tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/youth-sport-28742/articlesyouth sport – The Conversation2024-03-14T13:28:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2227832024-03-14T13:28:31Z2024-03-14T13:28:31ZThe problem with seeing young sportspeople as athletes first, children second<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580928/original/file-20240311-28-snw1iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C66%2C3991%2C2362&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-girl-swims-freestyle-pool-377909347">RomanSo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/swim-england-promises-change-after-report-points-culture-fear-clubs-2024-03-06/">recent report</a> commissioned by Swim England, the national governing body for swimming in England, has found evidence of a “culture of fear” in swimming clubs. The report finds that children involved in competitive swimming can be treated like professional athletes, and the importance of sporting performance held above all else. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/1461?articlesBySimilarityPage=3">Sport can be</a> a positive influence on young people’s wellbeing. Children are encouraged to participate in sport, and the aspiration to become an elite athlete is widely seen as an admirable goal. </p>
<p>Many children will find competitive sport enjoyable and rewarding. But problems can occur when the athletic identity of a young person overshadows their identity as a child. There is a risk that clubs, coaches and parents may treat young people as athletes rather than as children. And this can take place at all levels of sport, from children taking part in sports like swimming at local clubs to those who compete at the highest level. </p>
<p>One participant in the Swim England report said that a focus on swimming performance led to their social and academic life suffering, and that they would frequently push themselves in training to the point of vomiting or collapse to please their coach. “The way in which the sport is delivered to children and hiding under the label of ‘high performance athletes’ is driving people away from the sport they once loved,” they said. </p>
<p>“We’re not here to have fun, we’re here to win!” one parent told a researcher for the Swim England report. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1764992633363906856"}"></div></p>
<p>A focus on sporting success above all can compromise children’s wellbeing and safety. Young people may be exposed to environments that are highly pressurised, psychologically demanding and often tolerant of abuse. </p>
<p>Certain practices that take place in youth sports, such as coaches and parents <a href="https://uefa-safeguarding.eu/video-my-magic-sports-kit-nspcc">screaming on the sidelines</a>, that would be considered unacceptable in other settings. A teacher would be unable to behave like this towards their charges in a school setting, for instance. </p>
<p>In football academies, child athletes are potential future stars – and money spinners. A business mindset shifts the focus from nurturing children to moulding them <a href="https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/77510669/Rights_risks_and_responsibilities_Accepted_Aug_2019.pdf">into “assets”</a> for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/05/youth-academies-premier-league-clubs-revenue-stream">potential profit</a>. </p>
<p>Treating children like products rather than unique individuals with their own childhood experiences overshadows children’s vital developmental needs. </p>
<h2>Accelerated adulthoods</h2>
<p>Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp recently spoke about the need to protect young football players, including from <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68429635#:%7E:text=Liverpool%20manager%20Jurgen%20Klopp%20moved,win%20against%20Southampton%20on%20Wednesday">media attention</a>, as academy youth players made their debut in senior-level games. “But from tomorrow, leave the boys in the corner, please. And don’t ask: ‘Where are they now? Where are they now? Where are they now?’” <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/jurgen-klopp-makes-luke-littler-28720774">he told reporters</a> after Liverpool’s FA cup win over Southampton.</p>
<p>Darts player Luke Littler competed in the World Darts Championships and other major darts tournaments at the age of 16. Littler has received intense levels of public scrutiny that extended beyond the reaches of sport: his private life, including his relationship status, has <a href="https://www.gbnews.com/sport/other-sport/luke-littler-girlfriend-eloise-milburn-world-darts-championship">made headlines</a>. </p>
<p>Attention on the personal life of a minor rushes them towards adulthood but also shows a lack of respect for the privacy of young athletes: a significant safeguarding concern. </p>
<p>Children’s names have even been included in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/14/kamila-valieva-free-to-compete-at-winter-olympics-after-provisional-doping-suspension-overturned">reports about doping</a>. <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kamila-valieva-was-plied-with-56-medicines-between-ages-of-13-and-15-25tnw3d52">Kamila Valieva</a>, a Russian figure skater, experienced the unwelcome publicity of having her <a href="https://apnews.com/article/valieva-russian-doping-skating-beijing-olympics-strawberry-9f1e97255796d56841cc278c1f753087">positive test</a> revealed at the age of just 15, causing controversy at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.</p>
<p>This stands in stark contrast to practices elsewhere, such as in <a href="https://yjlc.uk/resources/legal-terms-z/anonymity">courts of law</a>. Article 16 of the <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf">UN Convention on the Rights of the Child</a> outlines children’s right to privacy. </p>
<h2>A balanced approach</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21640629.2021.1990655">Children have the right</a> to be protected from all forms of harm in sport. This extends to their right to participate in sports within a safe and enjoyable environment. There are evidently distinct challenges that arise when young people compete in elite and often adult-dominated sporting spaces. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2023.2268555">abuse of children in sports</a> is a concern at both community and elite levels. It is essential to address these concerns to ensure that the pursuit of athletic excellence does not come at the cost of the fundamental rights and safety of young people. </p>
