the connections between sport studies and criminology, opening up critical new frontiers in the study of sport and crime.Rooted firmly in established critical criminological traditions, the book also employs insights from emerging theoretical frameworks such as cultural criminology, governmentality theory and critical security studies to make better sense of a range of transnational and contemporary cases, events and trends that reveal, in different ways, the crimes and harms that are present in sport. Empirically grounded, including case studies of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, it explores emerging themes in contemporary sport, including but not limited to corruption, doping, youth crime, terrorism, violence and transgression, and human rights abuses. Sport and Crime consciously pushes the boundaries of what might be considered the critical criminology of sport.This is an essential text for any course on sport and crime, and invaluable reading for any student or researcher with an interest in the sociology of sport, sport development, sport policy, the politics of sport, critical criminology, or socio-legal studies.

This timely and urgent text presents cutting-edge research exploring the complexities of barriers to inclusive access to sport and physical activity, and discusses how sport, and society, can move forward beyond the gender binary, in both theory and practice.Sport is one of the most influential, powerful, and visible institutions upholding the gender binary, even as the number of people identifying as transgender and non-binary increases rapidly worldwide. With this rising visibility, societal pressure has been increasing for the equal acceptance of gender diverse people, but while gains have been made in many areas, the participation of intersex, trans and non-binary people in sport remains harshly contested. Bringing together a world-leading team of established and emerging scholars from the UK, USA, and Australia, this collection presents an interdisciplinary analysis of current issues related to the participation of gender diverse individuals in sport and physical activity. Engaging with psychological ideas around identity, prejudice and discrimination, and sports psychology and performance, authors examine evidence that the rules, regulations, and practices that surround physical activity participation – from elite sport to sport in schools, universities, and society at large – are grounded in heteronormative, cisgendered, and sexist practices which unfairly discriminate against gender diverse people.Also including analysis of personal accounts from non-binary and transgender athletes from a range of sports, this is fascinating and essential reading for education, health, and sports professionals who work with and support gender diverse children and adults, as well as academics and students in the fields of psychology, sport psychology, sociology, law, and sports science, and those participating in, and navigating, sport and physical activity spaces.

Sport has come to have an increasingly large impact on daily life and commerce across the globe. From mega-events, such as the World Cup or Super Bowl, to the early socialization of children into sport, the study of sport and society has developed as a distinctly wide-ranging scholarly enterprise, centered in sociology, sport studies, and cultural, media, and gender studies. In The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Society, Lawrence Wenner brings together contributions from the world's leading scholars on sport and society to create the premier comprehensive and interdisciplinary reference for scholars and students looking to understand key areas of inquiry about the role and impacts of sport in contemporary culture. The Handbook offers penetrating analyses of the key ways that today's outsized sport is integrated into the lives of both athletes and fans and increasingly shapes the social fabric and cultural logics across the world. Featuring 85 leading international scholars, the volume is organized into six sections: society and values, enterprise and capital, participation and cultures, lifespan and careers, inclusion and exclusion, and spectator engagement and media. To aid comprehension and comparison, each chapter opens with a brief introduction to the area of research and features a common organizational scheme with three main sections of key issues, approaches, and debates to guide scholars and students to what is currently most important in the study of each area. Written at an accessible level and offering rich resources to further study each topic, this handbook is an essential resource for scholars and students as well as general readers who wish to understand the growing social, cultural, political, and economic influences of sport in society and our everyday lives.

Power Played represents a distinctly critical criminology of sport, blowing the whistle on the harm, violence, and exploitation embedded in contemporary sport and sporting cultures.

Drawing on primary research within voluntary sports clubs in the UK and secondary analysis of the wider international literature on social capital, this text focuses on the micro-processes of social capital development and how they play out in specific social settings. In so doing, it adds to existing research by developing a rich, contextualised, process-based view of social capital in action.Critically reviewing theoretical and empirical literature on social capital, the book highlights the key current debates. The empirical core of the book draws on ethnographic observation over 18 months at voluntary sports clubs in the UK, including in-depth interviews with sports club members and organisers. The text explicitly seeks to set this empirical work in its wider context, by considering the findings in relation to other international studies of social capital in both sports clubs and other types of organisation. The book draws on international research from a whole range of countries: UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Japan, Vanuatu, Czech Republic, Germany, and many others. The book establishes a transferable, process-based understanding of how social capital develops – both within sports clubs and beyond.This is an illuminating reading for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers with an interest in the sociology of sport, sport development, sport management, sport policy, social theory, social policy, or social networks.

