Social groups and factors affecting participation

Gender

• Every week in the UK, fewer women take part in sport than men.
• Boys are twice as active as girls by age 14.
• There are many factors that affect this, including not wanting to play with boys, feeling judged, lack a role model, have less spare time to do sport and so much more.
• There are always ways to support women and girls and find out what works for them.
• In addition, there has recently been more media coverage for women's sport, which can be more motivating for young girls.

Issues affecting gender equity in sports government:

• Influence of power
• Lack of women leadership positions - Women hold only 33% of general manager positions within the Women’s National Basketball Association
• Women are less likely to hold leadership positions in sports, including volunteer and professional level organizations
• Within national Olympic governing bodies, 85.3% of those governing bodies are composed of all male leadership teams, and 14.1% have male/female leadership teams, whereas only one, Zambia, has an all-female leadership team

Changes in women's sports:

• Women were only allowed to compete in distances further than 800 metres at the Olympics in 1960.
• Subsequently, the 1500 metres was added in 1972 and the 10,000 metres in 1988.
• Football, rugby and cricket have traditionally been seen as masculine sports and have only recently started growing in popularity on a larger scale.
• Unfortunately, professional sportswomen's wages are generally significantly lower than that of sportsmen. However in 2016, 83% of sports offered women the same prize money as men.

Stereotypes in gender:

• Research shows that sport is still strongly masculine, and strongly in favour of men as the primary controller of sports.
• It is important to give women equal opportunity in sport governance because gender diverse sport organizations are found to be more successful than those that are all male.
• Evidence suggests that gender stereotypes contribute to young women dropping out of sport participation because women in sport are often seen as being non-feminine.
• Similarly, men who do not fulfil the 'masculine' stereotype have reported feeling intimidated and excluded from sports participation.
• Women are more likely to be less active than men, men achieve higher intensive physical activity.
• For a longer time, men had more access to sports and sports practice than women did, allowing them to become better than women.
• When women then wanted to begin these sports, men then had the advantage as they could say that women were not trained for them.
• There are some sports that women are still discriminated in is F1. Formula 1 is the most watched formula in racing and women aren't allowed to compete at that standard or speed as their 'bodies aren't built for it'.

Ethnic groups-race/religion/culture

Key terms

• Role model - a person looked up to by others as an example to be imitated

there may be a lack of role models for people of different ethnicities in smaller sports that aren't as popular and under the public eye

What is ethnicity?

• The term ethnicity describes an ethnic group you belong to. An ethnic group is a social group that shares the same cultural traditions, a religion or other factors.
• Different ethnic groups can be under-represented in sport and physical activity as shown by some data.
• Data shows that participation by people in an ethnic minority background is often limited to sports and physical activities that are traditionally associated with that specific ethnic group.
• Sometimes it can appear that ethnic minority groups are represented quite well in some professional sport, but this doesn’t always translate to participation among the general public.
• The amount of professional captains, coaches and managers that originate from ethnic minority backgrounds also usually remain at a low level.

Age

• Physical activity tends to peak between the ages if 16 and 25.
• The physical changes caused by ageing also have a huge impact on participation
• Age division in competitive sport helps address the age factor
• The body’s ability to take in and use oxygen decreases by 1% per year after the age of 25. This can be reversed with training.

Sporting example that is inclusive for the elderly

Life sports like lawn bowls, golf, and swimming provide people of all ages, but particularly elderly people, with an opportunity to continue and participate in physical activity and sport because they don't place the same stresses on your body as other sports do.

Significant Barriers

• There are many physical barriers stopping the elderly from playing sports.
• This because when as people get older they struggle to participate at the same level as they would have done when they were younger as the sports will put more of a strain on their body.

Family/friends/peers –

Key terms

• Moral support – when you encourage and help a relative or friend to do something they thrive at
• Peer pressure – When your decisions are influenced by your friends, family or the people you surround yourself with

Positives and Negatives

• Not paying for equipment
• Relying on someone else to take their friend/child to a game
• Not attending matches: supporting them by watching their matches

Example - of where family has had an influence on their child’s involvement in sport – Harry and Jaime Redknapp who are father and son who both had careers as professional footballers

Disability

What is a disability?

• Disability is defined by the government as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term affect on a persons ability to carry out normal daily activities.
• Having a disability can also affect participation in many sports and other physical activities. There are currently 11 millions people in the UK with a disability.

Why are people with a disability under-represented in sport?

• There are significant barriers that continue to affect the opportunities of people with disabilities to take part in sport and physical activity.
• There are a limited number of teachers and coaches with the necessary qualifications and not all local facilities have been fully adapted to cater for people with disabilities.

What are these significant barriers?

• There are physical barriers, for example a lack of or the cost of adapted equipment.
• There are also logistical reasons, for example a lack of transport or inappropriate communication, access to where they need to go (for wheelchairs)
• Lastly, there are psychological reasons, for example lack confidence or other peoples' attitude.