<p>When children are treated solely as athletes, the excitement around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/14/freddy-adu-was-just-like-messi-what-happened-to-americas-pele?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">their potential</a> means that the fact that they are still minors may be forgotten. They must be recognised as children first, especially when their performance in elite sports takes place prior to reaching adulthood. </p>
<p>It is the moral obligation of all adults involved in sport to develop an approach that keeps children in sport safe, even when they are classed as elite athletes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222783/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>A focus on sporting success can compromise children’s wellbeing and safety.Ellie Gennings, Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching, Bournemouth UniversityAlice Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219692024-01-31T17:25:34Z2024-01-31T17:25:34ZSuffering in silence: Men’s and boys’ mental health are still overlooked in sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572001/original/file-20240129-29-fhg8bb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C26%2C5973%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are severe problems with the culture of masculinity in men’s sport — one that means men and boys must adapt rather than seek help.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/suffering-in-silence-mens-and-boys-mental-health-are-still-overlooked-in-sport" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>For men and boys, caring about sport typically conjures images of passionate competition and fighting for the win. This understanding of care leaves little room for self-care, health and safety, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2020.1716956">emotional vulnerability</a> — topics that are fraught with risks for boys and men in a sport culture of hypermasculinity. </p>
<p>The National Hockey League Players’ Association recently released its <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhlpa-unveils-first-line-program-designed-to-support-mental-health-of-nhl-players">First Line Program</a> to support player mental health. It signals that men’s hockey is finally acknowledging the long-known fact that “a hockey player struggling with mental health would have done so in silence.” </p>
<p>Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska recently told the <em>Calgary Herald</em> that talking openly about mental health is “<a href="https://calgaryherald.com/sports/hockey/nhl/calgary-flames/flames-hockey-mental-health">kind of becoming the norm now, that people aren’t afraid to voice it</a>.” Corey Hirsch, a retired goaltender recently told CBC News, “the game itself wasn’t the issue, the issue is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2298635843758">the stigma of having to be a tough man</a>.”</p>
<p>Similarly, in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aivpDPCP7Q8">recent interview on the <em>Diary of a CEO</em> podcast</a> France and Arsenal soccer legend, Thierry Henry, spoke of the depression he suffered throughout his career:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I’m a human being. I have feelings. Throughout my career and since I was born, I must have been in depression. Did I know it? No. did I do something about it? Obviously not, but I adapted.” </p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aivpDPCP7Q8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Thierry Henry talks about his experience with mental health as an elite athlete on the ‘Diary of a CEO podcast.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What we are seeing, then, is an overdue shift towards normalizing men and male athletes seeking help and gradually speaking more openly and vulnerably about mental health. </p>
<h2>A culture of silence</h2>
<p>There are severe problems with the culture of masculinity in men’s sport — one that means men and boys must adapt rather than seek help and tough it out rather than take a step back. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2023.2277087">culture of silence and bullying</a> means men and boys have been reluctant to speak up and speak out about safety and sexual assaults. It has created an environment where men and boys feel pressured to be silent about their own mental health.</p>
<p>On the same podcast, Henry said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“You’ve been told since you were young, whether at home or in your job, ‘Don’t be that guy, don’t show that you’re vulnerable.’ If they cry, what are they going to think.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a culture that sporting organizations are up against in their implementation of initiatives like the First Line Program.</p>
<p>We need to redefine what it means to care in men’s sport. And progress has been made. In addition to the NHLPA’s First Line Program, in September 2023 Hockey Canada hosted the <a href="https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/summit-agenda-unveiled-2023-news">Beyond the Boards Summit</a>. This was an attempt to address “toxic masculinity” while simultaneously struggling to understand it.</p>
<p>Then, in October 2023, Hockey Canada issued a <a href="https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Downloads/dressing-room-policy-faq-e.pdf">Dressing Room Policy</a> to “enhance inclusion and safety” and “minimize occurrences of maltreatment, bullying, and harassment.” </p>
<p>While this is a sign of progress, there remains some reluctance to name issues such as sexual assault and homophobia when they occur.</p>
<p>On World Mental Health Day 2023, Norwich City Football Club launched a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX8TgVR33KM">campaign, #youarenotalone</a> prompting us all to check in on those around us. </p>
<p>Initiatives such as these speak to a form of caring masculinity that is vital if men’s sport is to be the space of support and mental health that it can be.</p>
<h2>A complex relationship</h2>
