tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/nrl-1520/articlesNRL – The Conversation2024-03-04T19:22:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2237332024-03-04T19:22:13Z2024-03-04T19:22:13ZDreading footy season? You’re not alone – 20% of Australians are self-described sport haters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579440/original/file-20240303-24-8u9369.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=198%2C33%2C7150%2C4528&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the winter AFL and NRL seasons about to start, Australia’s sporting calendar is once again transitioning from its quietest to busiest period. </p>
<p>For many, the return of the AFL and NRL competitions is highly anticipated. But there is one group whose experience is very different: the approximately 20% of Australians who hate sport. </p>
<p>We are currently conducting research to better understand why people feel this way about sport and what their experiences are like living in a nation where sport is so <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1329878x15616515">culturally central</a>. We have completed surveys with thousands of Australians and are now beginning to interview those who have described themselves as “sport haters”. </p>
<h2>Australia, a ‘sports mad’ nation</h2>
<p>Australia has long been described as a “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970902955588">sports mad nation</a>”, a reasonable assertion given the Melbourne Cup attracted crowds of <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/2178266">more than 100,000 people</a> as far back as the 1880s.</p>
<p>Australia’s sport passion is perhaps most evident today from the number of professional teams we support for a nation of 26 million people, one of the highest per capita <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Heath-Mcdonald/publication/326140082_Are_Sport_Consumers_Unique_Consumer_Behavior_Within_Crowded_Sport_Markets/links/5e9465fd92851c2f529c4322/Are-Sport-Consumers-Unique-Consumer-Behavior-Within-Crowded-Sport-Markets.pdf">concentrations</a> in the world. </p>
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<p>In addition to our four distinct football codes – Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union and soccer – we have professional netball, basketball, cricket and tennis. In all, there are more than <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/kb/structure-of-australian-sport">130 professional sport teams in Australia</a> today (across both genders).</p>
<p>Australia also hosts – and Australians attend – major sport events at a rate wildly disproportionate to the size of our population and economy. <a href="https://www.blackbookmotorsport.com/news/f1-australian-grand-prix-record-crowd-melbourne-albert-park/">Formula One</a>, the <a href="https://ausopen.com/articles/news/record-breaking-australian-open-ao-2024-numbers">Australian Open</a>, the <a href="https://nbl.com.au/news/nbl-sets-new-season-attendance-record">National Basketball League</a>, the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-attendance-records-tumble-as-fans-flock-back-to-footy-20230902-p5e1ib.html">National Rugby League</a> and <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/64-of-aussie-population-watched-matildas-new-deakin-research-claims-797902">Matildas</a> have all recently broken attendance or television viewership records.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-barassi-line-a-globally-unique-divider-splitting-australias-footy-fans-185132">The Barassi Line: a globally unique divider splitting Australia's footy fans</a>
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<h2>Why people hate sport</h2>
<p>The ubiquity of sport in our culture, however, conceals the fact that a significant portion of people strongly and actively dislike sport. Recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14413523.2023.2233342">research</a> by one of the co-authors here (Heath McDonald) has begun to shine light on this cohort, dubbed “sport haters”.</p>
<p>Sport haters account for approximately 20% of the Australian population, according to two surveys we have conducted of nearly 3,500 and more than 27,000 adults. Demographically, this group is significantly more likely to be female, younger and more affluent than other Australians. </p>
<p>Their strong negative sentiments are reflected in the most common word associations <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14413523.2023.2233342">study participants</a> used to describe sport. In the case of AFL, these were: “boring”, “overpaid”, “stupid/dumb”, “rough”, “scandal” and “alcohol”.</p>
<p>While the reasons for disliking sport vary from person to person, research shows there are some common themes. The first is in childhood, where negative experiences participating in sport or attending games or matches can lead to a life-long dislike of all sport. As one professed sport hater said in an <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMen/comments/1zxfyt/guys_who_do_not_like_sports_can_you_explain_why/">online forum devoted to men who don’t like sport</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>My brother would force me to play soccer against my will all the time as children. I think that is where my resentment for physical sport comes from because the choice was taken away from me by my twat of a brother.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sport hatred can also derive from social exclusion or marginalisation. Sport has historically been a male-centric domain that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277539587900525">celebrates</a> masculinity and can lead to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-20/taylor-swift-effect-sports-fandom-nfl/103486274">toxic behaviour</a>, which can exclude many women and some men. </p>
<p>Sport has also had to overcome racism, perhaps most symbolically visible by AFL player Nicky Winmar’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-17/nicky-winmar-indigenous-afl-racism-anniversary/102222960">iconic protest</a> in 1993. In addition, individuals with a disability still face <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/integrity_in_sport/inclusive-sport/understanding-our-diverse-audiences/people-with-disability#:%7E:text=People%20with%20disability%20receive%20the,than%20adults%20who%20don't.">barriers</a> that result in lower rates of sport participation. </p>
<p>Here, the current <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-20/taylor-swift-effect-sports-fandom-nfl/103486274">Taylor Swift effect</a> is noteworthy. The singer’s attendance at National Football League games, including the Superbowl, resulted in huge spikes in television viewership. Through her association, Swift helped make the sport more <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096969892300317X#bib122">psychologically accessible</a> for many women and girls.</p>
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<p>The <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=AvjrDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT125&dq=Contesting+national+Culture&ots=1_lQuBpKK7&sig=dMb-5s0PgpUumUTSFeEKZiNq0dg#v=onepage&q=Contesting%20national%20Culture&f=false">cultural dominance</a> of sport also fuels its detractors, with many critical of sport’s media saturation and its broader social and even political prioritisation. (The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-16/macquarie-point-stadium-dominates-election-campaign-day-one/103473124">debate in Tasmania</a> over the controversial AFL stadium proposal is a good case in point.)</p>
<p>From a media perspective, Australia’s particularly strict <a href="https://theconversation.com/regardless-of-the-rules-sport-is-fleeing-free-tv-for-pay-and-it-might-be-an-avalanche-154640">anti-siphoning</a> laws have ensured that sport remains front and centre on free-to-air television programming. </p>
<p>Sport’s cultural dominance also fosters resentment for overshadowing people’s non-sporting passions and pursuits, as well as creating societal out-groups. Journalist Jo Chandler’s <a href="https://libraryedition.smedia.com.au/lib_a/Default.aspx#panel=document">2010</a> description of moving to Melbourne is no doubt shared by many:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the workplace, to be unaligned is deeply isolating. Team tribalism infects meetings, especially when overseen by male chiefs. In shameful desperation, I’ve played along.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In life, it’s fairly easy to avoid most products you might dislike. But given sport’s ubiquity, simply tuning out is sometimes not an option.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/on-the-eve-of-an-aflm-grand-final-like-no-other-can-the-shadow-of-the-pandemic-make-us-strive-for-something-better-167792">On the eve of an AFLM grand final like no other, can the shadow of the pandemic make us strive for something better?</a>
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<h2>The Anti-Football League, a club for haters</h2>
<p>In 1967, two Melbourne journalists, Keith Dunstan and Douglas Wilkie, launched an anti-sport club in response to this growing cultural dominance. In his founding address to the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/7584522/Football_is_a_Fever_Disease_Like_Recurrent_Malaria_and_Evidently_Incurable_Passion_Place_and_the_Emergence_of_an_Australian_Anti_Football_League">Anti-Football League</a>, Wilkie made clear who the club was for: </p>
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<p>All of us who are tired of having football personalities, predictions and post mortems cluttering our newspapers, TV screens and attempts at alternative human converse – from beginning-of-morning prayers to the last trickle of bed time bathwater – should join at once.</p>
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<p>Membership quickly reached the thousands. Soon, a Sydney branch was launched, bringing national membership to a high of around 7,000. According to sport historian Matthew Klugman, members found joy in being “haters”. </p>
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<p>…they wanted to find a shared meaning in their suffering, not to extinguish it, but to better enjoy it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This led to some curious rituals, with members ceremonially cremating footballs or burying them. An Anti-Football Day was also launched, taking place on the eve of the Victorian Football League Grand Final. </p>
<p>The club would go on to experience periods of both prosperity and hiatus over the years, but has been dormant since <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/vale-keith-dunstan-gentle-footy-hater-cyclist-and-master-of-words-20130911-2tklh.html">Dunstan’s death</a> in 2013.</p>
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<p>With eight more years to go in Australia’s so-called “<a href="https://this.deakin.edu.au/career/golden-decade-of-sport-ahead-for-australia">golden decade of sport</a>”, which began with <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/womensbasketballworldcup/2022">2022 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney</a> and culminates with the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, it may be time sport haters to start a new support group. </p>
<p>If you consider yourself a sport hater, and are interested in contributing your experience to our ongoing research, please provide your contact information <a href="https://researchsurveys.deakin.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_a4CqHyqipjYj5SC">here</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223733/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heath McDonald is a consultant to a range of professional sport teams in the AFL, NRL and cricket. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hunter Fujak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research sheds light on the reasons why many people dislike sport in a sport-mad nation.Hunter Fujak, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin UniversityHeath McDonald, Dean of Economics, Finance and Marketing and Professor of Marketing, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2247352024-02-29T19:06:59Z2024-02-29T19:06:59ZOn Sunday the National Rugby League goes to Vegas. It might just hit the jackpot<p>Australia’s National Rugby League will launch its 2024 season in <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/02/19/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nrl-las-vegas/">Las Vegas</a> this weekend, in the boldest attempt yet to capture the hearts and wallets of Americans.</p>
<p>It’s been tried before. </p>
<p>In the 1930s, legendary League administrator Harry Sunderland took the game to France and offered to <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/02/10/the-great-american-dream-why-vegas-is-boldest-bid-yet-to-conquer-us-market/">take it to the United States</a> as manager of the 1929–30 Kangaroos.</p>
<p>He told the San Francisco Examiner the team was “willing to line up, with eleven men, against a regular American football team, and to see what would happen”.</p>
<p>Later, in 1954, Australia and New Zealand played exhibition matches in Long Beach and Los Angeles on the US west coast. Only 1,000 people turned up at Long Beach and 4,554 at Los Angeles.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Russell Crowe explains the rules and laws of rugby league, 2024.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Australia did better at Long Beach in 1987, putting on a <a href="https://www.ladbrokes.com.au/blog/2024/02/27/the-nrls-fascination-with-the-usa/">State of Origin</a> match between New South Wales and Queensland in front of 12,349 fans.</p>
<p>Film star Russell Crowe tried again in 2008, staging an <a href="https://www.ladbrokes.com.au/blog/2024/02/27/the-nrls-fascination-with-the-usa/">exhibition match</a> between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and UK Super League champions Leeds in Florida, attended by 12,500.</p>
<p>Will Rugby League Commissioner Peter V’landys be able to succeed this time, in a nation where his predecessors have failed to make much headway?</p>
<p>I think the odds are good. This is why.</p>
<h2>No helmets, no pads, no timeouts</h2>
<p>The potential reach of the NRL, promoted as football with “<a href="https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/no-helmets-no-pads-no-timeouts-by-russell-crowe">no helmets, no pads, no timeouts</a>”, is vast, extending to the 309 million Americans who own a smartphone rather than the few thousand who might turn up.</p>
<p>And after the H-shaped posts leave Allegiant Stadium and the NRL’s branding is taken down from New York’s Times Square, the league’s presence will continue.</p>
<p>It has reportedly committed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/feb/22/nrl-las-vegas-five-year-deal-us-sports-betting-market-2024-season-launch">five years</a> of season openers in Las Vegas.</p>
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<p>During those five years the NRL will attempt to build and sustain familiarity with the US public, as well as scout out US athletes about <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/vegas-talent-quest-nrl-to-fly-club-bosses-to-usa-searching-for-players-20230906-p5e2ix.html">making the switch</a> to rugby league.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/12/5/media-center-ncaa-student-athletes-surpass-520-000-set-new-record.aspx">520,000</a> student-athletes in the US, many of whom are trying to get into the US National Football League. But the NFL can only accommodate 1,696 active players.</p>
<h2>V’landys has turned the game around</h2>
<p>During COVID lockdowns three years ago, the NRL was “<a href="https://www.espn.com.au/nrl/story/_/id/39565591/peter-vlandys-lauds-nrl-recovery-best-financial-position-ever">three to four months</a>” from being insolvent, according to V’landys.</p>
<p>He and chief executive Andrew Abdo say the league is now in the best financial position it has ever been in. </p>
<p>Its 2023 annual report outlines key <a href="https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/2023/annual-report/nrl-gen23_1003-nrl-annual-report-23-fa_digi-spreads.pdf">reasons why</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>9% growth in grassroots participation in schools and clubs</p></li>
<li><p>40% growth in video views on YouTube</p></li>
<li><p>ten clubs vying for the women’s championship in a final watched by more than a million viewers</p></li>
<li><p>expanding representation in the men’s game with the admission of the Dolphins </p></li>
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<p>Clearly, the NRL do not think their work is done.</p>
<h2>This time it might work</h2>
<p>Sports research has mapped the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1016/S1441-3523(01)70072-1">processes</a> that create fans for a sport. </p>
<p>The first pivotal step is awareness. Potential fans need to know about the sport in order to sign up. That’s the objective of the Las Vegas round and the advertising in Times Square.</p>
<p>The second is something that allows them to like and then identify with it. The advertisements point out rugby league’s similarities to the NFL, saying it’s “football, but not as you know it”, while at the same time emphasising the crucial and hopefully enticing differences.</p>
<p>My own work has pointed to the role <a href="https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/remapping-the-sport-brandscape-a-structured-review-and-future-dir">key individuals</a> play in developing sport fans. And this could be the ace in the hand of the NRL.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2017.1329331">The Beckham Effect</a>” is a term coined to explain the uplift in support when David Beckham joined Major League Soccer in the US in 2007.</p>
<p>Argentinian footballer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lionel-Messi">Lionel Messi</a> achieved a similar feat when he joined MLS club Inter Miami in 2023.</p>
<p>Closer to home, the <a href="https://www.goldcoastfc.com.au/">Gold Coast Suns</a> cemented their legitimacy when they signed football legend Gary Ablett Jnr (and rugby league player Karmichael Hunt) to their inaugural AFL squad in 2011.</p>
<h2>Big names build recognition</h2>
<p>It’s not a strategy that can easily be applied to the US, but a raft of Australians familiar to US audiences including actors, fashion designers, media moguls, businesspeople and musicians are doing what they can.</p>
<p>Currently independent from the NRL, plans are also underway to establish a ten-team <a href="https://dnyuz.com/2024/02/25/australias-nrl-in-talks-for-10-team-us-competition-report/">American league</a> with proposed ownership stakes being offered to figures such as wrestling and global movie star <a href="https://www.wwe.com/superstars/the-rock">Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson</a>. </p>
<p>If Las Vegas is a success, other US stars might just grab a franchise of their own.</p>
<p>Las Vegas is certainly a roll of the dice, but if the NRL succeeds in grabbing even a small slice of America’s vast sports market, it will have hit the jackpot.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224735/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Doyle is a co-founder of SPRTER.</span></em></p>Australia’s NRL has tried several times before to crack the US market. This time the odds are good.Jason Doyle, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142552023-09-25T06:31:01Z2023-09-25T06:31:01ZAustralian rugby has reached its lowest point. How did it get here?<p>The Wallabies have suffered a record-breaking defeat to Wales at the Rugby World Cup. This represents Australia’s worst result in a World Cup match and its biggest-ever losing margin to Wales. And it will almost certainly end Australia’s 2023 World Cup campaign at the group stage for the first time. </p>
<p>Given pundits had suggested a strong World Cup performance was vital for the health of the game domestically, the horror result heaps further pressure onto a sport shrinking out of the mainstream and facing numerous challenges.</p>
<h2>Sport Management 101: Investing in grassroots and junior development</h2>
<p>A notable feature of the Australian sport system is that while organisations such as the Australian Football League, National Rugby League and Rugby Australia oversee professional football leagues and generate millions of dollars in commercial revenue, they are also tasked with looking after their sports at the community level. </p>
<p>The AFL understands this investment in the grassroots level is not only vital to producing the next batch of superstar players, but also key to ensuring the sport remains embedded within local communities.</p>
<p>Rugby Australia has not valued this necessity, with World Cup results illustrating the deleterious impact of falling behind competitors when it comes to grassroots investment.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I have performed a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2020.1773433">study</a> of Rugby Australia’s financial performance since 1980. We discovered the code’s professionalisation in the mid-1990s resulted in a drastic shift in how the organisation spent its money. A clear implication from the analysis was a significant divestment from grassroots development in the past 20 years. </p>
<p>In 2001, 13.76% of Rugby Australia expenditure (A$7.06 million) related to community rugby. By 2015, this had hit a record low of 2.65% ($2.37 million). </p>
<p>And while Rugby Australia spent $4.3 million (3.59%) on community rugby in 2019, this paled in comparison to how much the AFL spent on game development ($58.8 million, or 13.7% of its overall expenditure), as well as the NRL ($43.3 million, or 8.2% of its overall expenditure).</p>
<p>This lack of resourcing for community rugby prompted former Wallaby Brett Papworth to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-01/rugby-australia-axes-forty-percent-of-staff/12302232">quip</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Rugby Australia has] chopped all the trees down and been a fantastic logging business and they’ve built massive timber mills, but they’ve forgotten to plant any new trees. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This lack of new tree growth appears to now be biting the code in 2023.</p>
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<h2>Fighting a losing battle for talent</h2>
<p>Contributing further to the Wallabies’ struggles has been the somewhat unique situation whereby a significant proportion of the code’s elite juniors ‘defect’ to another sport upon turning professional.</p>
<p>Many rugby-playing junior athletes developed in the private school system – think Cameron Murray, Angus Crighton, Patrick Carrigan or Kalyn Ponga – instead choose the NRL and have become household names in the competing code.</p>
<p>Certainly, the NRL has benefited from becoming the destination code for many union-trained athletes, a phenomenon Melbourne Storm captain Christian Welch astutely described in economic terms as a “<a href="https://www.codesports.com.au/nrl/state-of-origin/christian-welch-gps-rugby-union-graduates-are-a-huge-part-of-this-state-of-origin-series/news-story/e2b138cf17b52b03f9beba4d17f5de58">free rider problem</a>” for Rugby Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-the-wallabies-struggles-a-sign-of-rugby-unions-decline-in-australia-125711">Are the Wallabies' struggles a sign of rugby union's decline in Australia?</a>
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<p>Rugby’s challenge here is two-fold.</p>
<p>First, with 16 Australian NRL clubs to Super Rugby’s five, there are simply more professional opportunities available to aspiring young players – and they are far more lucrative, too.</p>
<p>The pragmatic reality for aspiring athletes is that the lure of a professional contract is often far more important than the rugby code they play. This is particularly the case for <a href="https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/37548/1/Lakisa,%20Adair%20and%20Taylor%20-%20Pasifika%20disapora.pdf">Pasifika rugby players</a>, for whom maximising professional incomes is tied to familial and cultural priorities.</p>
<p>Second has been the growing financial superiority of the NRL compared to Australian rugby. </p>
<p>The salary caps (the total value a team can spend on player salaries) of the codes are instructive. Both the NRL and Super Rugby salary caps were around $4.4 million in 2012. Since then, however, the NRL cap has grown 275% to <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/12/23/nrl-announces-record-high-salary-caps-for-2023-season/">$12.1 million in 2023</a>, while Super Rugby’s cap has lifted by only 25% to $5.5 million.</p>
<p>Rugby Australia has taken a more <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/rugby-boss-warns-of-more-nrl-poaching-20230426-p5d3jm.html">bullish public tone</a> in recent times, suggesting the allure of participating in international competition will entice NRL stars to rugby union via the Wallabies. </p>
<p>Thus far, however, the code has secured only one such emerging star in Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii – and it required one of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/25/nrl-star-joseph-suaalii-to-switch-codes-for-three-year-contract-with-rugby-australia">largest contracts</a> in Australian sport to do so. Poor Wallaby performances will only drive up the cost of buying established talent.</p>
<h2>Where to next for rugby union in Australia?</h2>
<p>Rugby Australia is in an increasingly perilous market position, with declining on-field performance only adding to a vicious spiral of downward pressures.</p>
<p>It was announced in recent days that Rugby Australia has disengaged from <a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/sport/out-of-left-field-rugby-australia-walks-away-from-pe-deal">private equity discussions</a> on account of disappointing valuations. This low commercial valuation was said to stem from the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/nine-extends-rugby-deal-as-ra-plots-next-chapter-20230322-p5cucj.html">extension</a> of its existing broadcast deal with Channel Nine to 2025, originally valued at $30 million per year. </p>
<p>By contrast, the AFL’s broadcast deal commencing in 2025 will generate $643 million in annual revenue, illustrative of the gulf between the “rich” and “poor” in Australian sport. </p>
<p>This gulf is only widening. In 1996, rugby union’s overall revenue ($21 million) was a quarter of the AFL’s ($85 million). By 2022, Rugby Australia’s revenue ($129 million) was just 14% of the AFL’s ($944 million).</p>
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<p>Of particular concern is that Rugby Australia has historically focused its efforts on the men’s national team, which has now failed to yield a dividend. This focus prompted sharp criticism recently from athletes in the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/66567765">women’s national team</a>, who called out perceived broken promises and gender inequalities by Rugby Australia. </p>
<p>Rugby Australia’s semi-professional women’s rugby program is now firmly behind both other national rugby unions, as well as the many vibrant domestic women’s leagues such as the Women’s Big Bash League, AFLW and NRLW. </p>
<p>Rugby Australia seems to thus be stuck with a wicked problem. The code appears underfunded at the community level, the domestic professional level and in the women’s game, yet it is not generating the revenue required to make improvements in these areas. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the code’s largest competitors continue to get stronger, making it ever more difficult to cultivate the new fans required to generate higher revenues.</p>
<p>With a highly anticipated Lions tour in 2025 and the home World Cup in 2027 both on the horizon, the question now is whether Australian rugby will be in a position to capitalise on these opportunities. </p>
<p>Prior to the Wallabies’ final loss at the World Cup, Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan offered some <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/don-t-watch-ra-chairman-s-advice-for-wallabies-detractors-as-pressure-mounts-20230923-p5e703.html">curious advice</a>: “For all the Wallaby detractors, don’t watch the game.” McLennan well may have this request granted. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-barassi-line-a-globally-unique-divider-splitting-australias-footy-fans-185132">The Barassi Line: a globally unique divider splitting Australia's footy fans</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214255/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hunter Fujak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pundits had suggested a strong World Cup performance was vital for the health of the game. The horror result in France will put even more pressure on the sport to reform to stay relevant.Hunter Fujak, Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2063962023-06-15T06:53:24Z2023-06-15T06:53:24ZSport bodies say ‘yes’ to the Voice. But they should reflect on their own backyards too<p>More than 20 prominent Australian sport bodies have taken a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-26/sporting-organisations-back-voice-to-parliament/102397506">united stand</a>, publicly declaring their support for a “yes” vote on the Indigenous Voice to parliament.</p>
<p>Why, as custodians of sport, have they chosen to take a public stance on a political issue that transcends the athletic domain? And why are they advocating for a “yes” vote?</p>
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<p>Some proponents of the “no” vote contend that sports bodies should have no place in political debate. The role of sport organisations, they argue, ought to be simple: they organise competitions and manage athletes. </p>
<p>However, sports bodies have a charter to be engaged with the community and are committed to numerous groups and causes. Pathways and support for Indigenous people are a core part of sports having a sense of social responsibility – they don’t function in a socio-political bubble.</p>
<p>That said, sport organisations have often been ineffective custodians for Indigenous players’ personal and professional development. Indeed, while First Nations people have long been notable performers in many sports, rarely have they had a voice in the running of their workplaces. What’s more, many Indigenous athletes have suffered racism on the job.</p>
<p>So, while sports bodies are notable advocates of a Voice to parliament, they might want to consider how much of a voice Indigenous athletes have in their own organisations. </p>
