Popular Sport and Sociocultural Change in the Spain of the 80's

The structure and organization of the social life in Spain has experienced very remarkable changes all through the decade of the 70's. At the beginning of the 80's it is possible to observe the emergence of some sociocultural trends, above all among the younger strata of the population, which are making to appear a new conscience, built up on more freedom, reinforcement of the indi vidual ego, come back to the Nature, more hedonistic approach to life, etc.

In this context of sociocultural changes I try to analyse new traits of popu lar sports which made its first appearence in Spain in the second half of the 70's. Practically without official support in all the biggest cities have been organized important sport events within the new outlook, with the participation of several thousand athletes of both sexes and different ages and levels of physical condition. Nowadays, it is possible to see in many public places of the Spanish cities bigger scores of people pacticing their favourite sport. For the very first time, jogging and other popular sports are becoming the main use of leisure time for many Spanish people.

The relevance of popular sport in our society must be considered in the above-mentioned context of sociocultural change. In order to get a closer look on these phenomena a survey has been conducted among a representative sample of Spanish population, aged 15 years onwards.

I will submit to the Congress the most salient results of the survey research upon which my hypothesis is based.