<p>At times, novel ideas are borne in times of crisis; only now are we starting to make sense of the socio-cultural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The complex relationship between sport and boys’ mental health became apparent when sport facilities closed for social distancing measures, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102211">negatively impacting their social, mental and emotional health</a>. </p>
<p>One boy from our study described his struggles during the pandemic: “I just kind of felt sad… not being able to go rock-climbing.” In a similar vein, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri spoke in October 2023 about how many of his players — including young academy players — were <a href="https://football-italia.net/allegri-juventus-working-on-players-depression-in-post-covid-era/">suffering with depression in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>But this disruption has also forced boys to engage with their emotions. One boy told us: “I became way more in touch with myself and my emotions.” The same sentiment is echoed by Henry, who said of the pandemic: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Something like that had to happen for me to understand vulnerability, empathy, and crying. Understand that anger and jealousy are normal… I was crying every day for no reason… it was weird, in a good way.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What does this tell us about sport and mental health? Primarily that sport in its traditional guise does not provide space for men’s and boys’ vulnerability and mental health. </p>
<h2>Cultivating care in men’s sport</h2>
<p>We can reimagine sport to be inclusive, diverse and safe, in order to tap into the positive potential of sports. But it requires redefining what it means to care. This does not mean discarding the importance of sporting competition, but rather recognizing and developing the potential for self-care and mutual support in men’s sport.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2023.2277087">our research with male athletes</a>, we found that creating diverse sporting spaces facilitated open and vulnerable conversations, and promoted a culture of care and support that was important to these athletes. </p>
<p>These attempts at inclusion and diversity were not without their pains. The traditional culture of men’s sports sometimes reared its head making some men — particularly queer men — feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902211014037">excluded, marginalized and unsafe</a>. But the creation of spaces of emotional vulnerability and support nevertheless showed what is possible if the power of sport is harnessed and reimagined in novel ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221969/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Kehler receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Knott-Fayle 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>We are witnessing an overdue shift towards normalizing male athletes seeking help and gradually speaking more openly and vulnerably about mental health.Michael Kehler, Werklund Research Professor, Masculinities Studies, University of CalgaryGabriel Knott-Fayle, Postdoctoral Scholar of Masculinities Studies in Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2030382023-04-26T23:44:20Z2023-04-26T23:44:20ZHit your head while playing sport? Here’s what just happened to your brain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522897/original/file-20230426-28-n7he5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C1917%2C1270&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/boys-playing-soccer-during-day-3413645/">Patrick Case/Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s Friday night, your team is playing, and scores are nail-bitingly close. A player intercepts the ball, and bam! A player tackles his opponent to the ground. Trainers and doctors gather nervously while the commentators wait for confirmation: a concussion, mild traumatic brain injury, head knock, strike, tap, bump, blow … there are many terms for it.</p>
<p>How to prevent and treat such injuries is the subject to a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Headtraumainsport">Senate inquiry</a>, with public hearings this week.</p>
<p>But what exactly are these injuries? What’s going on in the brain?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/concussion-risks-arent-limited-to-the-afl-we-need-urgent-action-to-make-sure-our-kids-are-safe-too-155638">Concussion risks aren't limited to the AFL. We need urgent action to make sure our kids are safe, too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is concussion?</h2>
<p>Concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Concussion typically falls at the milder end of the spectrum, and so is often called mild TBI.</p>
<p>Concussions happen most often when the head directly hits against something. But it can also happen without head impact, when a blow to the body causes the head to move quickly. </p>
<p>The brain is a soft organ in a hard case, floating in a thin layer of <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/cerebrospinal-fluid-csf-analysis/">cerebrospinal fluid</a>. The brain can be damaged away from the site of impact for this reason, as it bounces with force within the skull.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1591444863698042883"}"></div></p>
<p>Concussions that happen during sport can be complex because the head often rotates as the person falls. This “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3979340/">rotational acceleration</a>” can cause more damage to the brain. This is especially the case for cells in the long tracts of white matter responsible for relaying signals around the brain.</p>
<p>As well as causing initial damage to brain cells at the time of injury, concussion sets off a cascade of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479139/">chemical and biological changes</a>. These occur within minutes and may last for days or even weeks after concussion. </p>
<p>Cell membranes become permeable (more leaky), causing an imbalance of brain chemicals inside and outside cells. Cellular functions shift into overdrive to try to restore balance, using more fuel in the form of glucose. At the same time, blood flow to the brain is often reduced, resulting in a mismatch between energy supply and demand. </p>
<p>The structural scaffolding of cells in the white matter may begin to weaken or break, preventing or reducing the ability of cells to communicate.</p>