<h2>Why a ‘yes’ vote?</h2>
<p>Sport organisations provide <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/integrity_in_sport/inclusive-sport/understanding-our-diverse-audiences/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples">opportunities</a> for Indigenous athletes, whom they value for their talent.</p>
<p>But there’s now more to it than that. Many sport bodies have made commitments to the <a href="https://www.nrl.com/wellbeing-and-education/characterwise/camps/indigenous-players-camp/">wellbeing</a> of their Indigenous employees.</p>
<p>Multiple sports feature <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-22/football-australia-launches-national-reconciliation-action-plan/100851486">Reconciliation Action Plans</a>, and Indigenous cultures often feature in the pre-match ceremonies of major sport events, such as the Welcome to Country. There are also dedicated <a href="https://supernetball.com.au/news/indigenous-round-2021-story-behind-dresses">Indigenous rounds</a> in the AFL, NRL and Super Netball.</p>
<p>Given many sport bodies are committed to Indigenous wellbeing and community engagement, it seems logical for sports bodies to publicly support the Voice proposal.</p>
<p>However, whether those sports bodies are <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/opinion-indigenous-round-is-not-a-marketing-strategy-repeat-after-me/2ww6471kl">sufficiently earnest</a> or live up to the ideals enshrined in the <a href="https://ulurustatement.org/">Uluru Statement from the Heart</a> is a more complicated question, as suggested by recent investigations into <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/01/racism-is-not-just-an-issue-in-football-but-the-afl-needs-to-push-for-greater-change">historical racism in the AFL</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-antithesis-of-healing-the-afl-turns-away-from-truth-telling-again-ending-hawthorn-investigation-200722">The antithesis of healing: the AFL turns away from truth-telling again, ending Hawthorn investigation</a>
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<h2>Political advocacy</h2>
<p>The interplay of sport organisations and social and political causes is hardly new. In Australia, an obvious recent example is the vote for same-sex marriage, which was supported by numerous sports bodies.</p>
<p>These organisations have core values around cultural diversity and policies to promote inclusion, so their <a href="https://theconversation.com/taking-sides-sport-organisations-and-the-same-sex-debate-84575">support of the “yes” campaign</a> was hardly surprising.</p>
<p>But this didn’t mean universal acceptance: some within sport took a different view, most notably <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-13/israel-folau-backs-no-vote-a-day-after-aru-supports-yes/8942766">fundamentalist religious followers</a>.</p>
<p>In terms of the Voice campaign, sport organisations appear to have undergone their own due diligence in terms of finalising a position. The AFL, for example, organised educational seminars about the referendum and conducted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2k_uz-5qck">anonymous polls</a> among staff and players with the aim of aligning its own position with that of its workforce.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/taking-sides-sport-organisations-and-the-same-sex-debate-84575">Taking sides: sport organisations and the same-sex debate</a>
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<p>This has been a process of consultation rather than indoctrination. For example, “no” campaign leader <a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/opinion/rita-panahi/warren-mundine-praises-collingwoods-educational-approach-for-the-voice/video/dfe7cb6c3e0cc27df1a97a13a1344149">Nyunggai Warren Mundine</a> was invited to speak at Collingwood Football Club. He said “They got the ‘yes’ campaign to do a presentation and then they got me to come in and give a presentation – that’s the way to do it”.</p>
<p>That said, it’s difficult to find either a sports body or an athlete publicly advocating “no” to the Voice.</p>
<p>Whereas rugby star <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-13/israel-folau-backs-no-vote-a-day-after-aru-supports-yes/8942766">Israel Folau</a> used his public profile to galvanise opposition to the same-sex marriage proposal in 2017, there’s no equivalent athlete campaigner opposed to the Voice.</p>
<h2>Voices against sport</h2>
<p>In the meantime, there’s plenty of angst among “no” campaigners that sports are supporting the “yes” vote. It is, of course, reasonable to ponder whether they would hold that view if the sports advocated a “no” vote.</p>
<p>But, leaving that aside, what are the misgivings about sports bodies taking a public position?</p>
<p>Former Australian Prime Minister <a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/voice-to-parliament/a-thoroughly-bad-development-john-howard-says-sports-bodies-should-stay-out-of-the-voice-to-parliament-referendum/news-story/25f6a15934eedd804fb629cd5049d1c1">John Howard</a>, well known for donning a green and gold tracksuit for photo opportunities during Wallabies Tests or the Olympics, contends that sports bodies have no place taking a stand on the Voice: voting, he stresses, is a matter for individuals, and leagues cannot speak for them.</p>
<p>For Howard, sport should only be an “escape” from politics, with fans mingling to focus on having a good time and cheering their team.</p>
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<p>Current Opposition Leader <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/05/19/peter-dutton-voice-sports/">Peter Dutton</a> takes a similar view, but argues that sports fans are being lectured to by “elites” within leagues like the AFL or the NRL. The inference here is that a coterie of sport executives has conspired to dictate a position in the absence of any consultation.</p>
<p>Sport, from the perspective of these naysayers, should be silent on the Voice.</p>
<p>Yet that perspective overlooks the way sport is run today.</p>
<h2>Social responsibility</h2>
<p>Whether the same-sex marriage campaign, empowerment of women or climate change, sports increasingly take a view because they have a responsibility.</p>
<p>Sports bodies have mission statements declaring contributions to society, among which is support for groups and communities that, historically, have been on the margins of the nation’s sporting culture.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sit-on-hands-or-take-a-stand-why-athletes-have-always-been-political-players-70397">Sit on hands or take a stand: why athletes have always been political players</a>
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<p>That said, Indigenous employees within sport have long been rendered peripheral to decision making. Sports bodies have too often not consulted First Nations’ players or administrators when making decisions for the “good of the game”.</p>
<p>Yet, at the same time, they celebrate Indigenous peoples for their substantial contribution to sport.</p>
<p>When sports bodies say they support a Voice to parliament, they might also reflect on what that looks like in their own backyards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206396/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While sports bodies are notable advocates of a Voice to parliament, they might want to consider how much of a voice Indigenous athletes have in their own organisation.Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology SydneyJohn Evans, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) and Professor, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2062732023-05-25T22:30:03Z2023-05-25T22:30:03Z‘Whose side are you on mate?’ How no one is free from bias – including referees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527926/original/file-20230524-17-w6g0dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C2968%2C1980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Jason Paris, head of the company that sponsors the New Zealand Warriors NRL team, <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2023/05/nrl-one-nz-chief-executive-jason-paris-stands-by-accusations-of-referee-bias-against-warriors-despite-nrl-investigation.html">complained recently</a> about Australian referee bias, more than a few heads will have nodded in agreement. </p>
<p>Sports fans often think the ref is biased against their team – penalising them for the very same actions the other side is getting away with.</p>
<p>But taking the element of trans-Tasman rivalry out of the argument for the moment, it’s worth asking whether it’s even possible for referees to operate without being unconsciously influenced by factors beyond their immediate control. </p>
<p>The honest answer is probably not – despite most professional sporting bodies <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2022/04/nrl-2022-referees-boss-graham-annesley-denies-unconscious-bias-against-nz-warriors-but-experts-disagree.html">regularly rejecting claims of bias</a>.</p>
<p>It’s clear from a wide range of research that, while it’s unlikely professional referees consciously cheat, they are likely to be affected by unconscious biases. In fact, referee bias has been reported in pretty much <a href="https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2020.1845814">every aspect of most sports</a>, including the use of yellow cards, red cards and penalty kicks. </p>
<p>None of this is surprising, or even particularly critical of referees. Humans are all subject to unconscious bias, and it’s very difficult to overcome.</p>
<h2>Confirmation bias is real</h2>
<p>We all use a range of reasoning shortcuts – also known as “heuristics” – to make decisions and assessments. While useful, many of these shortcuts can lead us astray, despite our best efforts. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.donchristoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/nickerson1998.pdf">one such heuristic</a> leads us to notice evidence that confirms positions we already hold and to overlook evidence that is inconsistent with those views. </p>
<p>This tendency – known as confirmation bias – has its uses. It lets us make quick decisions when we don’t have the time to consider all the evidence. And it may reduce mental conflict and increase self-esteem, since it reduces how often we have to acknowledge we were wrong. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/two-refs-are-better-than-one-so-why-does-the-nrl-want-to-drop-one-138722">Two refs are better than one, so why does the NRL want to drop one?</a>
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<p>However, confirmation bias can also be problematic. In one striking <a href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/science/article/pii/S0379073805005876?casa_token=Y9036DWsDzMAAAAA:8v5PA8G2_llUk5uCyPLZ-TYlWqCwDplgNboc2ZbWKn3dTP-uxjA8PPG_pTSkG2KcEpd6jJEthRLC">non-sports experiment</a>, researchers asked five fingerprint experts to say whether a suspect’s fingerprints matched those from a crime scene. They didn’t tell the experts that they’d seen those same fingerprints five years earlier. </p>
<p>The experts had no reason to remember them, and they didn’t realise that five years earlier, they’d said they were a match. This time they were told they were looking into a probable case of mistaken identity; that the prints taken from the crime scene probably didn’t match those taken from the suspect. </p>
<p>Now only one of the five experts said they matched. Given exactly the same prints, but primed to look for evidence that the fingerprints didn’t match, their judgement changed.</p>
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<h2>Expectations influence outcomes</h2>
<p>What does all this have to do with referees? Well, they’re only human. Even if not consciously biased, they will have expectations about how players and teams will perform, and there is evidence that this influences their judgements.</p>
<p>In one <a href="https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/auckland/reader.action?docID=819267&ppg=144">experiment</a>, researchers took advantage of the common practice in gymnastics of coaches ordering their competitors from weakest first to strongest last. </p>
<p>Films of competitors were reordered and the judges asked to rank them. Where in this lineup the the competitors appeared significantly affected the scoring, with the same routine receiving a higher or lower score depending on where it was positioned.</p>
<p>We suspect those expectations are one reason dominant teams and players tend to have close calls go their way. </p>
<p>Referees expect to see some players pull off moves that bring them close to infringing but which don’t cross that line. They are more likely to make a call against a journeyman player who they don’t expect to pull off the miracle play. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/split-second-decisions-with-little-praise-so-what-does-it-take-to-ref-a-game-of-nrl-57553">Split-second decisions with little praise: so what does it take to ref a game of NRL</a>
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<h2>Refs aren’t superhuman</h2>
<p>Just like the fingerprint experts, confirmation bias leads them to see the same evidence differently. And if referees do have these kinds of expectations, it would be very difficult for them to factor these out of their decision making. </p>
<p>The fingerprint experts didn’t intend to tailor their judgements to suit the views they’d been primed to hold. Further, they made their judgements under calm laboratory conditions, with the evidence in front of them and plenty of time and equipment to examine and consider it.</p>
<p>It would be truly remarkable if referees – obliged to make calls in the heat of the moment, with pressure from players and crowds – were not at least equally affected. Referees would need to be superhuman to be immune to these dangers.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cognitive-biases-and-brain-biology-help-explain-why-facts-dont-change-minds-186530">Cognitive biases and brain biology help explain why facts don’t change minds</a>
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<p>There are also more straightforward sources of bias. <a href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/science/article/pii/S0165176520303815">Recent research</a> into the Bundesliga, German football’s highest division, took advantage of empty stadiums during the COVID pandemic to explore the influence of vocal crowd support on referees. Unsurprisingly, the evidence suggests it does have an influence. </p>
<p>Pre-COVID, referees gave fewer fouls and yellow cards for the home team relative to the away team. These differences changed during the crowd-free matches, so that home teams were treated less favourably than before.</p>
<p>None of this is meant as a dig at referees. They are surely aware of the research on bias, and receive training and support to address it. But confirmation bias is difficult, if not impossible, to beat. Maybe we just have to accept it as part of the game.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Referees would need to be superhuman to be immune to the risk of bias – maybe that’s something all sports fans could agree on.Tim Dare, Professor of Philosophy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauJustine Kingsbury, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2058432023-05-19T02:54:21Z2023-05-19T02:54:21ZSport is being used to normalise gambling. We should treat the problem just like smoking<p>Turn on the TV and you’re <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">four times more likely</a> to see a gambling ad during a sports broadcast than during other programming.</p>
<p>The number of gambling ads on TV has grown from <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">374 a day</a> in 2016 to <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/948-gambling-ads-daily-on-victorian-free-to-air-tv-in-2021/">948 in 2021</a>. The Australian Football League and National Rubgy League have an “official wagering partner”, whose logo is displayed prominently. Individual clubs have sponsorship deals with gambling companies, displaying their logos on team jerseys.</p>
<p>It’s something Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agrees is “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/politicians-say-tv-gambling-ads-are-problematic-but-banning-them-will-do-little-experts-say/j4aapxz57">annoying</a>”, after Opposition leader Peter Dutton <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/13/peter-dutton-cranks-up-pressure-on-labor-to-further-restrict-gambling-ads#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CI%20announce%20that%20a%20Coalition,to%20get%20it%20implemented%20now.%E2%80%9D">proposed a ban</a> on gambling ads an hour before and after sports matches. </p>
<p>At present, <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/gambling-ads-during-live-sport-broadcast-tv-and-radio">a voluntary code governs</a> when these <a href="https://www.freetv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf">ads can be shown</a>. Generally this means they are not allowed until after 8:30pm. But as any parent will tell you, this won’t stop <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">sports-mad kids</a> seeing them. </p>
<p>Children are regularly, and heavily, exposed to these ads. Parents are alarmed at the changing way their children view sport. It’s not just about the game, or the players, or the teams any more. Now children recite <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/child-and-parent-recall-of-gambling-sponsorship-in-australian-sport-67/">bookmaker brands</a> and the odds as they discuss the weekend’s sport.</p>
<h2>Normalising harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>As with cigarette marketing in decades past, sports sponsorship and advertising has been the primary mechanism for the aggressive “normalisation” of gambling. It presents betting on your team (especially with your mates) as the mark of a dedicated supporter.</p>
<p>Associating a product with a popular pastime, and with sporting or other heroes, is a clear tactic of harmful commodity industries from tobacco, to alcohol, fast food, and gambling. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/study-shows-betting-ads-influencing-childrens-attitudes-to-gambling">Alarming evidence</a> is emerging that shows how young people are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/27/children-more-likely-to-become-gamblers-due-to-high-volume-of-betting-ads">influenced by this marketing</a>. This includes evidence that <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/2302-overview_gambling-participation-harm-views.pdf">young people’s exposure to gambling ads</a> is linked to gambling activity as adults.</p>
<p>Gambling ads are effective in persuading people to make specific bets, and to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/sports-betting-online-group-chats-young-people-gambling-research/101945456">encourage their friends</a> to sign up.</p>
<p>Young men are particularly susceptible. More than 70% of <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">male punters aged 18 to 35</a> are at risk of harm, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies. </p>
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<img alt="Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in past 12 months." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in the past 12 months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">AIFS</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<h2>What other countries are doing</h2>
<p>These concerns have now lead to multiple countries prohibiting gambling ads altogether. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sportcal.com/betting/sports-betting-advertising-restrictions-planned-in-netherlands/">The Netherlands</a> will ban all TV, radio, print and billboard gambling ads from July, with strict conditions on online advertising. A ban on club sponsorship will come into effect in 2025. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belgium-bans-gambling-advertising-july-1-2023-03-09/">Belgium</a> is going further, ban gambling ads online as well from July. It will ban advertising in stadiums from 2025, and sponsoring of sports clubs in 2028.</p>
<p><a href="https://euroweeklynews.com/2021/08/31/spain-ban-gambling-advertising/">Spain</a> imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising in 2021, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-act-review-how-eu-countries-are-tightening-restrictions-on-ads-and-why-the-uk-should-too-199354">Italy</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>In the UK, the Premier League last month agreed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/13/premier-league-clubs-ban-gambling-sponsors-on-front-of-shirts-from-2026-27">ban bookies’ logos</a> from player match shirts, though critics argue this barely addresses <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">the scale of the problem</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it</a>
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<h2>How to denormalise harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>“Denormalisation” was a key strategy of <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-5-uptake/5-24-denormalising-smoking">tobacco control efforts</a> in Australia. These are now seen as a massive public health success, with smoking and associated disease rates dropping dramatically. </p>
<p>There are at least two aspects to denormalising harmful products. </p>
<p>The first is to reduce the avenues through which the product can be promoted. With <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/tobacco-control-toc%7Etimeline#:%7E:text=1976%20%2D%20bans%20on%20all%20cigarette,increase%20in%20the%20tobacco%20excise.">tobacco</a> this includes even regulating the packaging. For gambling, getting rid of all forms of gambling promotion during sporting events is the obvious first step.</p>
<p>It’s also important to have counter-marketing. When Victoria banned tobacco sponsorship in 1987, it established the <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-history#:%7E:text=We%20were%20established%20by%20the,of%20sport%20and%20the%20arts.">Victorian Health Promotion Foundation </a>, funded by tobacco taxes, initially to support teams that had lost sponsorship. </p>
<p>If gambling ads were banned, it would be logical to replace at least some of the bookies’ ads with messaging that helps people avoid a gambling habit, or get help if they already have an issue.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>If the current <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/onlinegambling">parliamentary inquiry into online gambling</a> makes recommendations in line with submissions from concerned citizens and non-government organisations, we can expect an extension of current restrictions. This should include banning ads in line with Peter Dutton’s suggestions.</p>
<p>It would also make sense to go further than just more restrictions on broadcast ads, to include online and social media promotion. </p>
<p>Even though gambling companies spend most of their marketing dollars on television, use of <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-receptivity-of-young-people-to-gambling-marketing-strategies-on-social-media-platforms-1155/">social media</a> is increasing, with alcohol and gambling ads that deliberately <a href="https://fare.org.au/facebook-and-instagram-are-bombarding-young-people-with-targeted-alcohol-gambling-and-unhealthy-food-ads/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20observed%20that%20alcohol%2C%20unhealthy,points%20collected%20about%20each%20child.%E2%80%9D">target young people</a>. This is despite platforms like Facebook saying it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/345214789920228?id=434838534925385">doesn’t allow targeting</a> for online gambling and gaming ads to people under the age of 18.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-odds-youll-gamble-on-the-grand-final-are-high-when-punting-is-woven-into-our-very-social-fabric-124157">The odds you’ll gamble on the Grand Final are high when punting is woven into our very social fabric</a>
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<p>A program of successive marketing restrictions, moving towards total prohibition, can give the broadcast industry, and the sporting codes, time to line up new sponsors. </p>
<p>There is a need for national uniformity, with a national regulator to replace current clunky arrangements. And only the federal government has any hope of making social media adhere to regulation. </p>
<p>We gained enormous benefits from removing tobacco advertising from our TV screens and billboards. We have the opportunity to protect a new generation from further serious, avoidable gambling harm. </p>
<p>No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads.</p>
<p>Providing a clear timeline for the end of gambling ads will give our professional sports organisations the incentive they need to find an ethical solution that avoids entrapping a new generation in gambling harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205843/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Foundation, the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, the Turkish Red Crescent Society, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He was a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Lancet Public Health Commission into gambling, and of the World Health Organisation expert group on gambling and gambling harm.</span></em></p>No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads. We can protect a new generation of young sports fans from harm by following other nations’ lead – and phasing out gambling ads.Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2004372023-03-30T20:03:22Z2023-03-30T20:03:22ZMore Pacific rugby league stars are opting to play for their homelands over Australia or NZ – that’s good for the game<p>With this year’s National Rugby League (NRL) season now up and running, the prevalence of Pacific players in the tournament is again obvious to see. All NRL teams now feature stars with Pacific nations heritage – indeed, it’s hard to imagine the game without them.</p>
<p>That pride in playing in the top leagues is now extending to which nation those Pacific players choose to represent at the international level. </p>
<p>In 2017, the International Rugby League (the sport’s global governing body) <a href="https://www.intrl.sport/media/2wkkftdm/irl-eligibility-rules-2020-to-publishpdf.pdf">changed the eligibility rules</a>, allowing players with ancestral lineage from more than one country the right to choose which nation they represent. </p>
<p>The ripple effect has been significant. Many Pacific players have decided to play for their motherlands. This is despite many of them being eligible to play for Australia or New Zealand, traditionally the more conventional career goal for these elite athletes. </p>
<p>On the field, the impact has been evident too. Last year’s Rugby League World Cup saw Toa Samoa become the first Pacific nation to <a href="https://www.nrl.com/draw/rugby-league-world-cup/2022/final/game-1/">reach the final</a>. Samoa’s success built on the <a href="https://www.journal.mai.ac.nz/content/cultural-pride-exploring-indigenous-athlete-culture-and-wellbeing">rise of Mate Ma’a Tonga</a> at the previous world cup in 2017. </p>
<p>It has been a validation of the decision by so many Pacific players to pull on their ancestral home’s jersey – and an inspiration for younger, ambitious footballers now kicking off their own seasons at the grassroots level.</p>
<h2>Hearts before bank balances</h2>
<p>For many of those top players, changing allegiance during the peak of their careers has meant sacrificing the substantial monetary rewards of contracting to the Australian or New Zealand national sides. </p>
<p>It has also meant choosing their ancestral homeland over their country of birth. As New Zealand–born Tongan <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu0xheFXKXY">Sio Taukeiaho has said</a>, it is a tough decision but one that involves following their hearts: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It shows how much they want to put this jersey on, and how much they want to represent their family and people back in Tonga.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-rugby-leagues-relaxed-rules-for-diaspora-players-gave-the-sport-a-new-lease-of-life-88104">How rugby league's relaxed rules for diaspora players gave the sport a new lease of life</a>
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<p>The choice to represent that inter-generational familial legacy also highlights the role of cultural values in the arena of professional sports. As <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41978-022-00122-w">we have written</a> about this phenomenon, “Many [players] are forced to work in an environment which privileges individual capitalism over their cultural values of service.”</p>
<p>One player who knows what this means in practice is Michael Jennings, former NRL star and seven-time Australian international, who <a href="https://www.athletesvoice.com.au/michael-jennings-tonga-world-cup-revolution/">chose to play for Tonga</a> in 2017:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s been an honour and a privilege to represent Australia in seven tests […] I’ll always cherish those memories. But it’s a very different feeling playing for Tonga. There’s more emotion in the Tonga jersey. You know what your family has been through, and you think about them every time you put it on. We’re not representing ourselves. We’re representing our families and our heritage.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Growing the game</h2>
<p>To put this revolution in context, at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, 22 of Toa Samoa’s 24-strong squad would have been eligible to play for Australia or New Zealand; all but one of the Mate Ma'a Tonga squad had dual eligibility.</p>