The commercialisation of physical activity and sport

Commercialisation: The management or exploitation of a person, organisation or activity in a way designed to make a profit

Media: A diverse range of technologies that act as a means of mass communication

Four types of media

• Social media
• Provides access to the broadcast media and print media
• Official and un-official websites for information – selling of merchandise
• Broadcast media
• E.g: Sky sports, BBC, talkSport
• There is pay to view or free to view television
• Digital radios are portable so people can listen on the move
• Paper/print media
• 99% of the time newspapers have dedicated sports sections
• Increasing number of specialist sports magazines
• General magazines can often include sports related stories
• Outdoor media
• Billboards at sporting events are used to advertise products and services to a large audience

Sponsor: An individual or group, usually a company, that provides financial or other forms of support to an event, activity, person, or organisation in return for some kind of commercial return

Sponsorship: Provision of funds or other forms of support to an event, activity, person or organisation in return for some kind of commercial return

Financial

• Finding a sponsor can help pay for some or all of your day-to-day living training or competition costs
• The sponsor in return will have their brand/name linked to the performer

Facilities

• Sponsored facilities are often named after the sponsor and can include basic training facilities sponsored by a local company, right up to stadiums used by a Premiership football club sponsored by a global company

The impact of technology on physical activity and sport

Technology in sport – Application of scientific knowledge to bring about improvement in performance

Technological developments in sport

• Hawkeye – A computer system using several cameras to track the flight and trajectory of balls. It is used as an aid to officiating in tennis, cricket, football
• Performance analysis aids – Wearable technology that monitors fitness or records a performers movements on a pitch or field. This includes technology that can be worn like watches, GoPro’s, software like Dartfish and Kandle that use camera or GPS to provide quantitative data eg: distances run, passes made etc…
• Television match officials (TMO) – Known as video referees used mostly in rugby and football to help assist decision making. VAR (Video assistant Referees) is a match official (usually in association who reviews decisions made by the referee

The positive and negative impacts of technology…

Ethical conduct by performers

Etiquette - A convention or an unwritten rule in an activity demonstrating respect

• Tennis - Apologising when the ball hits the net
• Football -

Sportsmanship – Conforming to the rules, spirit and etiquette of a sport

• Cricket – When a player gets out they walk out as they know they are out

Gamesmanship – Attempting to gain an advantage by stretching the rules to their limit

• Time wasting when winning
• Verbal abuse to player to make them angry
• Taking timeout when not needed
• Appealing for a decision even though you know it was not

Contract to compete - An unwritten agreement between opponents to follow and abide by the written and unwritten rules of the game

• Not arguing with officials
• Following etiquette of the sport
• Playing to your best ability
• Not taking performance enhancing drugs
• Avoiding gamesmanship behaviour

Performance enhancing drugs

• Prohibited substances – stimulants, anabolic agents, narcotics, peptide hormones, diuretics
• Prohibited methods – blood doping
• Legally prescribed drugs – beta blockers

Stimulants – Used by cyclists in long distance events to help maintain focus

• Affect the central nervous system
• Increases mental and physical alertness
• Reduces fatigue

Narcotic analgesics

• Reduce the feeling of pain
• Mask the pain caused by overtraining, allowing performers in a wide range of sports to gain an unfair advantage by being able to train harder than their competitors

Anabolic agents/steroids

• Artificially produced hormones that mimic testosterone
• They promote bone growth and reduce recovery time so performers can train harder and more frequency
• Used by performers who need strength, muscular endurance and power such as sprinters and weightlifters

Peptide hormones – eg: Erythropoietin

• Stimulate the production of naturally occurring hormones
• Erythropoietin (EPO) is produced naturally by the kidneys to regulate the production of RBC. It increases the RBC count and therefore the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Thus improves the performers aerobic capacity so they can perform for longer before fatigue sets in and recovery time is shorter
• Used by endurance athletes – marathon runners, cross country skiers

Diuretic drugs

• Remove fluid from the body by increasing the rate of urination
• Helps performers lose weight quicky in sports that have weight categories
• They also help reduce the concentration of other prohibited substances in the performers urine by excreting it faster

Blood doping

• Removing a performers blood for a few weeks before competition, freezing it and the re-injecting it – usually via a blood transfusion – just prior to competition
• It increases the number of RBC in the blood stream increasing the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity
• Improves a performers aerobic capacity so they can perform for longer before fatigue sets in and their recovery time is shorter

Beta blockers

• 
• Reduces heart rate, muscle tension and blood pressure
• Reduce the effects of adrenaline, a natural hormone that is released by the body to speed up heart rate
• Improves fine motor control and preciseness
• Steady nerves and have a calming and relaxing effect, which can be of benefit in sports like archery, shooting, ski jumping and diving

Advantages and disadvantages of taking peds

Spectator behaviour

Positive and negative influences of the spectators

Home-field advantage – Gaining an advantage in a sporting event from being in familiar surroundings, with the majority of the spectators supporting you.

Hooliganism

Hooliganism – The disorderly aggressive and often violent behaviour by spectators at sporting events

Reasons for hooliganism include.

• Rivalries between opposing groups of supporters
• Media hype about the importance of a particular match, which can whip up supporters, antagonise them and incite them to behaver badly.
• Influence of alcohol or drugs
• Links between groups of supporters and gang culture
• Frustration at events that occur during the sporting event, such as an official making a decision supporters disagree with or a player or performer doing something supporters don’t like.
• Displays of ‘masculinity’ with hooligans kicking, punching, and shouting to impress each other.

Strategies to combat hooliganism and poor behaviour by spectators.

• Early kick-offs
• To reduce the amount of alcohol consumed before a match.
• All-seater stadia
• Introduced after the Heysel stadium and Hillsborough disasters.
• Segregation of fans
• Rival supporters are now kept apart, in separate areas of the stadium.
• Often the away fans are kept behind after the game finishes to allow the home fans to leave the venue.
• Improved security
• Video surveillance searching supporters entering the stadium.
• Large numbers of stewards who constantly monitor supporters throughout a match.
• Alcohol restrictions
• Alcohol may be strictly controlled or banned altogether depending on the sport and the stadium.
• Travel restrictions and banning orders.
• Known troublemakers can be banned from attending one or more matches or travelling to away games, particularly if they are abroad.
• One of the most extreme sanctions the authorities can impose is that the game is played behind closed doors, so the match is played in an empty stadium.
• Educating spectators
• Promotional campaigns and high-profile endorsements from performers help educate supporters, encouraging good behaviour and condemning hooliganism.