<p>Sensing danger, cells from the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28910616/">immune system</a> begin to migrate to the brain in an attempt to stem the damage, spouting chemical signals to recruit other inflammatory cells to the sites of injury. </p>
<p>These initial responses to concussion typically resolve over time, but the recovery period may be different for each person, and may persist even after symptoms go away.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/repeated-head-injury-may-cause-degenerative-brain-disease-for-people-who-play-sport-juniors-and-amateurs-included-196042">Repeated head injury may cause degenerative brain disease for people who play sport – juniors and amateurs included</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the symptoms?</h2>
<p>Concussion <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/concussion/symptoms-causes/syc-20355594">symptoms</a> can differ depending on the person and the circumstances of injury. </p>
<p>Some people have more obvious symptoms like loss of consciousness, vomiting and confusion; others may have headaches, problems with their vision, or thinking and concentration. Some people may have one symptom while others have many. Some people’s symptoms may be severe, and others may have only mild symptoms.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1649993694802485250"}"></div></p>
<p>So diagnosing and managing concussion can be difficult. Most people who have a concussion will find their symptoms subside within days or weeks. But around <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26918481/">20% of people</a> will have persistent symptoms beyond three months after their concussion. </p>
<p>Ongoing symptoms can make it harder to perform at work or school, to socialise with friends and to maintain relationships. Scientists don’t know why recoveries are different for different people. We have no way to <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/5/e046460.info">predict</a> who will recover from concussion and who won’t.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/having-a-brain-injury-does-not-mean-youll-get-dementia-97254">Having a brain injury does not mean you'll get dementia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How about repeat blows to the head?</h2>
<p>People who play contact sports are more likely to have multiple concussions over a playing career. Higher numbers of concussions tend to mean <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28387556/">worse symptoms and slower recovery</a> for subsequent concussions. </p>
<p>This indicates the brain doesn’t get used to concussions, and each concussion is likely to impart additional damage. </p>
<p>Emerging evidence suggests repeated concussions may lead to <a href="https://n.neurology.org/content/88/15/1400.short">ongoing changes</a> in people’s brain cell structure and function.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32326805/">Inflammation</a> may persist inside and outside the brain. Inflammation may also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30535946/">cause or contribute</a> to someone developing symptoms, and long-term brain functional and structural changes.</p>
<p>Prolonged symptoms and long-term brain changes may be worse in the long run for people who experience their concussions as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6595074/">young adults</a> compared to people who have concussions as older adults. </p>
<p>Scientists are also starting to find differences in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30618335/">symptoms</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8596946/">brain alterations</a> in males and females. These could be related to newfound sex differences in the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29104114/">scaffolding proteins</a> of male and female brains, making female brains more susceptible.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Female soccer players playing match" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522906/original/file-20230426-16-isrm2t.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>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Concussion may be different for women, but we’re still learning how.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-athletes-playing-soccer-906073/">Noelle Otto/Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-concussions-affect-men-and-women-differently-female-athletes-need-more-attention-in-brain-research-160097">Sports concussions affect men and women differently. Female athletes need more attention in brain research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We’ve known about this for a long time</h2>
<p>The long-term brain and behaviour changes resulting from repeated sports concussions have been reported since at least the <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/1/3306/816">1920s</a>. Back then, it was seen in boxers and termed dementia pugilistica, or <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/260461">punch-drunk syndrome</a>. </p>
<p>We now call this condition <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1934148211005296">chronic traumatic encephalopathy</a> (CTE). People found to have CTE don’t always experience severe symptoms. Instead, symptoms tend to emerge or worsen later in life, even decades after injury or at the end of a playing career.</p>
<p>People also have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8166432/">varied symptoms</a> that can sometimes be hard to measure, like confusion, impaired judgement and aggression. This has made diagnosis difficult while people are alive. We can only confirm CTE after someone dies, by detecting altered structural proteins of the brain in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12024-023-00624-3">specific brain areas</a>. </p>
<p>There is still a lot to learn about CTE, including the exact processes that cause it, and why some people will develop it and others won’t.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-we-know-about-cte-the-brain-condition-that-affected-danny-frawley-145395">Here's what we know about CTE, the brain condition that affected Danny Frawley</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Concussion is common</h2>
<p>Concussion is a common injury almost <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7048626/">30%</a> of us will experience in our lifetime. </p>