<p>While not all of these players might have made the bigger nations’ national sides, of course, several notable players opted to choose their heritage nation over Australia or New Zealand, including <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/rugby-league/news/state-origin-star-brian-too-pledges-allegiance-samoa-ahead-rugby-league-world-cup/kjotyqkgymtvxli7hgmwy5zm">Brian To'o</a>, <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/martin-taupau-pledges-allegiance-to-samoa-after-24-tests-for-new-zealand/news-story/80fc6164c52cf4449c70d278b7f56714">Martin Taupau</a>, <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2022/09/rugby-league-sydney-roosters-wonderkid-joseph-suaalii-rejects-australia-to-play-for-samoa-at-world-cup.html">Joseph Sua'ali'i</a> and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/113595085/addin-fonuablake-believes-more-kiwis-will-make-the-switch-to-represent-island-nations">Addin Fonua-Blake</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-both-schooling-and-sport-australia-has-slowly-come-to-recognise-its-aboriginal-talent-pool-93637">In both schooling and sport, Australia has slowly come to recognise its Aboriginal talent pool</a>
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<p>In turn, high-profile Pacific players who choose to play for their homelands increase awareness of the game’s place in the Pacific, and help grow the code internationally – something commentators have long said <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-winners-of-rugby-league-are-not-trying-hard-enough-to-expand-the-international-game-86498">needs to be a priority</a>.</p>
<p>All of these trends within the modern game were evident in February this year, when Rotorua hosted the first NRL Indigenous and Māori <a href="https://nzrl.co.nz/new-zealand-to-host-2023-all-stars/">All Stars tournament</a>, featuring both wāhine (women) and tāne (men). </p>
<p>For wāhine Māori All Star and Parramatta Eels player Kennedy Cherrington, pulling on the Māori jersey was the “<a href="https://www.teaomaori.news/pinnacle-my-career-cherrington-commits-all-stars-despite-nrl-uncertainty">pinnacle of my career</a>”. For tāne Māori All Star and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs regular Hayze Perham, returning home to Rotorua to debut for a national Indigenous side in front of his family was a “<a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/maori-all-stars-debut-in-rotorua-a-dream-come-true-for-rising-league-star-hayze-perham/SKC6Y63RLND7NM534WHWW3RUMY/">dream come true</a>”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-winners-of-rugby-league-are-not-trying-hard-enough-to-expand-the-international-game-86498">Why the winners of rugby league are not trying hard enough to expand the international game</a>
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<p>For New Zealand-born players now based in Australia, as well as visiting Indigenous players, the tournament’s emphasis on te reo Māori (Māori language) and cultural protocols such as pōwhiri (welcoming ceremonies) can only have deepened the game’s connection to values beyond the purely commercial.</p>
<p>If the trend continues, and more top players make decisions based on factors other than pay and country of birth, the chances of a Pacific nation winning the World Cup will only increase. That will be cause for celebration at home, of course, but it will also be good for the game on the global pitch, now and for future generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200437/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sierra Keung has worked as an adviser to the NRL's wellbeing programme, including evaluating the inaugural Pacific Advisory Wellbeing Group conference.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dion Enari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By choosing to play for their ancestral homes, Pacific footballers might lose the chance of bigger pay checks, but they still win at a cultural level. And the payoff for the game is immense.Sierra Keung, Lecturer in Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of TechnologyDion Enari, Lecturer in Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2018612023-03-16T02:35:28Z2023-03-16T02:35:28ZWhy do sports keep changing their rules? We count 4 main reasons<p>The Australian Football League’s 2023 season is kicking off with changes afoot. Three rule changes, in fact, which may either please or infuriate commentators and fans.</p>
<p>One change will prevent players awarded a free kick or mark from attempting to win a 50-metre penalty by feigning a handball, in the hope an opposition player will move off their mark and violate the “stand” rule. </p>
<p>Another aims to prevent time-wasting by penalising players with a 50-metre penalty if they change their mind about standing a mark or leaving the protected area. </p>
<p>The third concerns the 30 seconds allowed to players when taking a set shot on goal; umpires will now give a time warning at 25 seconds but not at 15 seconds.</p>
<p>Rule changes like these never cease to spark debate among diehard fans about “leaving the sport alone”. </p>
<p>Australian Rules football has consistently changed its rules throughout its history. But it’s also true that rule changes or tweaks are becoming increasingly common. This is a trend in professional sport around the world. The US National Basketball Association, for example, changes rules almost every year.</p>
<p>Why? Sometimes the reason is to reduce injuries. But often it’s to do with the bottom line – which is that professional sport is a business that depends on delivering an audience to broadcasters. In a competitive media market there are big incentives to change rules to make the sport more exciting for fans and more conducive to commercial sponsors. </p>
<h2>Four reasons for rule changes</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJSMM.2022.128626">research</a> points to professional sport leagues changing rules for four main reasons: to reduce the risk of injury; to make games easier to officiate; to enhance the sport’s spectacle; and to create space for advertising during broadcasts.</p>
<p>The US National Football League, for example, has <a href="https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/evolution-of-the-nfl-rules/">explicitly said</a> it champions “changes that promote more scoring and more exciting plays”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs watch the NFL's Super Bowl 57 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, February 12, 2023." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515413/original/file-20230315-14-lcncvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515413/original/file-20230315-14-lcncvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515413/original/file-20230315-14-lcncvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515413/original/file-20230315-14-lcncvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515413/original/file-20230315-14-lcncvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515413/original/file-20230315-14-lcncvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515413/original/file-20230315-14-lcncvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Spectacle attracts spectators: fans of the Kansas City Chiefs watch the NFL’s Super Bowl 57 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, February 12, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Colin E. Braley/AP</span></span>
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<p>In the AFL, scoring is often the focus for rule changes, because more goals make the sport more exciting to watch while allowing for more advertising breaks. In 2021, for example, advertising breaks immediately following a goal were extended from 45 seconds to one minute to allow for increased commercial airtime. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/have-the-nrls-rule-changes-made-boring-blowouts-the-norm-the-stats-say-no-178992">Have the NRL's rule changes made boring blowouts the norm? The stats say no</a>
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<hr>
<h2>A short history of ‘Aussie Rules’ rules</h2>
<p>The first documented Australian Rules football code was instituted by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859. There were ten simple rules, such as “tripping and pushing are both allowed” and “a goal must be kicked fairly between the posts”. Some of these original rules remain. Others have changed dramatically. Now there are more than 100 “<a href="https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2022/03/28/6d92ed7c-efc2-44dc-86bc-9fa1d9b338ad/2022-Laws-of-the-Game-Booklet.pdf">laws of the game</a>”.</p>
<p>The rules of the women’s competition, the AFLW, have been changed more than 16 times since it began in 2017. In the same time there have been more than 20 rule changes in the men’s competition. </p>
<p>Changing rules and regulations in complex environments such as professional sport is challenging, and professional leagues don’t always get it right. </p>
<p>Trialling a change before permanently implementing it is crucial to avoid negative or unintended consequences.</p>
<p>In 2016, before the inaugural AFLW season, the AFL trialled three different rules it hoped would make the game as exciting as possible. </p>
<p>These were the “last-touch” rule whereby a free kick would be awarded to the opponent of the player last touching the ball before it went out of bounds; a “density” rule requiring players to spread out more evenly across the field; and having 16 players per side instead of 18, to reduce the scrimmages that lead to more stoppages. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/grand-design-why-the-afl-structure-is-unique-and-has-enabled-competitive-balance-190935">Grand design: why the AFL structure is unique – and has enabled competitive balance</a>
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<p>These rule modifications were trialled in exhibition matches. But based on data analysis and feedback from spectators, players, coaches and managers, the AFL concluded most of the changes added nothing to the spectacle of the game.</p>
<p>As a result just one on-field rule change was made in the first AFLW season: the 16-a-side rule.</p>
<p>Rule changes are made to benefit the sport, but introducing them will never be an easy process. Getting the balance right between evolving commercial needs and tradition will always be tricky, and some people will never be happy. </p>
<p>But if attention has been paid to the process, with feedback from all stakeholders, it’s more likely new rules will be accepted and quickly integrated into the fabric of the sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201861/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The AFLW research outlined in this article was partially funded by the AFL.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pamm Phillips has received funding from the AFL for research not related to this topic. She is Editor in Chief of Sport Management Review, a leading academic journal in the field of sport management.</span></em></p>Professional sport leagues change their rules for four main reasons, with the bottom line being to compete against other entertainment optionsKim Encel, Sessional Academic and UNESCO Consultant, Deakin UniversityPamm Phillips, Professor, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1888232022-09-16T01:46:39Z2022-09-16T01:46:39ZThis finals season, a brief ‘priming’ workout could boost performance on the sports field and beyond<p>As humans, it is in our nature to want to do better, find that edge and succeed. This couldn’t be truer than in sport, where winning and losing are often separated by <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/olympics/australian-hurdler-liz-clay-misses-100m-final-at-tokyo-olympics-by-just-08-seconds-c-3567965">tenths of a second</a>, a successful <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-finals-live-brisbane-aim-to-banish-finals-demons-in-elimination-blockbuster-against-richmond-c-8085824">score attempt in the dying stages of a game</a>, or a split-second decision. </p>
<p>So, there is always a need for effective and legal strategies to boost performance. “Priming” is a tool <a href="https://www.scienceforsport.com/gym-based-primer-sessions-1-2-days-before-a-game-do-they-work/">attracting more and more interest</a> from athletes, coaches and scientists. </p>
<p>The good news is it is not just for elite athletes. </p>
<h2>Not just a warm-up</h2>
<p>Priming, also called “morning exercise”, “pre-activation” or “pre-competition training”, has attracted renewed interest among scientists in recent years. Many sporting teams are already on the ball, with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244019307170?via%3Dihub">more than half of coaches using priming</a> to help their athletes gain a performance advantage. </p>
<p>Typically, a relatively brief and non-tiring bout of exercise is performed the day before or on the morning of a competition – somewhere between <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01136-3">one and 48 hours beforehand</a>. This stimulus to the muscles results in “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33135577/">delayed potentiation</a>”. That is, the muscles can perform better after several hours of rest than they would have without the priming exercise. </p>
<p>In contrast, a warm-up takes place much closer to competition. What’s interesting is the benefits of priming are much longer-lasting than those typical of warm-up activation strategies. This is perplexing because we know that increases in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-015-0376-x">muscle temperature, metabolism and the nervous system potentiation</a> with warm-ups return to baseline levels within minutes. </p>
<p>Warm-ups remain important but priming sessions could provide an additional edge. Sports scientists have reported improvements in running, jumping, throwing and weightlifting ability by as much as <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/11/6/article-p763.xml">4%</a>. This might not seem like a lot, but it’s crucial when the difference between winning and losing can be measured in fractions of a percentage point. The physiological mechanisms that cause the priming effect are not yet well understood, but neuromuscular and hormonal changes have been <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/11/6/article-p763.xml">suggested</a>.</p>
<p>And it may not be only muscles that benefit. Researchers have long known priming exercise can improve weightlifting performance <a href="https://paulogentil.com/pdf/Precompetition%20training%20sessions%20enhance%20competitive%20performance%20in%20high%20anxiety.pdf">in anxious athletes</a>. More recent research reinforces the idea priming activities can help <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/14/7/article-p918.xml">athletes’ psychological state and stress levels</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-spate-of-super-fast-sprints-at-the-tokyo-olympics-technology-plays-a-role-but-the-real-answer-is-training-165737">What's behind the spate of super-fast sprints at the Tokyo Olympics? Technology plays a role, but the real answer is training</a>
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<h2>Finding time to play, train and prime</h2>
<p>Very few of us are elite, full-time athletes. Finding time to train and compete, even at a community or sub-elite level, is hard – let alone making extra time for additional priming sessions. But priming exercises can be done with minimal equipment in minimal time. </p>
<p>Basic exercises such as squats and bench presses with relatively heavy weights (around 85% of your maximum capacity) <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01136-3">for just a few repetitions</a> are enough to boost performance later that day. </p>
<p>Don’t have a rack of weights lying around? That’s OK. Explosive body-weight activities such as a few short <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26658460/">sprints</a> or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28291764/">jumping</a> still have the potential to boost athletic performance. Stronger people <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-1898-4888">seem to respond better to priming</a>, likely because they <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2022/01000/Influence_of_Strength_Level_on_Performance.6.aspx">recover more quickly</a> from exercise.</p>
<p>Ideally, pick an activity that uses the same muscle groups you will use during your sport, and do the priming exercise <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31203499/">six to 33 hours before your event</a>, as this seems to offer the most benefit and practicality. And remember, more is not better. You may be able to incorporate your priming session into your existing training regime.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man does squat exercise in gym" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A priming workout doesn’t have to be as strenuous as normal training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.pexels.com/photos/4164465/pexels-photo-4164465.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1260&h=750&dpr=2">Pexels/Ivan Samkov</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>I don’t play sport – what’s in it for me?</h2>
<p>Priming doesn’t just apply to sport; it may help in the gym and with learning new skills. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244013001035">2014 study</a> showed bench-press and squat performance was greater in the afternoon if they were used as priming exercises that same morning. </p>
<p>And ten to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise may <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6920172/">improve reaction time, memory and attention</a>. Moderately intense cycling has been shown to help musicians <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.825322/full">learn the piano</a>. However, these changes appear more immediate and short-lived than those that relate to athletic performance, taking effect and lasting minutes rather than hours.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cant-get-your-teen-off-the-couch-high-intensity-interval-training-might-help-185033">Can't get your teen off the couch? High-intensity interval training might help</a>
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<h2>What we still don’t know</h2>
<p>There are still questions to be addressed when it comes to priming. </p>
<p>Could priming be useful in sports like rugby, football and basketball? These sports require multiple high-intensity efforts, coupled with dynamic decision-making to score and beat an opponent.</p>
<p>More research is also needed to work out what’s happening in the body and what exercises should be done when for the most effective priming. As researchers, we’re exploring the effect of different priming routines on muscular strength and power, as well as repeat sprint performance and reaction time in strength athletes and football players. </p>
<p>In particular, weightlifting protocols that provide strong stimulation, but minimise fatigue, seem promising. We expect the findings will be useful for coaches and athletes who want to improve athletic performance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Latella receives funding from the National Strength and Conditioning Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krissy Kendall receives funding from National Strength and Conditioning Foundation </span></em></p>The muscle benefits of a brief ‘priming’ workout seem to last longer than a last-minute warm up.Christopher Latella, Lecturer, Master of Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning), Edith Cowan UniversityKrissy Kendall, Lecturer of Exercise and Sports Science, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1852132022-07-18T03:50:33Z2022-07-18T03:50:33ZThe major political parties have a membership problem. Footy club marketing might offer some solutions<p>A huge story emerging from the 2022 federal election result was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-big-teal-steal-independent-candidates-rock-the-liberal-vote-183024">grassroots strength of independents</a>, who dislodged both Liberal and Labor in historically “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/23/tu-le-says-labor-learned-the-hard-way-after-kristina-keneally-loses-safe-seat">safe seats</a>”.</p>
<p>But the woes of the major parties extend beyond election day; they’re also reflected in the terminal trajectory of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/13/party-hardly-why-australias-big-political-parties-are-struggling-to-compete-with-grassroots-campaigns">party membership</a>.</p>
<p>In 2020, the Guardian reported the Australian Labor Party has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/13/party-hardly-why-australias-big-political-parties-are-struggling-to-compete-with-grassroots-campaigns">around 60,000</a> members. The Liberal Party is currently estimated to have around <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australian-politics-has-changed-forever-it-s-time-for-the-liberal-party-to-do-the-same-20220525-p5aoko.html">40,000 members</a>, down from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/13/party-hardly-why-australias-big-political-parties-are-struggling-to-compete-with-grassroots-campaigns">197,000</a> during the halcyon days of the 1950s.</p>
<p>By comparison, there were eight AFL clubs in 2021 with more members than each of the two major parties. Two have more members than both parties combined.</p>
<p>When factoring in population growth, the rate of Liberal Party membership has plummeted since the 1950s, while AFL club membership has grown roughly eightfold since the 1980s.</p>
<p>So, what can the major parties learn from footy clubs about how to grow community support?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/afl-and-nrl-grand-final-tv-ratings-show-codes-still-rely-on-their-traditional-heartlands-66485">AFL and NRL grand final TV ratings show codes still rely on their traditional heartlands</a>
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<h2>Mixing sport and politics</h2>
<p>Political parties and sport teams are in fact quite conceptually similar.</p>
<p>Both represent a tribe of people who share a common identity, competing against other such tribes in contests bound by formal rules – whether they are elections or matches. </p>
<p>Political parties and sport teams aren’t just about winning (or at least, they shouldn’t be). At their best, they nurture a wide and passionate base of supporters through <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16184742.2017.1306872?journalCode=resm20">collective identity</a>.</p>
<p>Despite a common purpose, they diverge fundamentally in their approaches to attracting support.</p>
<p>Major political parties engage in what marketers call “<a href="https://www.jois.eu/files/JIS_Vol8_No1_Sonkova_Grabowska.pdf">transactional marketing</a>”; they largely concentrate on obtaining a sale (a vote) at a single moment in time (an election). </p>
<p>Such transactional approaches foster weak attachment to the major political parties outside election times, leaving them vulnerable to shifts in voter preferences.</p>
<p>Sport teams strive for what’s known as “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jagdish-Sheth/publication/222505265_The_Evolution_of_Relationship_Marketing/links/5a5a5967aca2727d60860ea6/The-Evolution-of-Relationship-Marketing.pdf">relational marketing</a>”; they concentrate on building relationships with fans that nurture attachment and longer-term loyalty. </p>
<p>Fostering such loyalty is vital for sport teams to ride out the bumps that come with <a href="https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781849800051/9781849800051.00040.xml">fluctuating on-field performance</a>.</p>
<p>The value of a relational approach is particularly evident in periods of crisis.</p>
<p>Despite the Essendon Bombers’ drug scandal being dubbed the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/asada-vs-essendon-through-the-haze-and-fog-now-what-39586">blackest day in Australian sport</a>”, the club’s membership tally actually <a href="https://www.afl.com.au/news/81439/record-afl-club-membership-in-2014">increased</a> in the immediate aftermath, as supporters galvanised behind the club.</p>
<p>Of course, treating political parties like sports teams – which fans tend to support through thick and thin – risks encouraging bad policy; a rusted-on Liberal or Labor supporter may find themselves supporting the party even when it releases terrible policies.</p>
<p>There is a similar problem in sport; footy clubs accused of systematic cheating or even institutional racism, tend to retain supporters.</p>
<p>I’m not arguing blind support is ideal – but rather that the success footy clubs have found in growing membership and connecting with communities could offer some lessons for the major political parties.</p>
<h2>3 tenets of sports marketing</h2>
<p>Here are three key lessons the major parties could take from footy clubs.</p>
<p><strong>1. Authentically connect with target communities</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913367.2019.1588809">Brand authenticity</a> means developing a genuine, natural, honest and real relationship with your constituencies. </p>
<p>The NRL’s South Sydney Rabbitohs launched <a href="https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/community/">Souths Cares in 2006</a> as a community arm with a charter to support disadvantaged and marginalised youth and families, particularly Aboriginal people in the local area. </p>
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<p>The AFL’s North Melbourne similarly launched <a href="https://resources.nmfc.com.au/aflc-nmfc/document/2022/02/04/20af78a9-f99d-444a-b8c2-01eef1ccb706/NM_5602_2022-2024_TheHuddle_Strategy-1-.pdf">The Huddle in 2010</a>, recognising how the region’s particular cultural diversity underpinned its goal of driving social inclusion.</p>
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<p>Such initiatives are authentic because they are grounded in real communities, genuinely address local issues, and extend from a natural alignment between club and community.</p>
<p>This allows football clubs, which have evolved from kitchen table organisations to <a href="http://www.footyindustry.com/?page_id=142500">A$50 million-plus</a> commercial operations, to remain authentically embedded within community.</p>
<p><strong>2. Engage current and prospective supporters 365 days a year</strong></p>
<p>Sport marketers retain a necessary focus on game day. But this is nestled in broader communication and community strategies that aim to achieve year-round engagement.</p>
<p>Non-game days typically represent 95% of the calendar year, so sport clubs employ communications specialists to produce media content beyond the match itself. </p>
<p>This includes player-focused interviews and biographies, match previews and debriefs, coach insights and community visits. </p>
<p>Such content helps fill the vacuum between individual matches or during the off-season, keeping supporters connected to their club.</p>
<p>And while sport clubs retain a focus upon their home games as major commercial events, professional sport clubs also have a broader calendar of less overt community events.</p>
<p>While a typical AFL or NRL club hosts about 12 home games a season, they run at least triple as many community-orientated events – such as school visits or fan days – to foster community engagement. </p>
<p><strong>3. Defining and living an organisational identity</strong></p>
<p>Sport teams are best known by their mascots and colours, but they’re also defined by the values they seek to associate the brand with – for example, family-orientated, pioneering, working-class.</p>
<p>All these elements combine to form a club’s identity.</p>
<p>Well-defined identities can inform decision-making, such as the Sydney Swans’ fabled <a href="https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/769842/the-swan-way">“no dickhead” team recruitment policy</a>.</p>
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<p>Melbourne Football Club’s core values of “<a href="https://resources.melbournefc.com.au/aflc-melb/document/2020/02/17/65c9f292-f5c3-4810-885e-ea8c53a3e2f4/MFC_Strategic-Plan.pdf">trust, respect, unity and excellence</a>” informs their off-field staff recruitment. Club identity also helps fans make sense of why they support a particular team over another.</p>
<p>Where football clubs protect and cultivate their identity, major parties battle a perception they’re all “just as bad as each other” – there’s a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp9899/99RP10">perceived interchangeability</a>.</p>
<p>By better defining their desired <a href="https://www.liberal.org.au/our-beliefs">identities</a> with communities outside of elections, major parties would become less reliant on election campaign <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-15/election-2022-facebook-ads-labor-liberal/101067750">advertising spending wars</a> to educate voters. </p>
<p>They’d also be less vulnerable to <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/labor-outspends-liberals-as-it-dials-up-fear-campaign-20220427-p5agih">smear campaigns</a>.</p>
<h2>Rewriting the gameplan</h2>
<p>While Australia’s professional sports teams continue to illustrate their success in engaging communities, our major political parties are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/13/party-hardly-why-australias-big-political-parties-are-struggling-to-compete-with-grassroots-campaigns">struggling</a> to build and retain memberships.</p>
<p>Given the underwhelming performance of major political parties last match day, it is perhaps time they rewrite their game plans with the help of sport marketers.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/regardless-of-the-rules-sport-is-fleeing-free-tv-for-pay-and-it-might-be-an-avalanche-154640">Regardless of the rules, sport is fleeing free TV for pay, and it might be an avalanche</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hunter Fujak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While membership of the major political parties has plummeted, footy club membership has soared. So what can the major parties learn from footy clubs about how to grow community support?Hunter Fujak, Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1851322022-07-15T00:28:49Z2022-07-15T00:28:49ZThe Barassi Line: a globally unique divider splitting Australia’s footy fans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471991/original/file-20220701-16-ue86sm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C32%2C1140%2C848&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikidata Fellowship</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A particular eccentricity of the Australian sporting landscape is that, culturally, our football codes remain strongly tied to their geographic origins. </p>
<p>Australian rules originates from Melbourne, with the southwestern states as heartlands. The rugby codes made their Australian sporting debut in Sydney, with northeastern states as heartlands.</p>
