International Review for the Sociology of Sport

Starting from the question: "How long it will be possible to practice competitive sport in the current form?", the following essay elucidates the positive and negative facts for finding an answer to this question.

After analyzing the current situation of top-level competitive sport, arguments are presented why top-level sport, in the opinion of the author, is capable of playing a meaningful role as a provider of exemplary societal values, although top-level sport includes many threats.

Many factors are of fundamental importance for the future development of top-level competitive sport and for providing this future a change of thought in many spheres (e.g. professionalization), becomes necessary.

Recommendations which should be respected by officials, athletes and coaches exhibit which changes are the most important.

The general principles common to conflict theory are: (1) the primary unit of analysis is social structure; (2) conflict is endemic in social organizations; (3) persons in similar social conditions will organize to promote their group interests; (4) the powerful use their power to keep themselves in power; (5) inequities in wealth, power, and prestige plus the exploitation by the powerful toward the powerless lead to conflicts between them; (6) the understanding of society requires the understanding of the political economy; (7) the conditions of social organization, domination, and exploitation have alienating, repressive, and frustrating effects on individuals; and (8) human beings are the architects of social organization. These principles of conflict theory are applied to deviance in sport. Specifically, this paper defines deviance from the conflict perspective by using objective criteria. Next the structural roots of deviance in sport are examined by focusing on the structural conditions of massification and commodification.

In 1981, women were very prominent in the organised opposition to a South African rugby team touring New Zealand. While overtly opposing racial discrimination, it is argued their protest action was motivated by anger at the exclusively male sport of rugby. They challenged the values, gender relations and power which are symbolised and reproduced by the sport. Such power, with a base in patriarchy, agriculturally based capitalism and white supremacy has excluded and oppressed women. Events since 1981 suggest that such protests made a substantial contribution to an emerging hegemony in New Zealand whereby previous power concentrations shifted considerably.

The article is a first attempt to apply Bourdieu's theory of social class differences, as it has been outlined in his book "La distinction, Critique sociale du jugement", to the understanding and the explication of the development of sport involvement in childhood and adolescence. The article puts the stress on sports in the context of family and peers and tries to demonstrate (1) how elements of taste do penetrate sportive situations, (2) how and why sportive situations are not apt to integrate people of different tastes, (3) that sport even in childhood and adolescence is a social system that helps to differentiate society vertically, (4) and it is shown that Bourdieu's concept of classes (incl. taste) might be able to explain social differences in sport involvement better than the traditional concept of class or social stratification.

Sex equality in sport will always remain an illusion as long as the macho character of modern competitive sport dominates. Against this background the claim of the International Korfball Federation that they are promoting a competitive sport as "the passport to coeducation" can be considered interesting and challenging. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent korfball, as it is institutionalized and played in The Netherlands, does, in fact, substantiate this claim. The division of power between male and female players was estimated by a systematic observation of 26 matches at the highest competitive level and by ascertaining the number of male and female presidents and secretaries throughout Dutch korfball clubs. In addition, a questionnaire served to compare the perceptions of male and female korfball players with those of male and female basketball and handball players with regard to sex stereotypes and instrumental aggression. The evaluation of the data showed on the one hand that the equal division of power between males and females in korfball leaves much to be desired and on the other hand that korfball could contribute towards reducing macho perceptions in competitive sport.

The highly visible successes of teenagers in professional tennis seem to have increased the emphasis on winning in junior tennis. The purpose of this field study was to determine the extent to which a professional orientation, that is, an emphasis on winning, existed in junior tennis players and the degree to which it was related to levels of involvement and success as well as the aspiration to become a professional tennis player. Subjects were sampled from two populations. The competitive group consisted of participants in sectional tournaments while the noncompetitive group consisted of participants in tennis camps. Webb's (1969) professionalization of attitudes scale was used to assess orientation towards winning. Orientation scores were compared across level of competitive involvement, gender, tennis career aspiration and degree of match success. Results revealed that the competitive group endorsed winning significantly more often than did the noncompetitive group. This endorsement showed a strong relationship with tournament finish but a low correlation with career aspiration. Between and within group gender comparisons revealed that significantly fewer of the noncompetitive girls prioritized winning than did their same-sex competitive and other-sex noncompetitive counter parts. Overall, the degree to which winning was endorsed increased with degree of competitive involvement and tournament success. The discussion includes possible explanations for the high degree of professional orientation and for the presence of gender similarities and differences among junior tennis players.