<p>Although we have a lot still to learn, the current advice for people who experience concussion is to seek medical advice to help with initial management of symptoms and guide decisions on returning back to playing sports.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>For coaches, trainers, parents and others interested in learning more about how to manage concussion, resources are available from <a href="https://www.connectivity.org.au/">Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia</a>. These include its <a href="https://www.connectivity.org.au/concussion-short-course/">free concussion short courses</a> to help you understand, recognise and manage a concussion injury when it occurs.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203038/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Hellewell receives funding from the Medical Research Futures Fund and the Bryant Stokes Neurological Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Young or old, men or women. All can be at risk of concussion while playing contact sport. Here’s what we know happens in the brain.Sarah Hellewell, Research Fellow, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, and The Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1972682023-01-05T00:17:33Z2023-01-05T00:17:33ZDamar Hamlin injury: Was it commotio cordis? How to prevent a potentially fatal blow to the heart in young athletes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503162/original/file-20230104-130036-uc4c1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C19%2C3131%2C2093&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">NFL player Damar Hamlin's injury during a game on Jan. 2 may have been a heart injury called commotio cordis. Researchers are working on ways to prevent this rare but often fatal sports injury.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/damar-hamlin-injury--was-it-commotio-cordis-how-to-prevent-a-potentially-fatal-blow-to-the-heart-in-young-athletes" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A routine tackle in an NFL game on Jan. 2 almost turned fatal when Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills was injured during a play, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/damar-hamlin-collapse-buffalo-bills-football/">leading to cardiac arrest</a>. </p>
<p>After popping up briefly after the play, Hamlin suddenly collapsed. Within seconds, Paycor Stadium, the home of the Cincinnati Bengals, went from a raucous crowd to hearing a pin drop as Hamlin lay unresponsive on the ground, requiring immediate external defibrillation to restart his heart. </p>
<p>This appears to have all the characteristics of commotio cordis. The NFL’s chief medical officer said that is a possibility, but doctors are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/damar-hamlin-nfl-buffalo-bills-news-01-04-23/h_5fffef4ac321b89bcc65334e13229069">investigating every possible cause</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526014/">Commotio cordis</a> is the result of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra0910111">blunt trauma to the heart</a> and is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in youth sports. Fatal blows to the heart <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2021.05.053">occur predominately in young athletes</a> with an average age of 13. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A player wearing the number 3 falling onto the field, surrounded by other players" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503158/original/file-20230104-129741-1lh5zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503158/original/file-20230104-129741-1lh5zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503158/original/file-20230104-129741-1lh5zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503158/original/file-20230104-129741-1lh5zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503158/original/file-20230104-129741-1lh5zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503158/original/file-20230104-129741-1lh5zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503158/original/file-20230104-129741-1lh5zw.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">Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (85) collides with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) during the first half of an NFL football game on Jan. 2 in Cincinnati. Hamlin was injured on the play, and collapsed on the field.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commotio cordis causes the heart to go into <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/about-arrhythmia/ventricular-fibrillation">ventricular fibrillation</a>, leading to pump failure. Although rare, this condition is fatal unless immediate resuscitation is conducted. Currently, commotio cordis still occurs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2006.10.053">despite the use of chest protection</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/damar-hamlins-cardiac-arrest-during-monday-night-football-could-be-commotio-cordis-or-a-more-common-condition-a-heart-doctor-answers-4-questions-197177">Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during 'Monday Night Football' could be commotio cordis or a more common condition – a heart doctor answers 4 questions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As a PhD student in biomedical engineering, I specialize in commotio cordis. My colleagues and I research how we can create safer chest protectors and safety regulations to prevent this tragic incident from occurring in sports globally. </p>
<p>While commotio cordis predominately occurs in youth sports, it can happen at all ages. Survival rates have increased over the years, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2012.10.034">commotio cordis is still often fatal</a>. </p>