<p>This phenomenon was dubbed “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barassi_Line">the Barassi Line</a>” in 1978, describing a cultural dividing line based on football preference proposed to run from Eden, NSW, through Canberra and up to Arnhem Land. The term was first used by historian Ian Turner in his Ron Barassi Memorial Lecture that year.</p>
<p>The Barassi Line has been a focus of <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.405891829523236">my research</a> and has recently been <a href="https://thepeoplesrepublicofcouch.org/the-barassi-line/">plotted and visualised</a> by Brett Tweedie as part of his <a href="https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Inaugural_Wikidata_Fellows_announced">Wikidata fellowship</a>.</p>
<p>In a country that has largely avoided political and cultural hyper-partisanship, the <a href="https://thepeoplesrepublicofcouch.org/the-barassi-line/">Barassi Line</a> is perhaps our strongest sociogeographic dividing characteristic, and certainly novel in the global context.</p>
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<h2>Red states and blue states</h2>
<p>Where one is raised has a remarkably strong bearing on likely football preferences.</p>
<p>If you walked down the streets of Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart or Perth, every third person you walked by would be interested in Australian rules and no other football code.</p>
<p>If you entered a Melbourne pub filled with people interested in football (of any variety), <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.143058285756777">82% of them would AFL supporters</a>. </p>
<p>In a similar Sydney sport pub, <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.143058285756777">73% would support a rugby code</a>. Notably, however, support for the rugby codes <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2020.1807953">varies significantly across Sydney’s geographic subregions</a>. For example, rugby league interest is nearly half as prevalent in North Sydney (28%) as compared to Sutherland (52%).</p>
<p>If you’re Australian, you might be thinking, “Yeah – of course!” But this is not the international norm.</p>
<p>In the United States, for instance, where terrain can range from snow fields to desert landscapes, the variance in popularity between mainstream professional sports leagues is comparatively minimal. </p>
<p>While basketball’s popularity is linked to inner-city urbanisation and baseball <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Wpg6AwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT15&dq=a+companion+to+american+sport+history&ots=ehVE6bWB12&sig=x7X2EoOhYBmpAzQol_alxZH622s#v=onepage&q=a%20companion%20to%20american%20sport%20history&f=false">retains a rural stronghold</a>, <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=AU">Google search volume data</a> nonetheless reveals that 48 of America’s 51 states exhibit an identical hierarchy of sport league popularity (being gridiron, basketball, baseball and ice hockey).</p>
<h2>Where is the Barassi Line and how has it changed?</h2>
<p>Australian rules authorities have actively attempted to shift the Barassi Line. </p>
<p>As early as 1903, Australian rules administrators began investing in game development, <a href="https://www.fairplaypublishing.com.au/products/code-wars-the-battle-for-fans-dollars-and-survival">spending more than £10,000</a> on footballs, jumpers, and school coaches to promote the code in Sydney. </p>
<p>In the past decade, the AFL has distributed <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-funding-ladder-revealed-100m-gap-between-top-and-bottom-clubs-20220304-p5a1yp.html">A$220 million in additional funding</a> to its four northern expansion clubs (the Sydney Swans, GWS Giants, Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns).</p>
<p>Yet despite ever-increasing media coverage and professionalisation, it is remarkable how intact the line remains.</p>
<p>Come 2019, AFL free-to-air telecasts averaged <a href="http://www.footyindustry.com/?page_id=142139">261,000 Melbourne viewers</a>, compared with 21,000 and 23,000 in Sydney and Brisbane, respectively (when not featuring a local team). </p>
<p>Similarly, NRL matches held an average rating in Sydney of <a href="http://www.footyindustry.com/?page_id=145474">about 197,000</a>, compared with ratings typically between 5,000 and 20,000 across southern markets. </p>
<h2>Mapping the battlefront</h2>
<p>Given the Barassi Line represents a metaphorical battlefront, however, real progress is perhaps best measured at the frontline.</p>
<p>Here, the <a href="https://thepeoplesrepublicofcouch.org/the-barassi-line/">Wikidata fellowship work visualising community football clubs</a> is insightful. This mapping identifies 1,504 Australian rules and 861 rugby league clubs nationally. (Of course, as primarily a creative work, it is possible some clubs were missed in this mapping project). But the distribution of clubs is particularly illuminating, noting:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>where Aussie rules was dominant, it was clearly dominant, with league making up just 15% of the two-code-preferred at most in Aussie rules states […] League on the other hand, even when the dominant code, still had a much higher percentage of Aussie rules clubs.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471992/original/file-20220701-14-jjfh4j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This mapping identifies 1,504 Australian rules and 861 rugby league clubs nationally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikidata fellowship</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The conclusions outlined in this <a href="https://thepeoplesrepublicofcouch.org/the-barassi-line/">data visualisation</a> align with those in my book <a href="https://www.fairplaypublishing.com.au/products/code-wars-the-battle-for-fans-dollars-and-survival">Code Wars</a>. </p>
<p>Australian rules is successfully creeping the Barassi Line northward, with the border-straddling region of Murray in NSW aligned with Australian rules. </p>
<p>Significantly, this <a href="https://thepeoplesrepublicofcouch.org/the-barassi-line/">mapping</a> work suggests Australian rules is also advancing in the adjacent Riverina region.</p>
<p>These regions, while small in population, are of high strategic importance to the football codes because such regional areas produce a disproportionate amount of elite athletes. </p>
<p>Wagga Wagga in the NSW Riverina is known as the “City of Good Sports”. It not only produces a very high number of elite athletes per capita (<a href="https://www.waggawaggaaustralia.com.au/visitor-information/city-of-good-sports/">“the Wagga effect”</a>), but does so across an amazing diversity of sports.</p>
<p>Luminaries include Mark Taylor, Michael Slater, Alex Blackwell, Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly, Peter Sterling, Nathan Sharpe, as well as the Mortimer and Daniher families.</p>
<p>The Barassi Line is hence not just of academic interest, but of vital importance for our football codes in terms of maintaining vibrant junior participation bases. This helps secure the nation’s best future athletes.</p>
<h2>The Barassi Line and the broader NSW-Victoria rivalry</h2>
<p>A noteworthy feature of the Barassi Line is how it reflects more broadly upon New South Wales and Victoria, which remain fierce cultural, political, and economic rivals more than 120 years after federation.</p>
<p>This was brought into particular focus by political barbing over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2021/jul/20/victoria-premier-daniel-andrews-takes-swipe-at-nsw-for-not-implementing-ring-of-steel-video">COVID management</a>, but is otherwise most regularly overt in <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/formula-one/a-loss-for-f1-nsw-premiers-gibe-over-really-disappointing-melbourne-news-drivers-debate-supercarsstyle-penalty-system-pit-talk/news-story/703226c411767e4e74d8eb5ef7c82f22">sport</a>. </p>
<p>Sporting barbs fuel the state rivalry because Melbourne consciously targeted becoming Australia’s sporting capital in the 1980s. This was a means of <a href="https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.7202/029575ar">economic salvation</a> by diversifying from manufacturing. Sydney, by contrast, positioned itself as the nation’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523367.2012.746816">preferred financial centre</a>.</p>
<p>While Melbourne’s sport attendance culture is <a href="https://theconversation.com/aussies-are-sports-mad-but-victorians-are-the-clear-winners-45761">widely lauded</a>, Sydney advocates have previously quipped this reflects the city’s otherwise <a href="https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19911890225">dullness</a>. </p>
<p>Irrespective of our individual sporting preferences, the Barassi Line is something to honour. </p>
<p>It not only puts Australia among the world’s most unique sports cultures. It also explains why we have so many professional football teams and leagues to support. </p>
<p>That Australia’s relatively small population can sustain such an abundance and diversity of football is worth celebrating.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hunter Fujak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In a country that has largely avoided political and cultural hyper-partisanship, the Barassi Line is perhaps our strongest sociographic dividing characteristic, and certainly novel globally.Hunter Fujak, Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1789922022-03-10T22:23:40Z2022-03-10T22:23:40ZHave the NRL’s rule changes made boring blowouts the norm? The stats say no<p>Throughout the 2021 National Rugby League (NRL) season, <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/a-17year-first-has-exposed-the-nrls-worrying-gulf-but-vlandys-vows-we-wont-hide-mediocrity/news-story/c131134d9a66b4cdb8b787d3a0ad84af">commentators bemoaned</a> the number of “blowout” results with a wide margin of victory between the sides. </p>
<p>The average margin of victory during the season was 17.89 points, higher than for any season during the preceding decade.</p>
<p>Many critics, including NRL legend Johnathan Thurston, <a href="https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/rule-changes-johnathan-thurston-on-blowout-scores-worrying-trend/7846b3f4-e3ca-4667-a91d-98ee844c415a">blamed recent rule changes</a>, which aimed to speed up the game and reduce defending teams’ ability to regroup and catch a breather by giving away a penalty. The new rule, they argued, allows stronger teams to drive weaker opposition to exhaustion more easily. </p>
<p>But as every amateur statistician on Reddit can tell you, <a href="https://xkcd.com/552/">correlation does not imply causation</a>. And if we take a closer look at the data, it seems the NRL isn’t quite as dull and predictable as feared.</p>
<h2>No blowouts in Blighty</h2>
<p>The rule change was also adopted by the world’s only other top-level rugby league competition, the English-based <a href="https://www.superleague.co.uk/">Super League</a>. And, in contrast to the NRL, it didn’t see an uptick in one-sided games.</p>
<p>In fact, games in the 2021 Super League were closer overall (a 16.26-point average winning margin) than the year before (17.65). These figures are both lower than the 2021 NRL average, despite the widespread acceptance there is a bigger financial disparity between strong and weak teams in the Super League than there is in Australia.</p>
<p>For comparison, since the first <a href="https://www.superleague.co.uk/history-&-heritage/gf-winners">Super League grand final</a> in 1998, just four teams have won the competition and a further five have been defeated in the grand final. Over the same period, every NRL team (except the Gold Coast Titans, which only joined in 2007) has reached a grand final, and <a href="https://www.nrl.com/operations/the-game/premiership-winners/">12 clubs have been premiers</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nrls-unrivalled-equality-means-back-to-back-premierships-are-very-rare-92666">The NRL’s unrivalled equality means back-to-back premierships are very rare</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Similarly, looking at the two main state competitions in Australia, neither the Queensland Cup nor the New South Wales Cup saw such margins of victory occurring as in the NRL. So this suggests the rule changes alone are not to blame.</p>
<h2>How do other sports stack up?</h2>
<p>It’s not easy to compare winning margins across sports, because of the many different scoring systems. However, we can look at other measures of predictability.</p>
<p>One method is to compare the score margins for the two halves of the game. A correlation of 1 between these would mean the team leading at half-time will definitely replicate this performance in the second half, thus showing the game is highly predictable. Conversely, a correlation of 0 would mean we can’t predict anything about the second half based solely on the score at half-time, suggesting the final result is excitingly difficult to call. </p>
<p>Based on this reasoning, how did the 2021 NRL season stack up? Well, although it was the most predictable in a decade (with a correlation of 0.303), this figure is far from remarkable when compared with other sporting codes. </p>
<p>In fact, it is almost identical to the ten-year (2012-21) average in the Australian Football League (AFL), and far below the high correlations seen in the mens’ AFL seasons of 2012 (0.478) and 2016 (0.457). It’s also well below that seen in Super Netball in both 2017 and 2018. </p>
<p>Interestingly, all the major Australian leagues are much more predictable than their North American counterparts. Looking at comparable data from the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA), we routinely see correlations between the two halves’ margins much closer to 0, or even in negative territory, which means the team trailing at half-time is more likely to stage a comeback than slip further behind. The NBA, for example, typically sees correlations around -0.1.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451359/original/file-20220310-19-4ips26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451359/original/file-20220310-19-4ips26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451359/original/file-20220310-19-4ips26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451359/original/file-20220310-19-4ips26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451359/original/file-20220310-19-4ips26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451359/original/file-20220310-19-4ips26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451359/original/file-20220310-19-4ips26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Correlations between first half and second half score margins across various sports leagues. The 2021 NRL season’s predictability is far from remarkable.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Punting predictability</h2>
<p>Across all sports, few factors predict outcomes as accurately as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-tip-to-win-your-office-footy-tipping-dont-listen-to-the-experts-56208">pregame bookmakers’ odds</a>. For each game the bookies issue a percentage probability of each team winning; obviously the “bookies’ favourite” team in each game has a higher percentage, depending on how close the game is predicted to be.</p>
<p>We can therefore measure the predictability of a league season by taking the average of the percentages assigned to every favourite team in every game.</p>
<p>In the NRL, this figure was 72% in 2020 and 76% in 2021 – the first time in more than a decade it has climbed above 70%. While this drop in competitiveness looks concerning, it should be viewed in the context of recent history. By comparison, the COVID-disrupted 2020 season was the only AFL season in that period <em>not to</em> average above 70%. </p>
<p>While there are <a href="https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/5534971/new-rules-could-cause-afl-blowouts-scott/">periodic rumblings about AFL blowouts</a>, it is generally seen as an open and entertaining competition each year.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451223/original/file-20220310-20-1emyd4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451223/original/file-20220310-20-1emyd4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451223/original/file-20220310-20-1emyd4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451223/original/file-20220310-20-1emyd4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451223/original/file-20220310-20-1emyd4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451223/original/file-20220310-20-1emyd4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451223/original/file-20220310-20-1emyd4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average bookmakers’ probabilities of favourites.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>All to play for in 2022</h2>
<p>Although 2021 NRL scorelines were slightly more lopsided than during the previous decade, there is no real evidence to suggest recent rule tweaks were primarily to blame. </p>
<p>What’s more, looking across various measures of predictability, last year’s results were far from anomalous or concerning. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/afl-and-nrl-grand-final-tv-ratings-show-codes-still-rely-on-their-traditional-heartlands-66485">AFL and NRL grand final TV ratings show codes still rely on their traditional heartlands</a>
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<p>In any sporting league, tactics are inherently cyclical. Innovative coaches find ways to gain an edge, perhaps by exploiting a rule change, before others find ways to counter this innovation.</p>
<p>Indeed, the intensively analysed rule changes of the past couple of years have been <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2022-six-again-rule-change-penalties-referees-rugby-league/news-story/510bf3e1a1de3f542a18e251b498b285">slightly tweaked yet again for the 2022 season</a>, to discourage cynical infringements that were seen to benefit the offending team.</p>
<p>So there’s every reason to expect the 2022 NRL season, which kicked off with reigning champions Penrith thrashing Manly 28-6, will be as unpredictable and competitive as any major competition in the Australian sporting landscape.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178992/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Woodcock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Critics say rule changes have made one-sided games more likely in the NRL. But statistics suggest it’s no more predictable than other major Australian competitions such as the AFL.Stephen Woodcock, Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1678792021-09-15T06:42:47Z2021-09-15T06:42:47ZCan Queensland cash in on the NRL finals? It’s all about ‘event leveraging’<p>Queensland’s love of rugby league, and the fact the state isn’t in lockdown, has won it the right to host the 2021 NRL finals series. </p>
<p>But it was economic gains as much as love of the game that Premier Annastacia Pałaszczuk spruiked when announcing Queensland would host all eight finals games plus the grand final at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium. Six of those games are being played outside Brisbane — two in Townsville, two in Mackay, and one apiece in Rockhampton and Sunshine Coast.</p>
<p>“It’s a tremendous gesture from the NRL and will provide an economic boost spread over our regional cities,” Pałaszczuk <a href="https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/93155">said in a statement</a>. Her minister for sport, Stirling Hinchliffe, was even more effusive. “It will invest millions of dollars into local economies and boost intra-state tourism into regional Queensland cities,” he said.</p>
<p>But will it? </p>
<h2>Uncertain gains</h2>
<p>Research shows that hosting sport and other events rarely delivers the economic and tourism benefits commonly claimed. In fact, studies around large-scale events often fail to show any positive economic impact at all. </p>
<p>The financial hangover from hosting events such as the Olympics is well-documented. It took Montreal 30 years to pay off the debt incurred from hosting the 1976 Olympic Games. The 2004 Athens and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games also failed spectacularly to deliver on their promises of economic benefit. </p>
<p>The Olympics, though, is in a league of its own, due to the scale of competition, sheer number of venues required and being a one-off. </p>
<p>Hosting a seasonal sporting event using existing infrastructure should be of greater economic value. The outlays aren’t anywhere near as much, and local hotels, restaurants and other businesses get a boost from the influx of sport tourists.</p>
<p>The problem is that this year’s NRL finals won’t see thousands of footy fans flying from interstate and injecting money into local economies through transport, accommodation, dining and other touristy activities. </p>
<p>So Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Sunshine Coast may benefit from intrastate visitors, but perhaps not to the extent of the promised millions.</p>
<p>Rockhampton Regional Council, for example, has estimated the economic value of the September 12 elimination final between Parramatta Eels and the Newcastle Knights to be $680,000, with about a quarter of the 5,000 spectators from outside the region. That estimate depends on assumptions about those visitors spending money on accommodation, and all spectators spending money on local retail and in hospitality businesses.</p>
<h2>Event leveraging</h2>
<p>So how does an economic return occur from hosting smaller-scale events like the NRL finals? </p>
<p>The answer is “event leveraging”. It is not enough just to hold an event; organisers must implement strategies to achieve the benefits touted — encouraging visitors to spend more, and using the occasion to promote the host area as a tourism destination.</p>
<p>For example, French towns and regions that attract Tour de France fans <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2020/09/01/why-this-tour-de-france-is-one-of-the-most-important-ever/?sh=5d307d0c10b7">use event-themed activities</a> to keep visitors around longer. </p>
<p>Spreading the NRL finals games between Brisbane and four regional centres can also be seen as a leveraging strategy — spreading any economic benefits more evenly throughout the state — particularly to areas hit hard by the loss of international and interstate tourism. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/footy-crowds-what-the-afl-and-nrl-need-to-turn-sport-into-show-business-139471">Footy crowds: what the AFL and NRL need to turn sport into show business</a>
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<h2>Media exposure</h2>
<p>This also helps what is, given closed borders, the even more important component for Queensland to leverage the NRL finals: media attention that showcases the host region as a future place to visit.</p>
<p>During the Sydney 2000 Olympics, for example, a program encouraged media organisations to cover tourism destinations such as the Blue Mountains and Uluru, by providing visiting journalists with video <a href="https://library.olympics.com/default/digitalCollection/DigitalCollectionInlineDownloadHandler.ashx?parentDocumentId=176158&documentId=176163&_cb=20201101172943">and other resources</a></p>
<p>Even with the more modest NRL, media attention isn’t just confined to the hours before, during and after the actual games. There is an intensive industry generating content in the days leading up to game, and in the wash-up. </p>
<p>This occurs through general media coverage and the well-developed communications channels of the NRL and its respective clubs. Now players also cultivate their own audiences through social media. Melbourne Storm star Cameron Munster, for example, has <a href="https://www.instagram.com/munster94/?hl=en">158,000 followers on Instagram</a>.</p>
<p>The biggest audiences, though, come from game broadcasts. These typically are replete with aerial shots of the ground and other imagery showcasing the host city. </p>
<p>Queensland’s premier and minister for sport must therefore be relieved the NRL has rescheduled the preliminary final (at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane), originally set to coincide with the AFL grand final on September 25. One of the teams in that preliminary final is Melbourne Storm. The broadcast would have denied the NRL, and Queensland, thousands of television viewers.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nrls-unrivalled-equality-means-back-to-back-premierships-are-very-rare-92666">The NRL’s unrivalled equality means back-to-back premierships are very rare</a>
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<p>So the NRL finals should provide some immediate economic benefit to the host cities and towns, though perhaps not as much as the Queensland government would like to think. They also provide a great opportunity to promote regional Queensland as a tourist destination to interstate audiences. </p>
<p>But without the time to implement strategies to really leverage these events, the extent of economic benefits that will flow to Queensland in the longer term is hard to estimate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research shows that hosting sport and other events rarely deliver the economic and tourism benefits commonly attributed to them.Sheranne Fairley, Associate professor, The University of QueenslandDanny O'Brien, Associate Professor, Sport Management, Bond UniversityVitor Sobral, PhD candidate, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1631662021-06-23T03:20:52Z2021-06-23T03:20:52ZThe case for a Tasmanian AFL team, from an economist’s point of view<p>No one did a cost-benefit analysis before accepting Tasmania into the Commonwealth. Should the Australian Football League do the same?</p>
<p>Tasmanians have pushed for their own AFL team since the 1980s, when the Victorian Football League first accepted interstate teams (beginning with the West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears) into the fold, then rebranded as the AFL in 1990.</p>
<p>Non-Victorian teams now comprise almost half the competition – Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland each having two teams. But bids from Tasmania – which established its first local Australian Rules football league in 1879 – have been rebuffed. </p>
<p>The state was regarded as too small, too poor and a “captured” market not worth giving a licence to. The AFL instead focused on the non-traditional AFL states of NSW and Queensland, and their larger TV audiences. The last two teams, the Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants, were added to the league in 2011 and 2012 respectively. </p>
<p>Tasmanians have had to make do with a few “home” games being played in Hobart and Launceston by the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Hawthorn Hawks – for which the Tasmanian government has paid about <a href="http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/documents/AFL_Taskforce_Report_Tasmania.pdf">A$8.5 million a season</a>.</p>
<p>It’s time for the AFL to consider adding a Tasmanian team.</p>
<h2>Local passion</h2>
<p>The “spiritual” or emotional case for Tasmania has always been strong. </p>
<p>It has produced a long list of champions, including Laurie Nash, Darrel Baldock, Brent Tasman “Tiger” Crosswell, Royce Hart, Peter Hudson, Ian Stewart, Brendan and Michael Gale, Robert Shaw, Alistair Lynch, Nick and Jack Riewoldt, Rodney Eade and Matthew Richardson. </p>
<p>The game between Hawthorn and Essendon in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-20/afl-essendon-bombers-beat-hawthorn-hawks-in-tasmania/100215632">Launceston last Sunday</a> – watched by a capacity crowd of about 15,000 – demonstrated local enthusiasm for the game. Tellingly, though, there appeared to be more Bombers fans despite it technically being a Hawks home game. It showed Tasmanians have not warmed to the Hawks or Kangaroos as their own.</p>
<p>Why should Tasmanian taxpayers pay for Hawthorn and North Melbourne to play in Launceston and Hobart respectively when they could have their own team? </p>
<p>Tasmania has changed. Its economy has improved and its population is growing. Attractions such as the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) and the Dark Mofo Festival symbolise its confidence. In the decade since MONA’s establishment, <a href="https://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/about/publications/annual_report">visitor numbers to Tasmania</a> have grown about 45%, and the amount they spend by about 60%.</p>
<h2>Making a business case</h2>
<p>The Tasmania government established a task force in 2019 to develop a business case for a local AFL club. Chaired by former Virgin Australia chief executive Brett Godfrey, the endeavour was intended to support the AFL granting such a licence. The plan was presented to the AFL <a href="https://www.tasmaniantimes.com/2020/02/afl-taskforce-backs-new-tas-club/">in February 2020</a>.</p>
<p>The task force suggested a Tassie team could feasibly rely on a support base similar to the successful Geelong Cats, or to the National Rugby League’s North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville. </p>
<p>Geelong’s population is <a href="https://profile.id.com.au/geelong/population-estimate">about 265,000</a>. Townsville’s is about 196,000, with the population of northern Queensland being about 510,000. Both the Cats and Cowboys attract crowds and TV audiences higher than their league averages.</p>
<p>A Tasmanian AFL team would draw on support from a state population of about 525,000, playing home games in both Hobart (population about 240,000) and Launceston (about 69,0000). </p>
<h2>Small town success</h2>
<p>A good international example of the potential of a “small town team” comes from Wisconsin and its National Football League team, the Green Bay Packers. </p>
<p>Green Bay, with a population of about 325,000, is just the third-biggest city in Wisconsin (after Milwaukee and Madison). Yet the Packers have won more NFL championships (13) than any other team. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Green Bay Packer Aaron Jones running for a touchdown in a game against the Carolina Panthers on December 19 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407640/original/file-20210622-27-1ekx9zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green Bay Packer Aaron Jones running for a touchdown in a game against the Carolina Panthers on December 19 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matt Ludtke/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Granted, the Packers are the only NFL team in Wisconsin (population about 5.8 million). But compare that to the combined populations of New York and New Jersey (about 28 million) supporting three teams, or California (40 million) also with three teams. The Packers are among of the NFL’s top 10 most watched teams, attracting an average TV audience of <a href="https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2020/top-rated-nfl-games-1234616911/">about 15.5 million</a>.</p>