Though the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup is for many a symbol of long-standing corruption and human rights problems, the event may actually represent something entirely new. Megasports are now demonstrating a capacity to leave what this book calls a human rights and anti-corruption legacy: norms, practices, policies, or laws that have application beyond sport, are likely to endure after the event, and the implementation of which is accelerated by hosting the event. In the 2010s, Brazil's hosting of the FIFA Men's World Cup and Summer Olympics, and then South Korea's hosting of the Winter Olympics, left what this book calls reactive, accidental, and one-dimensional anti-corruption legacies. Most would be shocked to find that Qatar now moves this legacy concept forward, undertaking to create megasports'first intentional and proactive human rights legacy. The first and perhaps best opportunity to build a proactive, intentional, and two-dimensional human rights and anti-corruption legacy lies in France, as it prepares to host the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics while implementing new landmark anti-corruption and human rights laws. The concept may still advance in Australia and New Zealand (2023 FIFA Women's World Cup) and Italy (2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics). However, the United Bid of Canada, the United States, and Mexico has promised the first proactive, intentional, and two-dimensional legacy around the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup. The book analyzes existing megasport policies and practices, then suggests reforms to acknowledge and support these new legacies.

This book examines the ways in which sport for development and peace (SDP) offers an opportunity for entrepreneurship to take place through and within sport, and how innovation in the context of SDP contributes to social and economic value for underrepresented and marginalised groups and individuals. Written by a team of leading international SDP researchers, and featuring the voices of active SDP practitioners, the book examines the ways in which entrepreneurs seek to use sport and/or social innovation in and through sport to achieve their goals of social and economic development. It explores the strategies that SDP organizations and practitioners are utilizing in the current neoliberal moment to not only survive during economic hardship - particularly during the COVID 19 crisis - but also to thrive, drawing on important concepts such as innovation, risk taking, proactiveness and opportunity seeking. It also considers how nongovernmental organizations, companies, governments, and communities are working to tackle development issues in SDP using non-traditional forms of organization and management, such as social enterprise models. Combining cutting-edge research with reflections on best practice in the field, this book is important reading for any advanced student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in the sociology of sport, sport for development, sport management, development studies, social enterprise or innovation.

This book provides fresh insights on how social innovations are utilized as strategies to make sport more accessible and inclusive. It does so by bringing together theoretical insights and empirical studies from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United States, Australia, Turkey and Belgium. Within the overarching topic of social innovation in sport, this book covers contemporary themes such as digitalization, urban planning, gender equality and innovation in sport policy and practice. It will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of sociology of sport, sport management, sport science and sociology.

“Sidelined is the feminist sports book we've all been waiting for.”—Jessica ValentiShrill meets Brotopia in this personal and researched look at women's rights and issues through the lens of sports, from an award-winning sports journalist and women's advocate In a society that is digging deep into the misogyny underlying our traditions and media, the world of sports is especially fertile ground. From casual sexism, like condescending coverage of women's pro sports, to more serious issues, like athletes who abuse their partners and face only minimal consequences, this area of our culture is home to a vast swath of gender issues that apply to all of us—whether or not our work and leisure time revolve around what happens on the field. No one is better equipped to examine sports through this feminist lens than sports journalist Julie DiCaro. Throughout her experiences covering professional sports for more than a decade, DiCaro has been outspoken about the exploitation of the female body, the covert and overt sexism women face in the workplace, and the male-driven toxicity in sports fandom. Now, through candid interviews, personal anecdotes, and deep research, she's tackling these thorny issues and exploring what America can do to give women a fair and competitive playing field in sports and beyond. Covering everything from the abusive online environment at Barstool Sports to the sexist treatment of Serena Williams and professional women's teams fighting for equal pay and treatment, and looking back at pioneering women who first took on the patriarchy in sports media, Sidelined will illuminate the ways sports present a microcosm of life as a woman in America—and the power in fighting back.

This book investigates the declining status of cricket within contemporary British society after the high-water mark of England's Ashes victory in 2005. It considers the deep roots of the game within British national life as well as its ever-changing nature, and reflects upon the current significance and relevance of a sport that many still perceive as deeply traditional and conservative in outlook.Adopting a socio-political approach, the book offers new perspectives on both the contemporary realities of modern cricket and the social, cultural and political condition of modern Britain. Rather than focusing on personality and the detail of match history, the book looks at how the sport has coped with wider societal changes, such as those in Afro-Caribbean and South Asian communities, and how this has demanded adaptation by cricket's governing authorities. The book also considers the international context in which the game continues to develop and how the initiative with new formats such as Twenty20 has been lost to other cricketing nations, and it offers insight into the continued expansion and recent professionalization of the women's game, hinting at ways in which cricket as a whole could recapture the public's imagination.Cricket and Contemporary Society in Britain is an invaluable resource for those studying the sociology of sport, sport history, cultural studies, the politics of sport, cultural identity, sport management and sport development. It is also a fascinating read for anybody with an interest in cricket or in the value of sport in an era of rapid socio-economic, political and cultural change.

This book engages with the ongoing question of why many girls stop doing sport and physical activity in their teenage years. Previous research has found that many girls'disengagement from sport takes place despite their childhood enjoyment and that frequently these same women take up sport again as adults. Within these chapters, Sheryl Clark explores what it is about this period of time that persuades many girls to disengage from sports when their male peers continue to take part; why some girls continue to take part; and most importantly how girls understand this participation. She suggests that girls'participation in sport should be viewed as part of their ongoing constructions of ‘successful girlhood'within a competitive schooling system and broader socioeconomic context.