<h2>The perfect storm</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People seen from behind, crouching around an unseen person on a field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503159/original/file-20230104-129813-x4inu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503159/original/file-20230104-129813-x4inu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503159/original/file-20230104-129813-x4inu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503159/original/file-20230104-129813-x4inu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503159/original/file-20230104-129813-x4inu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503159/original/file-20230104-129813-x4inu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503159/original/file-20230104-129813-x4inu6.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">Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin is examined after collapsing during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Previous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199806183382504">pig model studies established a series of conditions</a> that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra0910111">must be met simultaneously</a> in order for commotio cordis to occur: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The impact must occur over or around the heart, </p></li>
<li><p>the impact speed ranges from 48 to 80 kph (30 to 50 mph), and </p></li>
<li><p>the impact occurs during the vulnerable period of the cardiac cycle which is approximately 20 milliseconds in length, just before the peak of the T-wave on an <a href="https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=zm2308">electrocardiogram</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The only known treatment for commotio cordis is immediate defibrillation, and the quicker an athlete’s heart can be electrically restarted, the higher the chances of their survival. </p>
<h2>Developing new commotio cordis injury metrics</h2>
<p>In 2021 our lab group developed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10255842.2021.1948022">new injury metrics for commotio cordis</a> safety which provided the analysis of measuring rib cage deformation from impact. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://nocsae.org/">National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment</a> (NOCSAE) has established chest protector safety protocols to prevent against commotio cordis, and while they are not perfect they exist for baseball and lacrosse. Unfortunately, these regulations are absent for both hockey and American football. </p>
<p>They are urgently needed to prevent incidents occurring in all levels of sport, and our lab continues to pursue these goals of safety for all. We believe that, in addition to measuring force from impact, the inclusion of rib deformation would greatly improve the accuracy and effectiveness of these injury metrics. We also believe the inclusion of hockey and football in commotio cordis safety standards would help prevent these injuries. </p>
<h2>Identifying vulnerable impact locations</h2>
<p>Piggybacking on our initial commotio cordis injury metric study in 2021, our lab was able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4052886">identify potentially vulnerable impact locations over the heart</a> which are currently not considered as a point of emphasis in commercially available chest protection on the market. </p>
<p>Using simulations, we were able to recreate these injuries and designed heat maps that overlay the chest of individuals to really highlight where the most dangerous locations may occur. We found that impacts slightly offset of the heart resulted in high strain values of cardiac tissue elements. </p>
<p>It is important to note that this location becomes exposed quite easily from athletic movement in which the chest protector may move around on the body of the athlete. </p>
<h2>Optimizing commotio cordis safety standards</h2>
<p>Recently, our lab group collaborated with cardiologist <a href="https://physiologie.unibe.ch/%7Erohr/">Stephan Rohr’s</a> <a href="https://physiologie.unibe.ch/%7Erohr/group/">lab at the University of Bern</a> in Switzerland. We conducted a study to identify further ways to optimize commotio cordis safety standards, while improving on the current regulations. This research is currently under peer-review. </p>
<p>To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on peak strain values that can be expected to occur at the level of the left ventricle of the heart during commotio cordis — inducing impacts for different age groups. The results from this study may contribute to the understanding of the cellular mechanisms responsible for commotio cordis, alongside sport safety and equipment regulations. </p>
<p>Our lab group is committed to ensuring we can reduce instances of commotio cordis. To make sports safer for people of all ages, and prevent the tragic loss of athletes on our playing fields, we will keep investigating the fundamental mechanisms and developing novel countermeasures. </p>
<p>Recent events may increase awareness of this rare but serious injury, and help promote improvements in protective equipment in many sports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grant James Dickey has previously received funding from Mitacs to assist in the Cellular Optics laboratory in Bern, Switzerland to further understand cardiac cell stretching from impact. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Haojie Mao, Kewei Bian, and Sakib Ul Islam 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>Commotio cordis is the result of blunt trauma to the heart, and is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in youth sports. Improvements in protective equipment may help prevent it.Grant James Dickey, PhD Student in Biomedical Engineering, Western UniversityHaojie Mao, Assistant Professor/Faculty of Engineering/School of Biomedical Engineering/Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western UniversityKewei Bian, PhD Candidate, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western UniversitySakib Ul Islam, PhD Candidate, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1774322022-02-18T14:27:42Z2022-02-18T14:27:42ZWould adding a minimum age limit for the Olympic Games protect youth athletes from doping?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447224/original/file-20220218-23-5sbbkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C21%2C7284%2C4848&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fifteen-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva reacts after her routine in the women's free skate program during the 2022 Winter Olympics. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://olympics.com/beijing-2022/olympic-games/en/results/figure-skating/athlete-profile-n1057109-kamila-valieva.htm">Kamila Valieva</a> isn’t the first young athlete accused of doping at the Olympics, and she surely won’t be the last unless we start taking the special circumstances of youth athletes seriously.</p>