<h2>A social case, also</h2>
<p>In the unusual economics of sports there are good reasons to look beyond the business case to the social case. </p>
<p>Sports competition is not pure competition. The AFL intervenes in multiple ways to create a level playing field. For example, it caps the amount teams can spend on salaries, and gives the teams that perform badly one season better draft picks in the next. “Football socialism” is what former Carlton president John Elliott called it. </p>
<p>Would the AFL Women’s League (AFLW) have been established on purely economic grounds? Probably not. But there have been good reasons to subsidise its creation. Among other things, it has helped boost female participation in sport and strengthened grassroots footy clubs through having both girls’ and boys’ teams. In the long run the AFLW could also well bring in economic benefits.</p>
<p>Moreover, if the AFL designed a national competition from scratch, would anyone think it economically viable to have nine of the 18 teams based on suburbs within 10km of the Melbourne CBD? </p>
<p>Preserving the Victorian Football League’s clubs as much as possible wasn’t about cost-benefit analyses either. It was an emotional case too.</p>
<p>So the business case is important, but let’s not dismiss the other reasons for a club that would bring the AFL one step closer to truly being the national game.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Harcourt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>No one did a cost-benefit analysis before accepting Tasmania into the Commonwealth. Should the Australian Football League do the same?Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1569632021-03-16T18:52:47Z2021-03-16T18:52:47ZCheerleaders are athletes. The NRL should pause on packing away the pom poms<p>As the NRL competition ushers in its 2021 season, women waving pom poms while clad in figure hugging attire and white, knee-high boots will be missing from some games. </p>
<p>The Parramatta Eels are the latest and fifth team to cut their <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/eels/parramatta-eels-dump-cheerleaders-on-eve-of-2021-season/news-story/1a5a9f365f3a688b30f4c17ddc0e0108">cheerleading squad</a>, announcing in late January their 30 cheerleaders wouldn’t be employed this year. This decision also means nearly 80 junior cheer girls no longer have a home.</p>
<p>From a peak of 16 cheerleading teams in 2006, this year only 11 teams will still have cheerleaders on the sidelines. </p>
<p>In 2007, the then new owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Russell Crowe, said cheerleaders made spectators “uncomfortable”. They were replaced with a <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/hollywood-star-russell-crowe-blamed-for-nrl-cheerleader-controversy/news-story/7b555d31efc92465da9a223a5778de3d">marching band</a>. In 2017, the Canberra Raiders replaced their squad with a game-day competition for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-04/canberra-raiders-to-ditch-cheerleaders-for-dance-competition/8161078#:%7E:text=Cheerleaders%20for%20the%20Canberra%20Raiders,to%20negative%20perceptions%20of%20cheerleading">local dance schools</a>. </p>
<p>In 2019, the Melbourne Storm replaced cheer girls with mixed gender <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6651553/Fans-fury-Melbourne-Storm-axe-NRL-cheerleaders-favour-gender-diverse-gritty-dance-crew.html">hip hop crews</a>.The Brisbane Broncos rebranded their cheerleaders as a “dance squad”, and toned down their uniforms to “desexualise” performers and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-22/brisbane-broncos-cheerleaders-now-a-dance-squad/10928718">celebrate their athleticism</a>. </p>
<p>For many teams, the cheerleaders are now positioned as brand ambassadors, involved in community outreach, attired in more modest costumes. Their remit is fundamentally changing. Cheering on the sidelines is increasingly looking like a sexist relic. </p>
<p>But rather than remove cheerleaders from sport fields altogether, we should celebrate their athleticism, embracing cheerleading as a sport in its own right.</p>
<h2>It wasn’t always women who cheered</h2>
<p>Although women are most often associated with cheerleading, it was once a male pursuit. Even as teams diversified, George W. Bush, Dwight Eisenhower, and Franklin D. Roosevelt <a href="https://www.varsity.com/news/10-political-figures-who-started-as-cheerleaders/">were all</a> cheerleaders.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo. Four boys squat in a cheer in front of bleachers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389763/original/file-20210316-13-1wuddrj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cheerleading was once a male pursuit, as in this photograph of Woodrow Wilson High School cheerleaders leading students in a yell at a football game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Library of Congress</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women first joined their American college cheer squads in 1923, participating in greater numbers in the 1940s as college-aged men went off to war. In this decade, cheerleading started to feature tumbling and acrobatics. Competitive cheerleading was introduced in the United States in the 1970s.</p>
<p>Today, both sideline and competition routines incorporate advanced tumbling, stunts and pyramid building alongside cheer and dance. The athleticism, skill and commitment is the same.</p>
<p>Cheerleading in Australia never reached the same mainstream popularity as in America. Female supporters banded together in the 1960s to form a <a href="https://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/268136/carlton-and-the-elliott-sisters-a-love-story">cheer squad</a> for the Carlton AFL club, but it never truly took off in the sport.</p>
<p>Cheerleading today has its Australian home in the NRL and the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/melbunitedcheerleaders/">National Basketball League</a>. </p>
<p>But as in America, Australian girls and women are increasingly becoming the team — not just cheering on the team from the sidelines.</p>
<p>Founded in 2016, Australia’s <a href="https://www.aascf.com.au/what-is-all-star-cheerleading">All Star Cheerleading</a> competitions are gaining popularity and reach, now with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/netflix-cheer-makes-us-want-to-try-out-cheerleading/11936082">over 60,000</a> registered competitors across the country, who show off their skills in complex routines featuring gymnastics, dance,
pyramids and acrobatics. </p>
<p>In 2017, competition cheerleading was granted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/sports/olympics/cheerleading-muay-thai-provisional-olympic-status.html">provisional Olympic status</a>, putting it on the path to being an official Olympic sport as early as Paris 2024.</p>
<h2>It’s time to rethink the cheerleader stereotype</h2>
<p>In popular culture, cheerleaders continue to be cast as a trivial diversion to the real athletic performances on centre field. They are shown as two dimensional bimbos <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2016.1187641?casa_token=AeYUrNeQbBUAAAAA%3AN5SwV69AvhFRZTA3c7c1eoLMioLltYMRH-nD00txVVSVtK2g9cytoC80QIJm-JsryJ7HJiLmsawunQ">in pornography</a>, and they are often portrayed as vapid and shallow <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1367877913514330?casa_token=Ov0qgJjVYEgAAAAA%3AAP2UrRSUmhTN832sokjH27FeWxKtmlcbTzBcrTY5Put3PJqLwDan4AFP49d5ZgjuaDUwyFddP7VprA">in movies</a>.</p>
<p>This reputation is slowly being recast, in part thanks to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/may/19/cheer-netflixs-cheerleading-docuseries-is-an-exhilarating-cirque-du-insanity">popular Netflix docuseries</a> Cheer. Following the co-ed team of a community college in Texas as they train for the national competition, the show highlights the sacrifices these athletes have made, and the high stakes for their physical health.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dhXRx_lva18?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Cheer celebrates powerful images of the cheerleader by focusing on their athleticism, and their commitment to train, rehearse and perform to a competition level.</p>
<p>Cheerleading can reinforce the notion of sport as a masculine domain if the women involved are treated as a titillating sideline act. But cheer squads can also challenge gender ideals by <a href="https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-abstract/53/4/500/1711179">celebrating</a> women’s athleticism, skill and professionalism. </p>
<p>Cheerleading is a very physical – and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/10/22/163408123/as-cheerleading-injuries-rise-doctors-call-for-stricter-safety-rules">potentially dangerous</a> — activity, which requires both finesse and strength. </p>
<h2>Don’t cancel the cheer</h2>
<p>Rather than remove cheerleaders from the field, we should celebrate their athleticism and embrace it as a sport in its own right: moving away from the skimpy outfits and dancers, towards the physical athleticism of competition cheer.</p>
<p>Let’s challenge the status quo by dropping the eroticised messages that devalue cheerleaders but respect their contribution to their clubs, community and the game-day spectacle. </p>
<p>When cheerleaders are positioned as sexualised adornments alongside the “true” athletes playing rugby league, young boys and men are taught it is okay to treat women as objects. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CMUP3AKATf6","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>When they are positioned as athletes, their physicality appreciated and respected, cheerleading can provide these women (and increasingly men) with paid work and a respected place on the sporting field. </p>
<p>As the football season begins, let’s not be too quick to cancel the cheer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Parramatta Eels are the latest NRL team to cut their cheer squad. It’s time cheerleaders were embraced as athletes.Michelle O'Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityPatrick van Esch, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, AUT Business School, Auckland University of TechnologySarah Duffy, Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1482582020-10-19T19:01:57Z2020-10-19T19:01:57ZFewer flights and a pesticide-free pitch? Here’s how Australia’s football codes can cut their carbon bootprint<p>Australian sport’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been remarkable. Major leagues reorganised with impressive speed to keep games going. Schedules dissolved, seasons were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-14/forget-the-coronavirus-footy-frenzy-afl-is-better-in-person/12556042">compressed</a> and players <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-01/coronavirus-afl-players-told-to-move-from-melbourne-hotspots/12412720">relocated</a>. And the once unthinkable is now reality: the AFL grand final will be held in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-02/afl-grand-final-host-announced-gabba-brisbane/12618624">Brisbane</a>.</p>
<p>What if the Australian sport industry could apply the same urgency and innovation to a different but no less significant global crisis – climate change?</p>
<p>Each week, teams and fans fly vast distances, producing significant carbon emissions. And that’s not to mention their other activities. According to the <a href="https://unfccc.int/climate-action/sectoral-engagement/sports-for-climate-action">UN Sports for Climate Action Framework</a>, “sport’s contribution to climate change – through associated travel, energy use, construction, catering, and so on – is considerable”.</p>
<p>Professional sport has enormous power to influence positive change. So ahead of this weekend’s grand finals, let’s examine the carbon emissions of our major men’s football leagues: the AFL, NRL and A-League, as well as Australia’s Super Rugby teams.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Football players struggle in the heat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364140/original/file-20201019-15-1shfkxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364140/original/file-20201019-15-1shfkxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364140/original/file-20201019-15-1shfkxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364140/original/file-20201019-15-1shfkxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364140/original/file-20201019-15-1shfkxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364140/original/file-20201019-15-1shfkxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364140/original/file-20201019-15-1shfkxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Players struggle in the heat during an A-League match between Melbourne City and Perth Glory in Melbourne last year. Sport is a major contributor to carbon emissions and resulting global warming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julian Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The carbon cost of football</h2>
<p>Our small-scale study analysed air travel-related emissions for the final four rounds of 2019 regular season games. We used the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s <a href="https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/CarbonOffset/Documents/Methodology%20ICAO%20Carbon%20Calculator_v10-2017.pdf">measurement methodology</a> to create a snapshot of carbon dioxide-equivalent (<a href="https://ecometrica.com/assets/GHGs-CO2-CO2e-and-Carbon-What-Do-These-Mean-v2.1.pdf">CO₂-e</a>) generated by flying teams to and from games in different cities. </p>
<p>Air travel from just one month of football competition in Australia across the four men’s codes generated emissions equivalent to about 475 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Across the codes, teams travelled 231,000km in a single month. </p>
<p>Here’s how each league compared: </p>
<p><strong>- AFL:</strong> 18 teams travelled 72,316km across Australia, producing an estimated 187.4 tonnes of CO₂-e or about 10.4 tonnes per team</p>
<p><strong>- NRL:</strong> Largely concentrated in NSW and Queensland, the 16 teams covered the shortest distance: 46,400km. They generated 92.1 tonnes of CO₂-e or around 5.7 tonnes per team.</p>
<p><strong>- A-League:</strong> 62,660km of air travel, which generated 107.5 tonnes of CO₂-e. The team average (10.7 tonnes) is higher than the AFL and NRL, as teams are spread between Perth and Wellington in New Zealand.</p>
<p><strong>- Super Rugby:</strong> the four Australian teams in 2019 produced 87.8 tonnes of CO2-e from 49,624km in the air, with a team average of about 21.9 tonnes. Two games in Tokyo increased this average, although the Sunwolves are now defunct. Nonetheless, teams also flew to Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand during the season.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, far-flung teams produced the highest CO2-e emissions. However, the relatively short Melbourne-Sydney air route is the second most carbon-intensive at around 34 tonnes, exceeded only by Melbourne-Perth. The 25 teams in Sydney and Melbourne (plus Geelong) mean many return flights between the cities are required each season.</p>
<p>Explore the full results in this interactive graphic:</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-534" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/534/0ebf620167f8f88941199fe74829c07c1240d903/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Come fly with me</h2>
<p>Full seasons ran between 18 and 27 rounds, depending on the code. The results prompted us to consider how leagues and fixtures might be organised to reduce the number of flights taken during a season. </p>
<p>Many teams are located in the Newcastle-Sydney-Wollongong corridor (plus Canberra) and Melbourne/Geelong. So visiting interstate and New Zealand teams could play two or three fixtures in these locations before returning home. Depending on the code, similar arrangements are possible in southern Queensland, Adelaide and Perth.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-climate-proof-our-sports-stadiums-90020">We need to 'climate-proof' our sports stadiums</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Organising teams into geographically proximate conferences, as Super Rugby does, is worth considering. This might mean, for example, that Melbourne-based AFL or A-League teams, and Sydney-based NRL or A-League teams, might play each other more often in front of large crowds in their home city. </p>
<p>Representative fixtures, such as the State of Origin rugby league series, could be shortened and based in one location. Teams could travel to play two or three games, then return home.</p>
<p>Even minor reductions in travel-related carbon emissions are worth investigating, and publicly showcasing, in an effort to spur more serious environmental efforts by leagues and teams.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="AFL players board a plane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364141/original/file-20201019-21-1pjmczy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364141/original/file-20201019-21-1pjmczy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364141/original/file-20201019-21-1pjmczy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364141/original/file-20201019-21-1pjmczy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364141/original/file-20201019-21-1pjmczy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364141/original/file-20201019-21-1pjmczy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364141/original/file-20201019-21-1pjmczy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sports teams regularly fly across Australia, creating considerable emissions from air travel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Barbour/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Greening the game</h2>
<p>There are other ways leagues can encourage a sustainable sporting future. In Britain, for example, League Two’s <a href="https://www.fgr.co.uk">Forest Green Rovers</a> is the world’s first <a href="https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/climate-neutral-now/creating-the-greenest-football-club-in-the-world-forest-green-rovers">carbon-neutral</a> football club. </p>
<p>Its home ground features solar panels, electric vehicle charging points and a vegan matchday menu. The team <a href="https://www.fgr.co.uk/our-ethos/greening-up-football">plays</a> on an organic pitch, cut by a solar-powered robot lawnmower, and collects and recycles rainwater. Clubs in Australia could follow this lead to achieve meaningful environmental credentials.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-not-cricket-how-climate-change-will-make-sport-more-risky-36839">Just not cricket – how climate change will make sport more risky</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Carbon measurement, <a href="https://www.nhl.com/info/nhl-green">reduction</a> and offset strategies and environmentally responsible sponsorship policies are also needed. </p>
<p>Codes could hold environmentally themed rounds and games, and promote current and former sportspeople speaking about the need for action on climate change and environmental issues, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>rugby union’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/18/we-live-in-a-time-of-climate-breakdown-with-no-moral-leadership-but-we-can-take-action">David Pocock</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/10/david-pocock-and-wallabies-teammates-lead-sporting-charge-on-carbon-emissions">Bernard Foley and Dane Haylett-Petty</a></p></li>
<li><p>AFLW’s <a href="http://tlaworldwide.com/talent/sharni-layton/">Sharni Layton</a> (also a former netball international) </p></li>
<li><p>AFL’s <a href="https://climatesafety.info/thesustainablehour309/">Jasper Pittard</a>, <a href="https://sportsenvironmentalliance.org/connections/">Jonathon Patton</a> and <a href="https://sportsenvironmentalliance.org/connections/">Harry Himmelberg</a> </p></li>
<li><p>netball’s <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/sport/netball/2020/10/17/vixens-defender-jo-weston-gets-serious/160285320010557">Jo Weston</a> and <a href="https://ecoathletes.org/2020/04/amy-steel-ex-australian-national-team-netballer-current-climate-risk-executive-joins-ecoathletes-supporters-roster/">Amy Steele</a></p></li>
<li><p>soccer’s <a href="https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/why-climate-displacement-uniquely-affects-football-s-global-citizens">Craig Foster</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-01/perth-glory-chris-harold-environmental-advocate/11655852">Chris Harold</a></p></li>
<li><p>cricket’s <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27723702/cricket-needs-take-climate-change-seriously">Ian Chappell</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/13/shane-warne-cricket-climate-crisis-dangers#:%7E:text=Shane%20Warne%20urges%20cricket%20to%20be%20proactive%20about%20climate%20crisis%20dangers,-This%20article%20is&text=Shane%20Warne%20has%20called%20for,%E2%80%9Chumanity's%20most%20pressing%20challenge%E2%80%9D.">Shane Warne</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Ballboy fainting in the heat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364145/original/file-20201019-15-1nd3qia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364145/original/file-20201019-15-1nd3qia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364145/original/file-20201019-15-1nd3qia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364145/original/file-20201019-15-1nd3qia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364145/original/file-20201019-15-1nd3qia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364145/original/file-20201019-15-1nd3qia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364145/original/file-20201019-15-1nd3qia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Officials assist a ballboy who fainted in the heat at The Australian Open tennis tournament. Major sports competitions are already being adversely affected by climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nic Bothma</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Leading, not following</h2>
<p>Last summer’s extreme weather in Australia was a taste of what’s to come under climate change.</p>
<p>Bushfires covered the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/tennis-australia-suddenly-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-20200115-p53rkd.html">Australian Open tennis</a> in thick smoke. Cyclists in the <a href="https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/burned-out-bushfire-areas-at-tour-down-under-like-something-out-of-a-film-about-the-end-of-the-world/">Tour Down Under</a> rode through bushfire-ravaged landscapes, and the three previous tours had stages <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/12/this-is-a-wake-up-call-how-will-pro-cycling-address-its-own-climate-crisis">shortened or modified</a> due to extreme heat. </p>
<p>In other parts of the world, sports have been disrupted by events such as <a href="https://www.theclimatecoalition.org/gamechanger">floods</a> and <a href="https://www.si.com/nhl/2019/04/22/climate-change-canada-winter-sports-hockey-backyard-rinks">reduced snow and ice cover</a>. </p>
<p>Reducing the carbon footprint of sport is clearly in the interests of both the planet, and the leagues themselves. It’s now time for sport’s decision-makers to face reality.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-are-we-doomed-if-we-dont-manage-to-curb-emissions-by-2030-143526">Climate explained: are we doomed if we don't manage to curb emissions by 2030?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148258/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brett Hutchins has received funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Libby Lester has received funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Ambrose does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Professional sport has enormous power to influence positive change. So ahead of this weekend’s grand finals, let’s examine the carbon emissions of our major men’s football leagues.Brett Hutchins, Professor of Media and Communications Studies, Monash UniversityLibby Lester, Director, Institute for Social Change, University of TasmaniaMichael Ambrose, Research Team Leader, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1452462020-09-01T19:59:00Z2020-09-01T19:59:00ZHow COVID caused chaos for cricket – and may force a rethink of all sport broadcasting deals<p>Cricket Australia faces a <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/crickets-high-stakes-standoff-with-tv-networks-has-no-winners/news-story/ed9101a6d0dee4d49f5cceb93c6dd40d">summer of discontent</a>.</p>
<p>The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed financial and governance tensions and mistrust involving its players’ and state associations. However, those issues are a distant second to the current dissatisfaction and distrust that one of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/hard-yards-ca-faces-fight-to-regain-broadcaster-trust-20200828-p55qey.html">the sport’s broadcasting partners</a> has with the quality and scheduling of the upcoming domestic playing season.</p>
<p>Channel Seven’s A$450 million concern with the restricted number of Australian international cricketers who might appear in this year’s BBL tournament now threatens to destabilise the sport’s principal source of revenue – the combined Foxtel and Seven six-year broadcasting deal signed in 2018 and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/battle-for-survival-broadcasters-on-brink-but-cricket-australia-digs-in-on-tv-rights-20200427-p54nof.html">worth A$1.18 billion</a> over its six-year term.</p>
<h2>COVID causes chaos</h2>
<p>In March, it had all looked so different. On International Women’s Day 2020, the MCG hosted the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-09/t20-world-cup-final-victory-for-womens-cricket-and-australia/12037732">ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Final</a>. Played in front of 86,000 people, Australia’s victory over India was a suitable end to a highly successful tournament. Within a week sport in Melbourne – including the first Formula 1 race of the year – and indeed globally had to shut down due to the pandemic.</p>
<p>Of all the major sports in Australia, cricket seemed the best equipped to survive the coronavirus lockdown. By then, 90% of the season had been completed. The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-08/mens-twenty20-world-cup-pushed-back-to-2022/12537500">men’s T20 World Cup tournament</a>, to be hosted by Australia, was not scheduled until October, a month that marked the second anniversary of the appointment of the then CEO of Cricket Australia (CA), Kevin Roberts.</p>
<p>And yet the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-27/coronavirus-concerns-raised-about-australian-cricket-future/12287088">following month</a> 80% of staff at Cricket Australia were stood down. The CEO was indicating that by August cricket would, to the amazement of many within the sport, have <a href="https://www.afr.com/rear-window/kevin-roberts-engineers-cricket-australia-crisis-20200419-p54l6q">severe cashflow problems</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-2023-will-be-a-massive-boost-for-womens-sport-but-does-it-make-financial-sense-140445">World Cup 2023 will be a massive boost for women's sport – but does it make financial sense?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>By June it was clear the men’s T20 World Cup would have to be postponed and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-16/kevin-roberts-showy-and-comical-as-cricket-australia-ceo/12357986">Roberts was gone</a>. He was replaced on an interim basis by Nick Hockley, then the CEO of the T20 World Cup local organising committee who had overseen the successful women’s T20 World Cup earlier in the year.</p>
<p>The previous Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland, had been in the job for 17 years. In contrast, 2020 was a precarious year to be a CEO in Australian sport – the CEOs of both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/23/raelene-castle-steps-down-as-ceo-of-rugby-australia#:%7E:text=The%20embattled%20Rugby%20Australia%20chief,the%20support%20of%20the%20board.&text=In%20a%20statement%20provided%20to,RA%20needed%20%E2%80%9Cclear%20air%E2%80%9D.">Rugby Australia</a> (RA) and the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-20/nrl-ceo-todd-greenberg-stands-down-immediately/12165926">National Rugby League</a> (NRL) also departed their jobs in April.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A scrum during an NRL match between the Melbourne Storm and Manly Sea Eagles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355689/original/file-20200901-18-nd74tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355689/original/file-20200901-18-nd74tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355689/original/file-20200901-18-nd74tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355689/original/file-20200901-18-nd74tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355689/original/file-20200901-18-nd74tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355689/original/file-20200901-18-nd74tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355689/original/file-20200901-18-nd74tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">2020 has been a precarious year for many sporting codes, including NRL.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Peled/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Reflecting on the year’s instability, Sutherland commented <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/after-running-cricket-for-17-years-james-sutherland-has-a-new-mission-20200612-p5520f.html">empathetically</a> that when you’re a sports administrator, you can deal with anything but uncertainty.</p>
<p>And for all Australian sports, 2020 has brought nothing but uncertainty to their finances, competition scheduling and administration.</p>
<h2>Too much riding on broadcast deals</h2>