In cities around the world, in parks and roadways, people are taking part in sporting charity challenges. Corporate sponsorship has transformed these events into philanthropic endeavours that bring corporate marketing strategies together with medical research and social care agendas. Despite this growth in popularity, little academic attention has paid attention to the ways in which gendered labour shapes the nature of sports-charity events. Sports Charity and Gendered Labour explores a series of questions about the meaning and politics of physical activity, and notions of gender, labour and responsibility.Drawing upon auto-ethnography, studies of major events, in-depth interviews, and analysis of social media, Sports Charity and Gendered Labour provides examples for teaching and knowledge sharing across analyses of gender, sport, leisure, health and wellbeing in ways that will have broad relevance to a range of audiences.

The sociology of sport is a relatively new scientific discipline, which has spread rapidly and developed in different directions across the world. It investigates social behavior, social processes, and social structures in sport, as well as the relationship between sport and society. The book Introduction to the Sociology of Sport aims to give its readers a comprehensive overview of this fascinating topic. For this purpose, it shows the interrelations between sport and identity, social class, gender, socialization, social groups, (mass) communication, the economy, and politics. In addition, the book introduces a new, innovative theory that helps readers understand the social specificity and worldwide popularity of sport.

This volume examines the rise of an emerging sport as a grassroots effort (or “new social movement”), arguing that the growth of non-normative sports movements occurs through two social processes: one driven primarily by product development, commercialization, and consumption, and another that relies upon public resources and grassroots efforts. Through the lens of disc golf, informed by the author's experience both playing and researching the sport, Joshua Woods here explores how non-normative sports development depends on the consistency of insider culture and ideology, as well as on how the movement navigates a broad field of market competition, government regulation, community characteristics, public opinion, traditional media, social media and technological change. Throughout, the author probes why some sports grow faster than others, examining cultural tendencies toward sport, individual choices to participate, and the various institutional forces at play.

Through a social justice and equity lens, this book examines how families, sport, and leisure connect to broader social issues in society. It goes beyond describing oppression and disadvantaged identities and focuses on advocacy and ways forward to challenge the status quo.Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the book draws upon different theories to present important new work on topics as diverse as the role of parents and siblings within youth sport; the family in sport for development and peace; and grandparent–grandchild relationships in sport, leisure, and family tourism. Several topics also bring attention to the multiplicity of family lives such as LGBTQ older adults as well as children and young people in the care of the state. Together, these studies provide important insight into how sport and leisure reflect and refract key contemporary social issues within the context of familial lives.This is fascinating reading for any student or researcher with an interest in sport, leisure, education, development, sociology, social work, or social policy.

A New York Times bestselling and award-winning journalist uses cutting-edge sports research to make the case for why being a fan is good for us individually and is a force for positive change in our society. Larry Olmsted's writing and research have been called “eye-opening” (People), “impressive” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), and “enlightening” (Kirkus Reviews). Now, the New York Times and Washington Post bestselling author turns his expertise to a subject that has never been fully explored, delivering a highly entertaining game changer that uses brand-new research to show us why being a sports fan is good for us individually and is a force for positive change in society. Fans is a passionate reminder of how games, teams, and the communities dedicated to them are vital to our lives. Citing fascinating new studies on sports fandom, Larry Olmsted makes the case that the more you identify with a sports team, the better your social, psychological, and physical health is; the more meaningful your relationships are; and the more connected and happier you are. Fans maintain better cognitive processing as their gray matter ages; they have better language skills; and college students who follow sports have higher GPAs, better graduation rates, and higher incomes after graduating. And there's more: On a societal level, sports help us heal after tragedies, providing community and hope when we need it most. Fans is the perfect gift for anyone who loves sports or anyone who loves someone who loves sports. “Olmsted opens a window into a psychologically compelling world of passion and purpose.” —Harvey Araton, author of Our Last Season: A Writer, a Fan, a Friendship

Offering a complete introduction to sport development policy and practice, this book covers key theory, themes, issues, and debates in sport development, without assuming any prior knowledge on the part of the reader. It outlines the organisational landscape of sport in the UK and explains important differences across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as the global context.Examining both community and elite sport, it covers public, private, and third sectors, including national and local government and national governing bodies, and considers change – cultural, managerial, social, and political – as an element of sport development policy, strategy, and operations. Every chapter includes an in-depth case study around which a seminar or tutorial can be based, as well as definitions of key concepts and terminology that students and practitioners are likely to encounter during their studies or professional practice. Questions at the end of each chapter encourage the reader to reflect on their own work, and useful guides to further reading make the book an ideal jumping off point for further study.This is the perfect foundation textbook for any sport development course taken as part of a degree program in sport development, sport management, or sport coaching.