<p>Concerns about youth doping were amplified at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1119022/beijing-2022-figure-skating-medal-delay">following the news</a> that Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater, had tested positive for the banned substance <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/figure-skating/trimetazidine-banned-drug-olympics-russian-skater-explainer-1.6346402">trimetazidine</a>. The delayed news of her positive test raised many questions, including whether it is time to <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/02/17/olympics-figure-skating-age-minimums">add minimum age limits </a>to Olympic participation.</p>
<p>Age limits at the Olympics are set by each International Federations (IF) — the international sports bodies that govern individual sports — and not by the International Olympic Committee. Specifically, Rule 42 of the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/olympic-charter">Olympic Charter</a> states: “There may be no age limit for competitors in the Olympic Games other than as prescribed in the competition rules of an IF as approved by the IOC Executive Board.” </p>
<p>Just like the IOC does for <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/News/2021/11/IOC-Framework-Fairness-Inclusion-Non-discrimination-2021.pdf?_ga=2.186940843.2055494824.1637591902-700636348.1626889064">sex testing</a>, eligibility rules for age are deferred to the IFs. Some IFs have decided that age matters, and imposed minimum age restrictions for Olympic participation — others have not. These range from 13 for fencing and 14 for taekwondo and bobsled, to 17 for wrestling, cycling and weightlifting, and 20 for the marathon. </p>
<h2>How young is too young?</h2>
<p>Many people believe Valieva is too young to have doped <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/russian-doping-isnt-the-only-problem-in-figure-skating/">without adult involvement</a>. But there is no “too young” to commit a doping offense. For example, a 12-year-old Polish boy tested positive for nikethamide and received a <a href="https://jalopnik.com/this-tween-polish-kart-driver-got-busted-for-doping-5787326">two-year ban</a> from the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile. His lawyer argued he should not be sanctioned because he was too young to compete at the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/youth-olympic-games">Youth Olympic Games</a> (YOG). Despite his age, and the banned substance being traced to an energy bar, the <a href="https://www.tas-cas.org/en/index.html">Court of Arbitration for Sport</a> only reduced his ban by six months, noting he was not too young for the anti-doping rules to apply. </p>
<p>At the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/singapore-2010">inaugural YOG</a>, two 17-year-old wrestlers <a href="https://nationalpost.com/sports/two-17-year-old-youth-olympics-wrestlers-fail-drug-tests">failed doping tests</a> and were required to forfeit their participation certificates and any medals won. Both were suspended from the sport for two years, and their names were entered into the <a href="http://www.fila-wrestling.com/images/documents/anti-dopage/101209_list_of_sanctioned_wrestlers.pdf">public doping registry</a> of the IF (now known as <a href="https://uww.org/">United World Wresting</a>), despite their legal status as minors.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl in a gymnastics leotard with her arms raised. She has a gold medal around her neck and she is smiling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447214/original/file-20220218-13-u9q52k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447214/original/file-20220218-13-u9q52k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447214/original/file-20220218-13-u9q52k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447214/original/file-20220218-13-u9q52k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447214/original/file-20220218-13-u9q52k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447214/original/file-20220218-13-u9q52k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447214/original/file-20220218-13-u9q52k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Andreea Răducan was the original gold-medal winner of the women’s all-around gymnastics competition at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was stripped of it after testing positive for a banned substance that came from an over-the-counter cold medicine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Two more examples illustrate that age does not protect an athlete from the consequences of doping at the Olympics. At the 1972 Summer Games, 16-year-old swimmer <a href="https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/swimming-world-presents-a-gross-injustice-how-rick-demont-lost-his-1972-olympic-gold-days-after-winning-it/">Rick DeMont of the United States</a> lost his gold medal in the 400-metre freestyle when he tested positive for ephedrine. All involved in the case understood that the ephedrine was part of his prescription asthma medication. His team physician failed to disclose the athlete’s required use of the medication, yet the <a href="https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/hundru">disqualification stood</a>. </p>
<p>Sixteen-year-old <a href="https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Andreea_R%C4%83ducan">Romanian gymnast Andreea Răducan</a> was in the same boat at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, when a cold tablet given to her by her team physician contained a banned substance. <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/former-ioc-president-jacques-rogge-passes-away">Jacques Rogge</a>, who was appointed president of the IOC a year later, acknowledged to reporters the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics2000/gymnastics/944362.stm">injustice of the situation</a>: “This is one of the worst experiences I have had in my Olympic life.” </p>