<p>However, one point that has been constant in the operation of elite professional sport in Australia and elsewhere is how dependent their revenues are on TV broadcasting deals. The AFL’s revenue in 2019 was just shy of A$800 million, half of which related to broadcasting and <a href="https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2020/03/18/925fd047-a9b6-4f7d-8046-138a56ba36f4/2019-AFL-Annual-Report.pdf">media</a>. Broadcasting accounted for 61% of the NRL’s total <a href="https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/2020/nrl_annualreport_2019_hr.pdf">revenue</a> last year.</p>
<p>The lengths to which the AFL and the NRL have gone to ensure their seasons go ahead – from biosecurity hubs and lobbying state and federal governments for border exemptions, to pay cuts for players and staff – must be seen in the context of their dependency on TV money.</p>
<p>In April, the equation for the AFL and NRL, as it was for Rugby Australia and the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) whose schedules were also affected, was simple: in the absence of games, there would be no obligation on broadcasters to honour their TV rights deals. This meant up to two-thirds of the sport’s revenue would disappear overnight.</p>
<p>In terms of contract law, broadcasters hinted at provisions in the agreements with sports such as <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/seven-steps-up-fight-as-cricket-australia-triggers-act-of-god-clause-20200830-p55qnb.html"><em>force majeure</em> clauses</a> (unforeseeable circumstances), acts of God and other principles of contract law, such as the <a href="https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/coronavirus-sport-the-law-of-frustration-and-force-majeure">doctrine of frustration</a>.</p>
<p>Broadcasters <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/a-league-looking-for-new-broadcast-partner-with-fox-sports-set-to-walk-20200330-p54fbc.html">argued</a> these would allow them to walk away from existing deals given that, for reasons outside both parties’ control, the playing season could not go ahead as scheduled, if at all.</p>
<p>Even as sports bodies desperately gave them assurances a season would go ahead, broadcasters remained <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nine-nrl-on-brink-of-deal-to-seal-1-9-billion-broadcast-bonanza-20200512-p54scv.html">adamant</a> that the product they had originally paid for was now of such a different variety that the original broadcasting deal would have to be stood down and terms and conditions renegotiated.</p>
<p>Clearly, it was in the interest of the above sports bodies to enter into such negotiations. They did so <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/may/20/nrl-broadcast-deal-with-nine-and-fox#:%7E:text=The%20NRL%20is%20powering%20towards,required%20from%20both%20their%20boards.">with alacrity</a> and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-secures-revised-broadcast-deal-20200611-p551nc.html">some success</a>. It must also be noted that an absence of live TV would likely have had an impact on what has fast become the second-most-important source of review for Australian sport – <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/gambling-s-share-of-nrl-revenue-could-well-double-that-brings-power-20200515-p54tbg.html">gambling</a>.</p>
<p>For the broadcasters, as the playing seasons in the AFL, NRL and other codes were about to begin, they were acutely aware that without sport a significant advertising hole would be left in their schedules for the next six months. Moreover, given the pandemic had halted production of other advertising-rich programs such as reality TV, and the postponement of key international events such as the Olympics would exacerbate the scarcity of live sport on the schedules, it was also in the interest of broadcasters not to walk away from such deals.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355694/original/file-20200901-16-myj6lq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355694/original/file-20200901-16-myj6lq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355694/original/file-20200901-16-myj6lq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355694/original/file-20200901-16-myj6lq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355694/original/file-20200901-16-myj6lq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355694/original/file-20200901-16-myj6lq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355694/original/file-20200901-16-myj6lq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics added further pain for broadcasters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eugene Hoshiko/AP/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lessons from a difficult year</h2>
<p>The lessons from all of this are that, despite its protestations, it seems inevitable Cricket Australia will also have to renegotiate its broadcasting deal with Seven. The reality for modern sports organisations is that, while they rightly lament the absence of spectators, a dearth of subscribers does much greater commercial damage.</p>
<p>Cricket Australia faces a slightly trickier situation than the AFL, NRL and others faced earlier in the year. A key <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/29757796/train-wreck-channel-seven-launches-attack-cricket-australia,-threatens-terminate-contract">concern for the domestic broadcasters</a> is that CA has been frustratingly slow in confirming its summer schedule. </p>
<p>Moreover, in renegotiating with other sports, there was never an issue that the best players available domestically in those sports would not play. Given the international demands and scheduling in cricket – notably Test matches against India and Afghanistan – it seems CA cannot guarantee the availability of the quality of player in competitions such as the BBL that the broadcasters feel their money deserves.</p>
<p>While matters now seem tense between CA and its broadcasting partners, the current standoff is probably all just part of the preening process. Already, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/big-cash-league-cricket-australia-s-bid-to-draw-world-s-best-to-bbl-20200831-p55r2h.html">CA has responded</a> by indicating it will be more aggressive in its recruitment of marquee international players for the BBL. It has also raised the salary cap for those on BBL rosters. A “relaunched” BBL in its tenth year and over the summer holiday period would be an attractive proposition.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355699/original/file-20200901-16-ll4w19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355699/original/file-20200901-16-ll4w19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355699/original/file-20200901-16-ll4w19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355699/original/file-20200901-16-ll4w19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355699/original/file-20200901-16-ll4w19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355699/original/file-20200901-16-ll4w19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355699/original/file-20200901-16-ll4w19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A relaunched Big Bash League (BBL) this coming summer could be an attractive proposition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Barbour/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the interim chief of CA, who is in an unenviable position, contemplates the inevitable phone call with the broadcaster, it might be advisable for him first to call the CEOs of the other sports organisation that have been recently through this process. The sport’s former, long-time boss Sutherland, recently installed as the CEO of Golf Australia, would also be worth talking to. Their experience could be invaluable for cricket in the weeks ahead.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-fall-out-from-postponing-the-olympics-may-not-be-as-bad-as-we-think-134531">Why the fall-out from postponing the Olympics may not be as bad as we think</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Finally, an interesting subtext to all of this is the emerging view that sports rights are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-15/the-economics-of-tv-sport/9654004">overvalued</a> and the future of such deals lies elsewhere in streaming services and on other digital, even in-house <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/why-sports-rights-have-passed-their-peak-20200429-p54oe2">platforms</a>.</p>
<p>But that is a matter for the future. For now, cricket powerbrokers should heed the advice of one of sport’s most colourful dealmakers, the boxing promoter Don King, who once said that, in sports contracts, you never get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145246/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Anderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The pandemic has caused massive disruption to cricket in Australia and revealed just how dependent many sporting organisations are on their broadcast deals.Jack Anderson, Professor of Sports Law, Melbourne Law School, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1396622020-06-02T20:06:20Z2020-06-02T20:06:20ZWhy does crowd noise matter?<p>Sporting codes are restarting as part of easing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. In Australia, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-29/rugby-league-returns-from-covid-19-shutdown/12298446">the NRL season has just restarted</a>, the AFL <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-restart-date-revealed-c-1038201">will resume on June 11</a>, and Super Netball <a href="https://thewomensgame.com/news/2020-super-netball-and-constellation-cups-confirmed-548760">will return on August 1</a>. </p>
<p>But, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, there’s one crucial ingredient missing: crowds.</p>
<p>To provide atmosphere in the absence of people, broadcasters are experimenting with canned crowd noise, much like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-laugh-even-if-it-is-fake-a-history-of-canned-laughter-134070">laugh tracks used in sitcoms</a>. Last weekend the NRL unveiled its fake audience noise, drawing a <a href="https://twitter.com/i/events/1265956270839750659?s=13">mixed response from viewers</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1265951385960374273"}"></div></p>
<p>Germany’s top soccer league <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-28/fake-crowd-noise-bundesliga-afl-tv-broadcast/12295010">has been using it for weeks</a>, and the English Premier League, which returns on June 17, is even considering <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league-project-restart-fifa-20-fake-crowd-noise-a4455766.html">borrowing crowd noise from EA Sports’ popular soccer video game FIFA</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YbX4Wq5pCPY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">EA Sports’ popular FIFA soccer gaming franchise is famed for its fake crowd noise.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But why do we care so much about crowd noise, and why do many of us feel we need it?</p>
<p>It’s because it bonds us with members of our tribe, provides us a sense of connection, and acts as a psychological cue for when to pay particular attention to the action, like a goal opportunity. Without it, sport just doesn’t seem as exciting.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-spit-to-scrums-how-can-sports-players-minimise-their-coronavirus-risk-139034">From spit to scrums. How can sports players minimise their coronavirus risk?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We bond over sport</h2>
<p>Following a team brings a sense of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780203728376/chapters/10.4324/9780203728376-14">connection</a> with others who follow the same team. That sense of <a href="http://persweb.wabash.edu/facstaff/hortonr/articles%20for%20class/baumeister%20and%20leary.pdf">belonging is an incredibly powerful motivation</a> for people - it drives our thoughts and our emotions. And following a team is an <a href="https://www.niesr.ac.uk/publications/football-matter-life-and-death-%E2%80%93-or-it-more-important">emotional experience</a>. We share the highs when they win, and the lows when they lose.</p>
<p>Spectators may not even play the sport they watch, but still refer to <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.322.6919&rep=rep1&type=pdf">“us” and “we” when talking about their team</a>, and use “they” and “them” for the opposition. And when the crowd supporting our team is the one making all the noise, it drives home that sense of connection.</p>
<h2>Crowd noise is a cue</h2>
<p>For a couple of rounds of competition, before the COVID-19 suspension, we saw games of AFL where we could actually <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/20/no-crowd-no-atmosphere-only-footy-as-afl-season-makes-muted-bow">hear the players yelling to each other</a>. When they scored, the only noise was from the players themselves. It sounded similar to watching an amateur match at the local park. Even the most tense moments, or heroic efforts, were somehow not as exciting without the crowd.</p>
<p>That’s because crowd noise is a cue for spectators. We know something exciting has happened when the crowd goes nuts. When a game comes down to the last few minutes, and the scores are very close, the crowd noise adds to the tension. When <em>my</em> team is getting cheered on, I share in the excitement with others like me - <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/11/sports/sports-psychology-it-isn-t-just-a-game-clues-to-avid-rooting.html">my tribe</a>. It seems the broadcasters are reflecting this by increasing the volume of fake crowd noise during exciting moments.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1262304623626342400"}"></div></p>
<p>Without crowd noise, we just don’t get the same level of excitement, because we’ve <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08838151.2019.1568806">learned to link excitement with crowd noise</a>. You can have the most amazing players, with so many things to cheer on, but the only noise you’re likely to hear will be from whoever is watching with you in the lounge room (and maybe your neighbour if they’re watching too).</p>
<p>If we’re not sharing the moment with everyone, we’re missing out on that sense of belonging.</p>
<h2>Crowds also influence players and referees</h2>
<p>The most important factor in home ground advantage <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527002515595842">appears to be the crowd</a> (though some argue that the home crowd advantage <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640410400021559?mobileUi=0&journalCode=rjsp20">used to be larger</a> than it is now).</p>
<p>Most teams have their own home ground, but in some cases, two or more teams might share a home ground. When they’re playing against each other, one team is still designated as home, and the other as away. Neither team has to travel far, and both teams are familiar with the stadium’s quirks, but the designated “home” team will have a more sympathetic crowd. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527002515595842">A 2015 study</a> used this exact scenario at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles to find that essentially the entire home advantage between two teams comes down to the crowd effect. So crowd noise can support players, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/it-feels-all-wrong-a-player-s-view-of-footy-without-a-crowd-20200318-p54bho.html">and spur them on</a>. </p>
<p>Further, home crowd noise has also been found to have an effect on <a href="https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=24626">referees, umpires and judges</a>. Teams appear to be <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17852675/">less likely to receive yellow cards in soccer</a> when playing at their home ground, because of the home crowd’s impact on referees.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20733209/">A 2010 study</a> found referees used crowd noise as a cue when making decisions such as whether to give a yellow card for a foul. </p>
<p>The home crowd is more likely to be loud for fouls against their own team, rather than fouls their team has committed against the opposition. Because crowd noise is strongly associated with exciting action, and fouls are exciting, referees may not even be aware they’re using crowd noise as a cue. Further, they may just want to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17852675/">appease the home crowd</a>.</p>
<h2>Sport won’t be as exciting without crowds</h2>
<p>I distinctly remember the moment when Nick Davis kicked <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvH5yPHOaVg">that goal</a> with 5 seconds to go to defeat the Geelong Cats and send the Sydney Swans into a 2005 preliminary final. The crowd went nuts and I loved sharing that moment with everyone. I belonged.</p>
<p>But if something like that happened this year, and there was no crowd to see it and cheer it on, would it be as exciting? I doubt it.</p>
<p>And that’s precisely why fake crowd noise is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-28/fake-crowd-noise-bundesliga-afl-tv-broadcast/12295010">on TV</a>. It might feel forced, and <a href="https://twitter.com/i/events/1265956270839750659">some people might not like it much</a>, but at least there’s just a little bit more excitement with it. With any luck, we won’t have to worry about it for too long.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is supported by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/partners/judith-neilson-institute">Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>This article was amended on June 3, 2020. It originally referred to the Sydney Swans advancing to the grand final after defeating Geelong. The team actually advanced to a preliminary final.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139662/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Russell is a member of the International Gambling Think Tank. This Think Tank is an international network of researchers, policy makers, service providers and interested others collaborating to advance understanding of gambling and to reduce gambling-related harm. He works in gambling research, with a particular interest in sports betting, and has received funding to examine topics such as wagering advertising and its effect on peoples' betting behaviour, as well as sports betting more generally. He has not received any funding into this specific topic, and discloses no conflicts of interest.</span></em></p>Why are sport broadcasters using fake crowd noise? It might be because crowd noise can help us bond with our tribe and acts as a psychological cue for when to pay attention.Alex Russell, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1370792020-04-27T20:07:07Z2020-04-27T20:07:07ZThe NRL should reconsider its comeback: it’s too soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330644/original/file-20200427-145518-198xdin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=371%2C97%2C3777%2C2537&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Hunt/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/22/nrl-definitely-restarting-on-may-28-clubs-to-resume-training-soon-pearce/">the NRL announced league play would resume in late May</a>, following the introduction of <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/22/nrl-definitely-restarting-on-may-28-clubs-to-resume-training-soon-pearce/">strict biosecurity rules</a>. </p>
<p>But even with new restrictions in place, the league should not resume until it can guarantee the safety of their players and employees. </p>
<p>The league also needs to ask serious questions about the social role of New South Wales’ biggest sport. Rugby’s return can signal a return to normalcy, but is the NRL sending the right message at the right time?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stadiums-are-emptying-out-globally-so-why-have-australian-sports-been-so-slow-to-act-133354">Stadiums are emptying out globally. So why have Australian sports been so slow to act?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Setting a bad example</h2>
<p>Many clubs are <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/rugby-league/edgy-nrl-clubs-wait-on-biosecurity-rules-c-993192">anxious about the short timeframe</a> for restating play. They need enough time to resume operations, rehire personnel, stake out lodging and restart training. They also need time to put in place the proper health precautions.</p>
<p>Although the league claims its rules will be more “<a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/22/project-apollo/">stringent than government restrictions</a>”, it is unclear whether the biosecurity measures will be approved at the state or federal level. The league released a 47-page memorandum to clubs on Sunday evening, including <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-to-check-every-player-s-home-promote-use-of-phone-tracing-app-20200426-p54nap.html">additional measures such as</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>increased player testing</p></li>
<li><p>playing in empty stadiums</p></li>
<li><p>a restricted schedule that limits travel</p></li>
<li><p>a mandatory COVID-19 training module</p></li>
<li><p>the social isolation of players inside their homes, except for essential business and travel</p></li>
<li><p>tough sanctions for rule violations. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The premiers of Victoria and Queensland have already <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-queensland-premiers-blunt-demand-fittler-hits-out/news-story/5ae5437756bb8eb8c4b03ce8c885c4a4">voiced concerns</a> about the NRL’s plans. While Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the federal government <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/league/news/nrl-coronavirus-scott-morrison-prime-minster-peter-vlandys-rugby-league-return-project-apollo-2020-season/u39w9prle0kz1569mii8sk5vj">have no official position</a> on the move, delegating responsibility for oversight of the NRL’s plans to the states, critics say the resumption of play sets a bad example at a time when Australia is on the cusp of eliminating domestic coronavirus transmissions. </p>
<p>Global health expert Adam Kamradt-Scott has said the restart date was “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/football-is-not-an-essential-service-experts-divided-on-nrl-return-20200423-p54mnw.html">arbitrary</a>” and warned </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“if [the NRL] jump the gun and restart things too early we will confront the situation where we will see cases rise again and us having to go back into stronger restrictions. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330649/original/file-20200427-145553-1279o60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330649/original/file-20200427-145553-1279o60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330649/original/file-20200427-145553-1279o60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330649/original/file-20200427-145553-1279o60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330649/original/file-20200427-145553-1279o60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330649/original/file-20200427-145553-1279o60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330649/original/file-20200427-145553-1279o60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NRL teams restarted training earlier this month in anticipation of the season recommencing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Barbour/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Do they have a choice?</h2>
<p>The NRL’s weakened financial position has played an important role in its decision to resume play. By mid-April, the league <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/broken-and-almost-broke-how-did-it-come-to-this-for-the-nrl-20200321-p54cix.html">only had about $70 million</a> in cash and was <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/03/23/biggest-financial-crisis-in-games-history-vlandys/">losing $13 million per unplayed round</a>. </p>
<p>The league asked the government for a bailout and was denied. Despite having its <a href="https://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/6718815/nrl-to-fulfil-obligations-to-nine-network/?cs=11680">largest-ever television contracts</a>, the league had not invested in any collateral, such as a stadium or even the land under its own headquarters, and over the past few years, had <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/broken-and-almost-broke-how-did-it-come-to-this-for-the-nrl-20200321-p54cix.html">spent down its rainy-day fund</a>. </p>
<p>Having also not invested in <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/03/15/nrl-announces-competition-to-continue-despite-increased-travel-restrictions/">pandemic insurance</a>, it was looking at a certain financial catastrophe. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-world-without-sports-134964">A world without sports</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The league’s financial woes worsened after a fortnight of sparring with its biggest television partner, Nine, which led pundits to wonder whether the NRL might still have a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-has-mismanaged-game-for-years-says-nine-in-stunning-broadside-20200409-p54ijb.html">television home when its current contract ends in 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Both Nine and Foxtel threatened to <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/league/news/nrl-coronavirus-fox-sports-to-withhold-quarterly-broadcast-rights-payment-report/g8cpk0yiiily13vz5erg19u0i">withhold quarterly payments to the league</a> and until Friday, were <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/channel-nine-slams-brakes-on-premature-may-28-nrl-restart-20200423-p54mi8.html">cautious about a restart that might fail</a> and leave them searching for content to replace matches. </p>
<p>At the end of the week, the NRL seemed to reach an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-24/coronavirus-nrl-season-to-restart-on-may-28/12181254">agreement</a> with Nine. Their rapprochement comes with additional confidence of a forthcoming three-year extension of their television deal, but likely worth less than the last agreement.</p>
<p>By contrast, the NRL’s chief rival, the AFL, had put itself in a position to weather the virus for longer – a fact many rugby fans likely found galling. The AFL also cancelled play and stood down up to <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-forces-clubs-to-stand-down-up-to-80-per-cent-of-staff-amid-covid-19-crisis-c-758375">80% of its staff</a>, but it received <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-30/coronavirus-afl-receives-line-of-credit-from-major-banks/12103610">loans from ANZ and NAB</a>, thanks to the AFL’s ownership of the Docklands Stadium.</p>
<p>The recent departure of <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/no-regrets-todd-greenberg-says-hes-never-been-happier-after-suddenly-quitting-nrl-job/news-story/2467f44d754384b46e35a34eae75f829">NRL Chief Executive Todd Greenberg</a> and the resignation of Rugby Australia Chief Executive <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/23/raelene-castle-steps-down-as-ceo-of-rugby-australia">Raelene Castle</a> further illustrate how difficult a time it can be for rugby administrators. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330663/original/file-20200427-145530-1demp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330663/original/file-20200427-145530-1demp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330663/original/file-20200427-145530-1demp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330663/original/file-20200427-145530-1demp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330663/original/file-20200427-145530-1demp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330663/original/file-20200427-145530-1demp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330663/original/file-20200427-145530-1demp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">ARL chairman Peter V'landys said ‘there’s no reason not to resume’ the season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can the NRL police itself?</h2>
<p>Of course, there is danger with restarting too soon, as sporting clubs are particularly vulnerable to the spread of diseases. </p>
<p>Before the NBA season was shut down last month, a number of players tested positive for coronavirus, including four members of the Brooklyn Nets. <a href="https://www.nba.com/article/2020/03/17/brooklyn-nets-four-players-test-positive-official-release">Only one of the Nets was symptomatic</a>, which raises the question: how long might the asymptomatic players continued to play had league officials not postponed the season? </p>
<p>Asymptomatic carriers could be the biggest problem for the NRL, too. A study in the British Medical Journal and a World Health Organisation report suggested that <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-bmj-study-suggests-78-dont-show-symptoms-heres-what-that-could-mean-135732">four-fifths of infected people may be asymptomatic</a>. </p>
<p>As such, the NRL’s proposal to use apps to check temperatures and overall player health might miss those who are infected but not showing symptoms. </p>
<p>The NRL has also had significant issues with health technology in the past, such as when its "sideline injury surveillance” technology <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/video-review-technology-failed-in-moylan-concussion-assessment-20190804-p52dqk.html">failed to properly assess head trauma to Matt Moylan</a> after a shocking collision last year. Moylan played for another 10 minutes before being pulled off the field. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-nrl-legally-liable-for-the-long-term-impacts-of-concussions-119880">Is the NRL legally liable for the long-term impacts of concussions?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is also growing scepticism about the NRL’s ability to police itself. </p>
<p>Peter V’landys, the chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/22/project-apollo/">promises</a> there will be sanctions for those who violate the biosecurity measures. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve got no option, there must be a deterrent because one reckless act will bring down an entire competition and the livelihoods that come with that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But has the league developed enough trust? <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-24/matthew-elliott-slams-concussion-rule-independent-doctors/8382604">It resisted calls for independent doctors</a> to assess concussions for years and, since agreeing to the checks, has only done them inconsistently. It is not certain that league-affiliated doctors would be any more responsible in their approach to coronavirus.</p>
<p>The league is also relying heavily on buy-in from players, many of whom are <a href="https://www.2gb.com/exclusive-dylan-walker-banned-from-playing-under-nrls-new-policy/">known more for their recklessness than responsibility</a>. Just this week, several players were forced to apologise after <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/27/unacceptable-nrl-reprimands-addo-carr-mitchell-roberts-davis/">breaching social-distancing rules</a> on a camping trip.</p>
<p>Nor is it clear that fans will support these changes. How will supporters respond, for instance, if a star player is sanctioned for an unessential trip out of his home? </p>
<p>Another logistical question: does the league plan to keep players and other employees separate from their families for the whole season? In other sports, similar models have proven difficult. Teams on the Tour de France have traditionally tried to keep riders separate from their families, with <a href="https://www.welovecycling.com/wide/2018/07/20/things-only-tour-de-france-pros-families-will-understand/">mixed success</a>.</p>
<p>It has been a month without rugby and the NRL’s decision to resume play promises an end to every sports fan’s purgatory. Even so, the league should strongly reconsider. A longer delay, or even a cancelled season, is better than risking the lives of players, league employees and other Australians if the coronavirus were to spread further.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Rathbone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The league is facing financial ruin unless it restarts play soon. Yet, even with strict biosecurity measures in place, there are significant questions as to whether it can effectively police itself.Keith Rathbone, Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1333542020-03-12T23:05:32Z2020-03-12T23:05:32ZStadiums are emptying out globally. So why have Australian sports been so slow to act?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320121/original/file-20200312-111237-xo0gby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">JOEL CARRETT/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Packed stadiums are the bread and butter of sports. Crowds <a href="https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:53912/">create stadium atmosphere</a> and generate revenue. For a global industry built on live entertainment and big crowds, the continued spread of COVID-19 could be disastrous for international sports events. </p>
<p>Australia’s sports leagues and teams are not immune, though in recent days, it would be hard to tell. </p>
<p>Despite the cancellations of major international sporting events like the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daniellerossingh/2020/03/09/cancellation-of-fifth-tennis-major-indian-wells-blow-for-players-fans-and-local-economy/#a7e981140c73">Indian Wells tennis tournament</a> and the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/12/motorsport/formula-one-chinese-grand-prix-postponed-coronavirus-spt-intl/index.html">Chinese Grand Prix</a>, and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/120170697/european-football-matches-to-be-played-behind-closed-doors-amid-coronavirus-fears">European football matches being played in closed stadiums</a>, a <a href="https://mcg.org.au/T20Records">record crowd of 86,174 fans</a> descended on the MCG to watch the T20 Women’s World Cup final last weekend. </p>
<p>Days later, the decision to hold the match looked ill-advised when the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-12/victoria-coronavirus-covid19-cases-reach-27/12050046">government put the cricket match</a> on its list of exposure sites for coronavirus cases.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-now-a-matter-of-when-not-if-for-australia-this-is-how-were-preparing-for-a-jump-in-coronavirus-cases-132448">It's now a matter of when, not if, for Australia. This is how we're preparing for a jump in coronavirus cases</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix was <a href="https://www.fia.com/news/fia-formula-1-and-australian-grand-prix-corporation-joint-statement">finally cancelled this morning</a>, but only after organisers held an emergency meeting to discuss various options with fans lined up at the gates. </p>
<p>The event was thrown into doubt after the <a href="https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/148633/mclaren-pulls-out-of-australia-after-covid19-diagnosis">McLaren team pulled out</a> when a team member tested positive for coronavirus and several members of other teams <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-11/formula-one-team-members-quarantined-due-to-coronavirus-fears/12047494">were quarantined</a> with flu symptoms.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320123/original/file-20200312-111289-1iq1i0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320123/original/file-20200312-111289-1iq1i0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320123/original/file-20200312-111289-1iq1i0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320123/original/file-20200312-111289-1iq1i0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320123/original/file-20200312-111289-1iq1i0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320123/original/file-20200312-111289-1iq1i0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320123/original/file-20200312-111289-1iq1i0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">F1 champion Lewis Hamilton said he was ‘very surprised’ the Australian Grand Prix was going ahead.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Dodge/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now, with the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/nba-season-suspended-spt-trnd/index.html">rest of the NBA and NHL seasons in the US being suspended</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/sports/baseball/mlb-season-opening-day-coronavirus.html">MLB season being delayed</a>, Australian sports leagues are finally starting to take action. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/03/13/nrl-awaiting-government-advice-on-coronavirus-before-making-decision-on-matches/">NRL announced today</a> its first round of matches would go ahead as normal this weekend after Prime Minister Scott Morrison banned public gatherings of more than 500 people, but future matches would be played behind closed doors. The AFLW and NBL made similar announcements, while a decision is expected to be forthcoming from the AFL within days.</p>
<p>This is a positive sign, but there are worrying questions why it took Australian sports officials so long to act, particularly when stadiums and arenas were emptying out so quickly in other countries.</p>
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<h2>Some leagues too slow to act</h2>
<p>For health officials, the timing is important. Just days ago, Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said that since there had not yet been any <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/09/no-chance-of-australian-grand-prix-going-behind-closed-doors-organisers">reported cases of “community transmission”</a> of the virus in Victoria, the Australian Grand Prix, in particular, could go ahead.</p>
<p>However, this changed today when Premier Daniel Andrews <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-13/coronavirus-covid-19-live-blog-updates/12052216">said no spectators would be allowed</a> at the Grand Prix “on public health grounds”.</p>
<p>Officials elsewhere in the world haven’t waited this long to make tough calls on cancelling events. The Indian Wells event in California was cancelled <a href="https://bnpparibasopen.com/coronavirus/">after a single case of coronavirus</a> was confirmed locally. (The ATP Tour was then <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/tennis-atp-suspends-mens-tennis-tour-for-six-weeks-over-coronavirus-2020-03-12">suspended for six weeks</a>.) And the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix decided days ago it <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/08/motorsport/bahrain-grand-prix-formula-one-coronavirus-spt-intl/index.html">will be held</a> on a closed track with no spectators.</p>
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<p>There have been mixed messages on whether it’s safe to attend NRL matches, as well. Prime Minister Scott Morrison tried to appeal for calm by saying he <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/tennis-atp-suspends-mens-tennis-tour-for-six-weeks-over-coronavirus-2020-03-12">would be going to the footy this weekend</a>, but an infectious disease specialist said this morning he was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/up-to-1.5m-people-could-catch-covid-19-in-nsw-alone:-nsw-cmo/12052210">incredulous the season</a> hadn’t already been cancelled. </p>
<p>The NRL finally decided today to <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/03/13/nrl-awaiting-government-advice-on-coronavirus-before-making-decision-on-matches/">play upcoming games in empty stadiums</a>. It also <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-to-ban-all-community-visits-over-coronavirus-fears/news-story/4c96fb155e0bb8921774f20ddad52077">announced stringent rules</a> for its players, including bans on community outreach and minimising contact with fans.</p>
<p>But these moves were remarkably slow to materialise and the season began as usual this week with arch-rivals Parramatta and Canterbury playing in front of a sizeable crowd. In recent days, CEO Todd Greenberg <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-10/nrl-ceo-todd-greenberg-issues-coronavirus-warning/12042040">has also been urging fans to continue “to go to public events” and “do your normal activities”</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We will put plans in place, we are not jumping to any conclusions just yet, but of course we are mindful of the problems that might exist.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>More than mindfulness is required. This wait-and-see approach looks weak now that the world is in the midst of a pandemic. Contingency plans should have been developed long before the start of the season, with clear communication to clubs, players and fans alike.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320046/original/file-20200312-15006-1jrfqhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320046/original/file-20200312-15006-1jrfqhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320046/original/file-20200312-15006-1jrfqhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320046/original/file-20200312-15006-1jrfqhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320046/original/file-20200312-15006-1jrfqhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320046/original/file-20200312-15006-1jrfqhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/320046/original/file-20200312-15006-1jrfqhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Champions League match played in an empty stadium in Paris to prevent the spread of coronavirus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexandre Simoes / UEFA via Getty Images</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Commercial impact to leagues</h2>
<p>From a commercial standpoint, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has also <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-well-placed-for-any-coronavirus-shock-mclachlan-20200301-p545su.html">sought to minimise concerns</a> about the virus, saying the league has “limited exposure” given its domestic focus. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>At the moment, the coronavirus has implications for those with supply chain or international links and that’s not where we’re at. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There has been some discussion about <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/afl-2020-senior-league-figures-consider-modified-season-due-to-coronavirus-20200311-p5495i.html">modifying the season</a> if the outbreak continues to spread, including cancelling games, playing in empty stadiums or condensing the schedule. </p>
<p>The AFL has modelled the potential cost to the league of such steps, but has remained tight-lipped about <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/afl/afl-confirms-plan-to-play-without-crowds-if-required-20200310-p548p4.html">these projections</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-the-australian-governments-powers-to-quarantine-people-in-a-coronavirus-outbreak-132877">Explainer: what are the Australian government's powers to quarantine people in a coronavirus outbreak?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While the NRL and AFL earn a substantial amount of their income from television broadcast deals, revenue generated through gate receipts is also important to clubs, as is secondary food and beverage, merchandise and other game-day spending. </p>
<p>While short-term cancellations or closed stadiums can likely be managed by most teams, the longer-term impacts could be much harder to address if the virus continues to worsen. Locking out fans could require <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/do-afl-members-deserve-refunds-if-stadiums-are-shut-over-coronavirus-c-739445">membership reimbursements</a>, but what about corporate box revenue and catering contracts? </p>
<p>The players, too, stand to lose a significant portion of their salaries. While those on guaranteed contracts will not be affected by cancelled games, all first- and second-year players signed to base salary contracts with match payments <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/afl/some-afl-players-would-lose-pay-if-games-called-off-20200310-p548rw.html">could stand to lose quite a bit</a>. </p>
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<h2>Risks to athletes’ health</h2>
<p>While the risk to fans is of obvious concern, the health of athletes should also be taken into consideration.</p>
<p>Many of us think of athletes as some of the healthiest people we know. And yet, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2018.1449895">research suggests</a> elite athletes can be more susceptible to viruses due to the immense physical and mental stress they are under, which may affect their immune systems. </p>
<p>There are also added risks associated with air travel, physical contact during competition and living in close quarters with other athletes. A <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/17/1093.full">study of the Finnish team</a> at the 2018 Winter Olympics showed just how fast such illnesses like the common cold can spread during competitions.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-forcing-us-to-ask-some-very-hard-questions-but-are-we-ready-for-the-answers-132581">The coronavirus pandemic is forcing us to ask some very hard questions. But are we ready for the answers?</a>
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<p>This explains why the NBA <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/03/coronavirus-nba-tells-players-to-avoid-high-fiving-fans-and-autographing-items">advised players</a> to avoid high fives and minimise contact with autograph seekers, and then immediately suspended its season when one player tested positive.</p>
<p>The AFL, by comparison, has seemed <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-clubs-implement-measures-to-protect-against-coronavirus-20200311-p5495t.html">divided</a> on how to deal with a player possibly contracting coronavirus. It has provided some advice to clubs on prevention strategies, but is <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/what-your-afl-club-is-doing-to-reduce-coronavirus-risk-20200312-p5499g.html">leaving it to them</a> to develop their own protocols. </p>
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<h2>Keep calm and carry on</h2>
<p>As the Australian leagues grapple with how to respond to the virus, the organisers of the biggest sporting event of the year, the Tokyo Olympics, are still weighing their options.</p>
<p>Though the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic chief <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/11/tokyo-olympics-coronavirus-postponement-denied-yoshiro-mori">have affirmed their commitment</a> to hold the games as planned, the situation remains fluid.</p>
<p>For now, Australian athletes continue to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-27/olympics-and-coronavirus-preparation-athletes-told-to-carry-on/12006258">train and prepare for the Olympics as normal</a>, though they are being advised not to travel overseas.</p>
<p>When it comes to domestic sports leagues and sporting events, however, more caution is certainly needed. While the decision to cancel matches does not solely lie with sports authorities, they should be taking more guidance from what is being done by leagues overseas. </p>
<p>It’s surely no longer business as usual and Australian sport officials can no longer just watch this space before deciding how to act. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This story has been updated since publication with the official cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix and the NRL’s decision to play matches in empty stadiums.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australian sports officials have thus far taken a wait-and-see approach to the coronavirus outbreak, leaving the impression they are on the back foot when it comes to preparedness.Michelle O'Shea, Senior Lecturer Sport Management, Western Sydney UniversityChloe Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, Western Sydney UniversityJessica Richards, Lecturer Sport Business Management, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1297602020-01-16T01:44:11Z2020-01-16T01:44:11ZMoving the A-League to the winter would improve the play, but will it attract the fans?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310196/original/file-20200115-151825-nn4yba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The A-League is struggling to attract TV viewers and fans at matches. Would a move to the winter make any difference?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gary Day/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the past week, the Australian football players union has been pressuring the A-League to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/open-season-a-league-urged-to-explore-feasibility-of-winter-switch-20200107-p53plq.html">make a major change in the sport</a> – shifting to a winter competition, instead of its current spot in the brutal summer.</p>
<p>Both the A-League and W-League seasons currently run from October-April. One of the main reasons for the summer schedule was to avoid head-to-head competition with the much bigger Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL), which both play in the winter.</p>
<p>But there’s a growing feeling in the sport that a move to the winter months would be beneficial for football, particularly as our summers grow hotter and bushfires worsen. </p>
<p>Last weekend, A-League officials <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/aleague-wleague-news-games-postponed-over-air-quality-smoke-bushfire-crisis-newcastle-jets/news-story/05decc5a333b94386216c58952d49d51">considered cancelling</a> the match between Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets due to the air quality in NSW before shifting course at the last minute. However, the W-League match scheduled before it was postponed.</p>
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<h2>Schedule not aligned with other leagues</h2>
<p>The A-League is believed to be the only professional football league in the world in which the <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/aleague-news-podcast-simon-hill-debate-analysis-winter-switch-ffa-james-johnson-salary-cap-second-division/news-story/477db6eff7d341398b9ecc1a1698a711">top-level competition plays at a different time of year from its lower-tier league</a>. The semi-pro National Premier League currently plays in the winter, from March to October. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-soccer-is-falling-behind-footy-and-rugby-in-australia-97327">Why soccer is falling behind footy and rugby in Australia</a>
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</em>
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<p><a href="https://sport.optus.com.au/articles/os3933/aloisi-bridges-and-mcdonald-debate-should-the-a-league-move-to-winter">According to former Socceroo John Aloisi</a>, the way the schedule is currently set up widens the gap between amateur and professional football. This separation limits the development pathways for players, coaches and administrators. </p>
<p>It also situates the Australian national competition outside the Asian football schedule, which is also in the Southern Hemisphere winter. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If we want to move forward as a code we need to go, ‘Alright, Asia is played this time of the year, we have to play with them.’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Moving to the winter could have a huge impact on the women’s game, too. It would give the W-League a major opportunity to grow its fan base since no other Australian women’s sport is played at that time of year, other than netball. </p>
<p>As former Matilda Shelley Youman <a href="https://thewomensgame.com/news/calls-for-w-league-to-shift-to-winter-we-need-to-find-our-place-536240">says</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Crowds are not coming now anyway, so why not try something new. We need to find our place in the busy Australian sporting landscape.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Hotter temperatures lead to patchier play</h2>
<p>Other players have also thrown their support behind the idea, arguing the Australian summer heat and constant need for water breaks impacts the quality of football. The <a href="https://www.ffa.com.au/ffa-heat-policy">FFA heat policy</a> mandates a 90-second drink break in each half when the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is between 26 and 27.9 degrees Celsius, or the ambient temperature is over 31 degrees. </p>
<p>A match can be delayed or postponed when the WBGT reaches 28 degrees.</p>
<p>Former Socceroos star Jason Culina <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/jason-culina-it-s-not-possible-to-perform-as-well-in-summer-as-in-winter-20200108-p53pvc.html">said he loses up to four kilograms</a> after games played in the heat and it can take days to recover. He says the fields in the summer months are also “rock hard”, leading to increased injuries.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My career was almost ended by a serious knee injury in 2011 that was caused by wear and tear. … the hard conditions in Australia might have accelerated the deterioration. </p>
</blockquote>
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<p>The heat may also be a contributing factor to fans staying away from A-League matches. Statistics <a href="https://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=3">show</a> that since 2015, crowd attendance at A-League matches has continually declined.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309539/original/file-20200112-103982-1pmme4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309539/original/file-20200112-103982-1pmme4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309539/original/file-20200112-103982-1pmme4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309539/original/file-20200112-103982-1pmme4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309539/original/file-20200112-103982-1pmme4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309539/original/file-20200112-103982-1pmme4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309539/original/file-20200112-103982-1pmme4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A-League attendance figures (2015-2019)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Austadiums</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where will they play in winter?</h2>
<p>So, how feasible would a switch actually be? Could this be the “shake-up” many have called for in the A-League? </p>
<p>One of the biggest problems is where A-League games would be played if the main stadiums are busy hosting AFL, NRL and Super Rugby matches. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-wants-to-host-the-2023-fifa-womens-world-cup-equal-pay-for-the-matildas-will-help-our-chances-125564">Australia wants to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Equal pay for the Matildas will help our chances</a>
</strong>
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</p>
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<p>Part of the A-League season currently overlaps with those leagues in March and April. This already poses problems for footballers, due to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-10/scg-pitch-disaster-super-rugby-waratahs-reds/10887164">damage caused to fields by scrums and studs</a>.</p>
<p>Sydney FC, for example, has scheduled games at several suburban grounds while the Sydney Football Stadium is being rebuilt. However, last February the team had to move a match from Brookvale Oval after the playing surface was considered not up to “<a href="https://www.sydneyfc.com/news/sydney-fc-game-switched-leichhardt-oval">A-League standard</a>”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1098808705678602240"}"></div></p>
<p>Add to that Melbourne Victory player <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-07/terry-antonis-suffers-knee-injury-on-uneven-scg/10979208">Terry Antonis’ knee injury</a> that was largely attributed to the poor condition of the Sydney Cricket Ground after a Super Rugby match. </p>
<p>In NSW, the Berejiklian government has controversially committed A$2 billion to stadium redevelopment, but most of the money is going toward its main stadiums in <a href="http://www.infrastructure.nsw.gov.au/projects-nsw/stadium-australia-redevelopment/">Olympic Park</a> and <a href="http://www.infrastructure.nsw.gov.au/projects-nsw/sydney-football-stadium-redevelopment/">Moore Park.</a> </p>
<p>This has resulted in ongoing criticism from those who believe the money could have been dispersed more evenly to upgrade smaller stadiums. The benefits of investing in smaller stadiums include enhancing the match atmosphere and creating a more family-friendly environment. They are <a href="https://www.austadiums.com/news/news.php?id=712">overwhelmingly favoured by fans and football clubs alike</a></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-love-their-sport-but-investing-in-new-venues-is-another-matter-108020">Australians love their sport, but investing in new venues is another matter</a>
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<h2>Growing the fan base amid so much competition</h2>
<p>The A-league’s current position in the sporting calendar is already not drawing huge television audiences. The <a href="https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2019/10/17/sports-ratings-wrap-a-league-struggles-to-find-an-audience-on-abc-as-bathurst-dominates">season opener between the Wanderers and Mariners</a> in October attracted just 47,000 viewers on the ABC in the five major capital cities – down from 93,000 a year earlier.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-soccer-is-falling-behind-footy-and-rugby-in-australia-97327">Why soccer is falling behind footy and rugby in Australia</a>
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<p>While research shows Australians have multiple loyalties when it comes to sport, the A-League has long struggled to build a strong emotional connection with its fans – hence the poor television viewership and match attendance figures. </p>
<p>A recent study by <a href="https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/study-evaluates-emotional-value-of-sport-fans-connection-to-sport-and-sponsors/">True North Research</a> highlighted how important the emotional connection is between fans and clubs. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-beautiful-social-media-game-a-league-winners-and-losers-on-twitter-84459">The beautiful social media game: A-League winners and losers on Twitter</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>The Matildas have long been considered among the “<a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/matildas-our-most-loved-team-as-wallabies-cricketers-win-us-back-over/news-story/a546eb1fc5f1789cfdd87e4004daa10f">most loved Australian sport teams</a>” but A-League clubs have been ranked the worst of any summer sports teams for <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-ug/news/a-league-clubs-rated-the-worst-for-emotional-connections/1keyzbxxssbjl13m1xxnk5xk4h">emotional connection with fans</a>.</p>
<p>In light of this, a move to winter could pose a serious risk to football’s future. Multiple <a href="https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/01/10/would-a-winter-season-even-work-in-the-a-league/?comment_id=7295528">online fan surveys</a> have shown that if it was a choice between the NRL, AFL or A-League, A-League would not be the winner. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1216175505591783424"}"></div></p>
<p>Perhaps instead of a shift to a different season, the A-League should focus on better developing and marketing its summer matches. As it stands now, the league decided not to do any marketing for the <a href="https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league-attempt-to-avoid-marketing-code-wars-ok-with-pfa">2019-20 season</a> until after the NRL and AFL Finals were over. </p>
<p>If the A-League’s administrators won’t promote the league before the season even starting, what hope does football have against a field of giants?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many believe a move to the winter would be beneficial for football, particularly as our summers grow hotter. But competing directly with AFL and NRL could pose a serious risk to the sport’s future.Jessica Richards, Lecturer Sport Business Management, Western Sydney UniversityDaniela Spanjaard, Director of Academic Program, Hospitality, Marketing & Sport, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityFrancine Garlin, Director of Undergraduate Programs, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityMichelle O'Shea, Senior Lecturer Sport Management, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1114212019-03-01T00:11:02Z2019-03-01T00:11:02ZRugby league may finally have reached its tipping point on player behaviour and violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260109/original/file-20190221-120329-1no56ia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Sharks' Ben Barba (centre) was sacked by his club after allegations he assaulted his partner.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Himbrechts</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>St George Illawarra and NSW State of Origin player Jack de Belin has become the <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/02/28/jack-de-belin-stood-down-under-new-arlc-policy/">first player to be banned</a> under a new “no fault stand down” policy introduced by the National Rugby League (NRL).</p>
<p>This policy allows the NRL to stand down players facing criminal charges that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/28/arlc-rules-for-no-fault-standing-down-of-players-charged-with-serious-offences">carry a jail term of 11 years or more</a>, pending the outcome. Players will <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/jack-de-belin-stood-down-from-nrl-over-sexual-assault-charge-20190228-p510tm.html">remain on full pay and will be allowed to continue to train with their teams</a> until the matter is resolved. </p>
<p>In December 2018, the NRL was urged to take “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-20/nrl-denies-culture-of-violence-despite-horror-off-season/10636194">urgent action</a>” after a spate of allegations of domestic violence and assault by players. The sport’s governing body was accused of failing to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/22/rugby-league-has-a-domestic-violence-problem-the-nrls-lip-service-wont-fix-it">adequately condemn</a> these acts of violence against women.</p>
<p>Could it be that finally rugby league is listening to the criticism?</p>
<p>Just a few weeks ago, Ben Barba was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/greenberg-defends-handling-of-2013-assault-allegation-against-barba-20190202-p50v9l.html">sacked by his NRL club</a> following allegations he physically assaulted his partner and mother of his four children. After a <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/league/news/nrl-ben-barba-sacked-north-queensland-cowboys-career-timeline-bulldogs-sharks/1rzj6zt5rg84e1svz0759hz6h7">history of off-field incidents</a>, he was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/05/ben-barbas-career-appears-over-after-nrl-deregisteration">deregistered by the NRL</a>. Despite one former player speaking out in support of Barba, he has been widely condemned by the NRL community.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1092684860265656320"}"></div></p>
<p>Violence on the field too often translates to violence off the field. Barba’s sacking should herald a culture shift in the NRL away from versions of masculinity that are exclusive and threatening to women. The sport must move towards a culture that is better aligned with the values of society. </p>
<h2>Rugby League – a bastion of masculinity</h2>
<p>For many years, rugby league has provided an outlet for violence that allows masculinity to be performed.</p>
<p>Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, league epitomised orthodox masculine characteristics such as aggressive competition and toughness. Fighting, confrontation and belligerence has been revered in media coverage and by the wider public. For example, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.5153/sro.4044">The Footy Show valorised versions of masculinity</a> that portrayed men as hyper-heterosexual, stoic and aggressive. The hosts repeatedly demonstrated <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/wally-lewiss-racy-joke-sparks-outrage-on-nrl-footy-show/news-story/8200ebc3bc8048cba5a45b963a4bd1a8">disrespect for women.</a> </p>
<p>But in recent years, social customs, gender relations and the expectations of even hyper-masculine warrior athletes began to change. The Footy Show has been cancelled; and <a href="http://nflarrest.com/">evidence from</a> America’s most similar sport, American football (NFL), suggests that since 2006, there has been a slight decrease in players arrested for domestic violence. </p>
<p>Barba’s sacking appears to provide evidence of an emerging social contract with masculinity. No longer is men’s violence acceptable to the public. Rugby League — finally now — is taking action. </p>
<p>While player welfare is important, so is the welfare of women. The “boys will be boys” excuse no longer stands. NRL endorsed campaigns, such as <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/11/25/nrl-unveils-latest-power-for-change-campaign/">Power For Change</a>, an initiative described as “empowering young people to be leaders of change against domestic violence”, appeared hypocritical in the face of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-20/nrl-denies-culture-of-violence-despite-horror-off-season/10636194">five sexual assault charges in the most recent off-season</a>. On the sixth, the NRL took action. </p>
<p>It appeared the Australian sporting community had had enough. NRL fans, particularly, were fed up with misbehaving players and seeking significant change. Sanctioning players with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/dec/15/nrl-urged-to-ban-for-life-players-convicted-of-sexual-assault-and-domestic-violence">bans and fines</a> has proven ineffective. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1091482551590383617"}"></div></p>
<p>In addition to introducing their “no fault stand down policy”, NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg has called on other codes to honour the NRL-imposed ban. The Northern Hemisphere Super League has closed the door on Barba and Rugby Australia boss, Raelene Castle, said they would also <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/bushwhacked-no-lifeline-from-country-and-queensland-leagues-for-barba-20190205-p50vve.html">respect the NRL’s wishes</a>. </p>
<h2>Inclusive masculinities</h2>
<p>The NRL is today at a crossroads.</p>
<p>There has been a highly visible, and extensively documented phenomenon that millennial men <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/opinion/sunday/fraternity-sexual-assault-college.html">reject orthodox notions of masculinity</a>. They instead value intimacy among friends, tactility, respect for women, and disregard for violence. Much of the reason for this is considered to be related to <a href="http://ericandersonphd.com/resources/2008%20Inclusive%20Masculinity%20in%20a%20Fraternal%20Setting%20%5BMen%20and%20Masculinities%5D.pdf">changing mores surrounding male homosexuality</a>. When this changes, so does everything about masculinity.</p>
<p>The sociological work on this suggests that when heterosexual men exist in a culture that maintains high antipathy toward gay men (as existed in the 1980s), they will try to distance themselves from anything associated with gay men. Thus, men revere violence and stoicism, and hyper-sexualise women. They are thought weak for showing emotions concerning care for other men, or fear of confrontation. </p>
<p>However, as cultural attitudes have shifted, making homophobia and not homosexuality stigmatised, heterosexual men have more social freedom to express gender in ways that were once taboo. So it becomes permissible to talk your way through a problem with another male instead of fighting. </p>
<p>Scholars call this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusive_masculinity">inclusive masculinity</a>, but more colloquially it might be understood as a highly revered, feminised masculinity. In the last few decades, we have seen wholesale shifts to adolescent masculinities, something epitomised by the burgeoning of the “bromance”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-bromance-is-blossoming-says-study-77518">The bromance is blossoming, says study</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>The NRL has divided fans with its recent rule change. Although the rule change sends a strong message to players and clubs that violence will not be tolerated within the code, until the wider culture of Rugby League begins embracing alternative forms of masculinity, the cause of the problem will still remain.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NRL’s culture was once one of hyper-masculinity, but it has failed to change wth societal mores – it now finds itself out of step and in need of reform.Jessica Richards, Lecturer Sport Business Management, Western Sydney UniversityEric Anderson, Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport, University of WinchesterKeith Parry, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1037702018-09-27T01:51:26Z2018-09-27T01:51:26ZBlow that whistle: seven reasons you should respect the ref in the NRL Grand Final<p>This weekend’s rugby league Grand Final sees the <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/09/23/sydney-roosters-v-melbourne-storm-grand-final-preview/">Sydney Roosters face the Melbourne Storm</a> in front of a stadium crowd of thousands – and even more on television. All eyes will be on the referee to make sure the play is fair.</p>
<p>Like elite athletes, the reputation of these full-time professional refs is often summarised by their performance in high-pressure, high-stakes events – watched by people they can never impress.</p>
<p>Over the past three years, I have spent countless hours studying how NRL referees learn their craft. </p>
<p>So, ahead of this year’s NRL grand final, here are some aspects that might help you see the game from a ref’s point of view.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/split-second-decisions-with-little-praise-so-what-does-it-take-to-ref-a-game-of-nrl-57553">Split-second decisions with little praise: so what does it take to ref a game of NRL</a>
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<h2>1. Mt Everest moment</h2>
<p>The Grand Final is the ultimate. It is the pinnacle of a referee’s work over the course of the year. Everyone wants to make it, to earn the right to rule.</p>
<p>But they may never reach that pinnacle again. </p>
<p>So remember that they want the best: they really want to represent the game, the two teams involved, the fans and those referees who didn’t make the final, to the best of their ability. </p>
<h2>2. You only see it once</h2>
<p>Referees make split-second decisions. They only see things once, often only a small movement, and usually at speed.</p>
<p>They have to calculate the right moment to strike. They don’t have the luxury of multiple video replays to get it right.</p>
<p>Even without the involvement of the bunker – a centralised facility that records the game from several angles and to which refs can refer decisions for review – consider how hard this is to maintain faultlessly (and fearlessly) over two 40-minute blocks.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FR7XPA2-vrg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Refs can call on the bunker for help.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>3. They never fly solo</h2>
<p>During the course of a game, lead referees have to cope with listening to their assistant referee, two line judges, the matchday referee coach, players yelling at them, and occasionally spectators who provide their own helpful advice.</p>
<p>They also have to call for assistance, knowing that this may overrule something on which they have already made a ruling. </p>
<p>Remember, few of us hold jobs where people are simultaneously speaking to us, where we have to demand a second opinion, and where we can be called out for our mistakes on national television. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T-KaLWb6gdE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Everyone’s a critic of the refs.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>4. Reading their mind</h2>
<p>Each referee’s decision-making prowess is strongly predicated on their ability to read the game. They need to “feel” situations as they dynamically unfold with respect to players’ actions, movements and tensions.</p>
<p>Refs need to internally interpret, process and recall important variables and situations and to then blend these into accurate, constructive decisions that affect a given action or outcome both now and into the future of the game.</p>
<h2>5. Collectively attuned</h2>
<p>The lead and assistant refs in a Grand Final know their roles individually and collectively. On match day, they are tightly woven, well-attuned to each others nuances and thoughts.</p>
<p>Their thinking in action also imperceptibly defines and shapes a tone and rhythm for how the game unfolds.</p>
<p>But remember, they constantly formulate these actions in the context of the whole, never as individuals, but rather as part of the overall fabric of the game. </p>
<h2>6. Refereeing is hard work</h2>
<p>NRL referees run about <a href="https://playnrl.com/referee/referee-latest-news/the-science-of-officiating/">8.2km per game</a>. They consistently manage around <a href="https://theconversation.com/split-second-decisions-with-little-praise-so-what-does-it-take-to-ref-a-game-of-nrl-57553">282 rucks and 36 kicks in play</a>.</p>
<p>They also spend a <a href="https://theconversation.com/split-second-decisions-with-little-praise-so-what-does-it-take-to-ref-a-game-of-nrl-57553">staggering 31% of their game time</a> in high anaerobic heart rate sectors of 170 beats per minute (BPM) or above.</p>
<p>At the same time, referees are dynamically adjusting their field positions to continually remain alongside the play, all while making decisions at speed.</p>
<p>When was the last time you ran this far while also completing several intermittent sprint efforts, and making mentally taxing decisions all the while?</p>
<h2>7. They love the game</h2>
<p>Referees are passionate about rugby league. Many played the game as juniors, while others have family members involved. </p>
<p>They also love the challenge and excitement of league and the camaraderie that comes with such a high-profile sport.</p>
<p>But referees are expected to look serious, lack personality and ignore the distractions from both participants and spectators. </p>
<p>Remember, they are not permitted to publicly express their support, or otherwise, for particular teams or results, or provide insights into how they feel about their sport.</p>
<h2>Be gentle</h2>
<p>So, remember that referees are just people – albeit people who are extremely driven, focused, energetic athletes who are strongly anchored to performing the perfect game. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whether-teams-win-or-lose-sporting-events-lead-to-spikes-in-violence-against-women-and-children-99686">Whether teams win or lose, sporting events lead to spikes in violence against women and children</a>
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<p>They work as hard as elite players, both physically and mentally, to store and retrieve rules, learn new rules, learn every player’s name, stay fit, and make correct decisions at lightning speed.</p>
<p>Remember too that on Grand Final Day, most fans’ satisfactions are often driven by how well their team performs – which means it is often easier (and more acceptable) to ignore the loss if it can be blamed on the referees, rather than your own team’s play.</p>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Kath O'Brien does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s not easy being a ref. Everyone’s your critic, and you have to run more than 8km each match to keep up with the play.Dr Kath O'Brien, PhD Candidate - School of Human Movement & Nutrition Sciences, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/996862018-07-12T20:03:26Z2018-07-12T20:03:26ZWhether teams win or lose, sporting events lead to spikes in violence against women and children<p>While sports can bring fans together in celebration and camaraderie, researchers have documented a more troubling trend that accompanies these major events – a frightening increase in domestic violence. </p>
<p>In Australia, data released by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics earlier this year revealed that on State of Origin game nights, there is a staggering <a href="http://fare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/The-association-between-State-of-Origin-and-assaults-in-two-Australian-states-noEM.pdf">40.7% surge in domestic assaults</a> in NSW.</p>
<p>This spike in violence against women and children has remained consistent during State of Origin matches from 2012-17, the crime statistics show. </p>
<p>Increases in family violence have also been documented during the <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/%7E/media/resourcecentre/publicationsandresources/alcohol%20misuse/drinkingcultures-sportingevents/fullreport_drinkingcultures-sportingevents_vichealth-turningpoint.ashx">AFL Grand Final and Melbourne Cup</a>. Internationally, there are spikes in domestic violence associated with the <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/articles/2014/world-cup-football-is-a-risk-factor-for-domestic-violence/">World Cup</a> and even smaller events, like the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/06/08/domestic-violence-sports_n_17003036.html">10-day Calgary Stampede and the Grey Cup Final</a> in Canada. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-the-shadows-the-rise-of-domestic-violence-in-australia-29280">Out of the shadows: the rise of domestic violence in Australia</a>
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<p>And statistics show that increases in violence are roughly the same whether perpetrators’ teams win or lose. </p>
<p>Researchers at <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/articles/2014/world-cup-football-is-a-risk-factor-for-domestic-violence/">Lancaster University</a> in the UK studied family violence during the World Cups in 2002, 2006 and 2010, and found a 26% rise in domestic assaults when England won or drew, and a 38% jump when the team lost. Domestic violence incidents were up 11% the day after an England match – win or lose – suggesting a carry-over effect, too.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://rss.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1740-9713.2012.00606.x">study</a> conducted at the University of East London confirmed these findings. </p>
<p>Fearing a repeat of violent outbreaks during this year’s World Cup, the UK’s National Centre for Domestic Violence launched a confronting campaign with the tagline “<a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/if-england-gets-beaten-so-will-she-shocking-campaign-shows-domestic-violence-incidents-spike-during-world-cup/news-story/56737284a00bf789d0906b8db55b6391">If England gets beaten, so will she</a>”.</p>
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<h2>Too much alcohol</h2>
<p>So what is going on here? Why are events like these triggering such violent responses from male sports fans?</p>
<p>Here’s what these events have in common: a volatile mix of alcohol (and sometimes drugs), gambling, toxic masculinity, heightened emotions, tribalism and competition. While women also drink at sporting events, this mix of factors causes men being the ones predominantly responsible for violence against their partners and children following games. </p>
<p>Sporting bodies and alcohol brands also shoulder some of the blame for not doing enough to discourage excessive drinking by fans. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/time-to-cut-the-ties-between-alcohol-and-sport-15337">Time to cut the ties between alcohol and sport</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>There is a clear association between <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27565582">alcohol advertising and risky drinking</a>. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27868309">study</a> published earlier this year also showed that alcohol brands blatantly use the association of sports with beer and other spirits to encourage consumption. </p>
<p>Knowing this, major sporting bodies like FIFA and the National Rugby League in Australia need to take steps to cut back on their fervent marketing and promotion of alcohol during their events. </p>
<p>More sporting leagues and high-profile athletes should also be leading the effort against domestic violence. The NRL has placed some focus on this issue with its <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2016/05/01/nrl-steps-up-its-voice-against-violence/">“Voice Against Violence”</a> campaign. But given the clear links between alcohol consumption and domestic violence, the NRL’s aggressive promotion of alcohol seriously undermines this advocacy work and brings into question its commitment. </p>
<p>It is also worth noting that the NRL refused to comment on the <a href="http://fare.org.au/domestic-violence-surge-state-of-origin-game-leaves-women-and-children-battered-and-bruised/">release of data</a> showing the spike in domestic violence during the State of Origin.</p>
<p>One mechanism for sporting bodies to develop more comprehensive strategies in this area is the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/55.2%20FARE%20National%20framework%20for%20action%20to%20prevent%20alcohol-related%20family%20violence.pdf">national framework for action to prevent alcohol-related family violence</a>, launched by anti-domestic violence campaigner <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_Batty">Rosie Batty</a> and the <a href="http://fare.org.au/">Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education</a> in 2015.</p>
<p>The framework proposes 20 ways to combat alcohol-related family violence, including measures to limit the availability of alcohol and stricter regulations on the promotion of alcohol. One specific proposal is to introduce national legislation modelled on the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00302">Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act</a> to phase out alcohol advertising in the media, as well as the type of outdoor ads and sponsorships seen at major sporting events.</p>
<p>The disturbing reality is that behind these statistics are real people – the victims of domestic abuse. More women and children likely became victims after Wednesday night’s State of Origin game and following England’s loss to Croatia in the World Cup semifinals.</p>
<p>We cannot wait until the next big event, be it the AFL Grand Final or the 2022 FIFA World Cup, before taking meaningful action to address it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Pescud works for the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education. </span></em></p>A mix of alcohol, heightened emotions and toxic masculinity are to blame for surges in family violence perpetrated by sports fans.Melanie Pescud, Visiting Fellow, School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/926662018-03-08T01:19:51Z2018-03-08T01:19:51ZThe NRL’s unrivalled equality means back-to-back premierships are very rare<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208777/original/file-20180303-65529-16f9wlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The NRL's controversial salary cap has clearly played a role in keeping the league so equal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Craig Golding</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the 2018 NRL season kicks off, few of the game’s supporters will be aware it is enjoying a run of competitive balance unequalled anywhere in major world sport.</p>
<p>By the time of the Grand Final at the end of September, it will be more than 25 years since a team last retained the NRL crown (or that of its NSWRL/ARL predecessors).</p>
<p>You have to cast your mind back to the heady days of the Brisbane Broncos in 1993, and <a href="https://youtu.be/TagzL11fWoc?t=1h51m22s">their Tina Turner-fuelled celebrations</a>, to find the last back-to-back premiers. The subsequent run of 24 seasons without a repeat champion is not just unprecedented for top-level rugby league in Australia – it’s unparalleled in any major sporting competition anywhere in the world.</p>
<h2>The cap fits</h2>
<p>Since its introduction in 1990, the NRL’s salary cap has not been without its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bulldogs_RLFC_season">controversy</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Storm_salary_cap_breach">scandal</a> or <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/titans-henry-says-salary-cap-not-working">criticism</a>. Many detractors argue it isn’t working and is failing to <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/roosters-roster-proves-the-nrl-salary-cap-isnt-working-and-its-time-to-consider-how-it-can-change/news-story/08a1f2ccb469acdc63208f3acdef71ba">distribute the league’s talent evenly</a>. </p>
<p>Some cite the seeming inevitability of seeing Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith’s face <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-02/nrl-title-caps-off-superb-era-of-melbourne-storm-success:-boland/9008176">on Grand Final day</a>. Others will quote the common joke that some teams seem to be operating more under a <a href="http://thecumberlandthrow.com/2017/10/31/hola-amigos-roosters-salary-sombrero-saves-nrl/">salary sombrero than a cap</a>, such is the amount they are able to squeeze under it. </p>
<p>However, the simple fact is the numbers show that no major sporting competition in the world has enjoyed such a long run of diverse champions.</p>
<p>It wasn’t always this way. In the last years before the salary cap’s introduction, between 1980 and 1990, Parramatta and Canterbury-Bankstown won four premierships each and Canberra secured a couple. Just one other side got a look-in during those 11 years.</p>
<h2>Crunching the numbers</h2>
<p>Imagine a competition with <em>N</em> teams that compete each year, with one side declared premiers. If, each year, all teams were equally likely to win the title, then – on average – you’d expect to wait about <a href="http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GeometricDistribution.html"><em>N minus one</em> years</a> to see back-to-back premierships.</p>
<p>Repeat successes would be less common in larger competitions.</p>
<p>In reality, for a more realistic competition, you’d expect repeat champions to come around more frequently than under this assumption. </p>
<p>Common sense suggests a team good enough to be premiers one year will have a better-than-average chance of repeating their success. This is the pattern seen in all sporting leagues across the world.</p>
<h2>A global anomaly</h2>
<p>Examining results from 26 elite competitions across 12 different sports, involving teams from five continents, the NRL’s run of competitive balance stands out as an exception to the global trend. </p>
<p>I calculated the current run without a back-to-back champion for each competition. Different competitions have different numbers of teams, so this needs to be taken into account for any like-for-like comparison.</p>
<p>Under the very conservative assumption of equal strength teams, the odds of such a repeat title drought occurring can be calculated according to the equation below, where <em>d</em> is the number of years since the last repeat champion in a league with <em>N</em> teams.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208783/original/file-20180304-65507-1y4rp9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208783/original/file-20180304-65507-1y4rp9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208783/original/file-20180304-65507-1y4rp9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208783/original/file-20180304-65507-1y4rp9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208783/original/file-20180304-65507-1y4rp9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=142&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208783/original/file-20180304-65507-1y4rp9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=142&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208783/original/file-20180304-65507-1y4rp9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=142&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Equation to calculate a repeat title drought.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<h2>A historic run</h2>
<p>It isn’t simply that the NRL’s current run stands out among trends from other contemporary leagues. Dusting off the history books, none of these other competitions has ever seen a drought of back-to-back titles quite like the modern NRL.</p>
<p>Of the leagues included here, the NRL is one of only three that has ever had a drought of back-to-back premiers stretching for more years than there are teams in the competition. </p>
<p>The other two – the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the US and the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship – are both much younger competitions. The Rugby Championship has only been a three- or four-team competition, and the WNBA is riddled with instability and many defunct teams. Of the well-established leagues, the NRL stands alone.</p>
<p><iframe id="EEgkl" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EEgkl/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>An apology to Broncos fans</h2>
<p>There are probably some keen Queenslanders disputing that the NRL’s drought is quite as long as claimed here. In 1997, the Broncos were one of the clubs that broke away from the NRL and played in the rival Super League competition. </p>
<p>After winning that competition during its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Super_League_(Australia)_season">one and only season</a>, Brisbane then rejoined and claimed the 1998 NRL crown.</p>
<p>Even if you include the triumph in a rival competition followed by NRL success as a back-to-back title, the run of 19 years and counting still stands as statistically anomalous.</p>
<h2>True to its roots</h2>
<p>Statistically speaking, there is no major sporting competition in the world that has enjoyed such a run without crowning back-to-back champions. </p>
<p>For all its critics, it is difficult to believe the salary cap hasn’t worked better than in many other leagues at promoting competitive balance and parity.</p>
<p>In many ways, this seems fitting for the game’s history. Rugby league is, after all, a game born <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2015/08/why-rugby-league-still-patronised-mud-splattered-parochial-throwback">out of a staunch egalitarian</a> rebellion more than a century ago.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92666/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Woodcock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is no major sporting competition in the world that has enjoyed such a run without crowning back-to-back champions as the NRL.Stephen Woodcock, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.