<p>The Olympic movement has long held the position that doping rules are firm. What’s different now is the increased awareness of <a href="https://theconversation.com/simone-biles-and-naomi-osaka-put-the-focus-on-the-importance-of-mental-performance-for-olympic-athletes-165219">athlete mental health</a>, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1643648">role of the entourage</a> and the <a href="https://sportforlife.ca/portfolio-view/long-term-development-in-sport-and-physical-activity-3-0/">risks associated with overtraining and specialization</a> at a young age. The range of reactions to Valieva’s saga, from <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/02/15/tara-lipinski-criticizes-ioc-kamila-valieva-failed-drug-test-beijing-olympics">Tara Lipinski’s</a> outrage to <a href="https://nationalpost.com/sports/olympics/olympics-figure-skating-katarina-witt-backs-valieva-blames-the-russians-entourage">Katarina Witt’s</a> compassion, highlights the need to consider different models of youth participation. </p>
<h2>Age limits for athletes: yay or nay?</h2>
<p>Banning young athletes from the Olympics would mean we miss <a href="https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll10/id/13688/rec/2">spectacular performances</a> like Chinese diver Fu Mingxia’s gold in the 10-metre platform diving at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics at age 13, and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics at age 14. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Girl in a leotard jumping with her arms and legs out behind her" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447210/original/file-20220218-15-e2kws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447210/original/file-20220218-15-e2kws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447210/original/file-20220218-15-e2kws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447210/original/file-20220218-15-e2kws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447210/original/file-20220218-15-e2kws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447210/original/file-20220218-15-e2kws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447210/original/file-20220218-15-e2kws1.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">Nadia Comaneci dismounts from the uneven parallel bars to score a perfect 10.00 in the women’s gymnastics competition at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But considering all we know about overtraining, exploitation and abuse in sport, that might not be a bad thing. </p>
<p>Protection-based age limits are <a href="https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/948450">unlikely to be effective</a>. Youth who are ineligible to compete at the Olympics can still <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/hrlc/documents/publications/hrlcommentary2007/childrensrightsinsport.pdf">train the same number of hours</a> as their older, eligible competitors. </p>
<p>Solutions must recognize that child athletes are the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0085">most vulnerable population affected by doping </a>and, legally, have not developed the capacity to make rational, independent decisions. As the history and philosophy of childhood literature establishes, the <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/childhood/">division between childhood and adulthood</a>, and the time in between, is hard to categorize and is culturally conditioned. </p>
<p>The inclusion of a <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2021_wada_code.pdf">protected persons</a> category in the 2021 update to the <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/world-anti-doping-code">World Anti-Doping Code</a> is a step forward.</p>
<p>WADA now acknowledges protected persons as athletes who are under 16 years (or under 18 if the athlete is not part of a registered testing pool or has not competed at international events) or are otherwise not legally competent. The code states that mandatory public disclosure is not required when a protected person commits an anti-doping rule violation, but it does not go so far as to prohibit media reporting on the athlete. What this means in practice is unclear.</p>
<p>Many questions remain about why Valieva was permitted to continue competing, and more debate about what we owe “protected people” is needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177432/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Teetzel 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>Banning young athletes from the Olympics would mean we miss their spectacular performances, but considering all we know about overtraining, exploitation and abuse in sport, that might be OK.Sarah Teetzel, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1272512019-11-24T06:02:27Z2019-11-24T06:02:27ZWhy smartphone gambling is on the up among African millennials<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302893/original/file-20191121-502-1o88u2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>When one talks about young Africans using smartphones, the dominant narrative is that these gadgets serve mostly as platforms for connection so that users can communicate and share greetings and information via text and images. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp and Signal take pride of place in that description, despite their <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2019/11/13/can-social-media-targetcasting-and-democracy-coexist/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=79382557">murkier side</a>. What has perhaps been overlooked is how smartphones are also affecting other facets of young people’s lives. One area is the ever-growing community of sports betting in Africa. </p>
<p>The phenomenon of sports betting among African youths has taken the region by storm. Recent polls and anecdotal reports point to a grim scenario, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. A 2017 <a href="https://www.geopoll.com/blog/the-spending-habits-of-youth-consumers-in-sub-sahara-africa/">GeoPoll</a> survey found that up to 54% of sub-Saharan African youth between 17 and 35 years have engaged in sports gambling. Kenya, with 74% participation in sports betting, had by far the largest percentage of youth involvement in this activity. The survey of some 2,726 African millennials was conducted in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. </p>
<p>A core driver of this trend has been the growing ubiquity of mobile telephony around the continent combined with the availability of smartphones. Added to this has been greater connectivity – including satellite access to sport matches – and a ballooning population of young people with high levels of unemployment.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5811642/">research</a> on the subject we see that sports betting has brought many <a href="https://theconversation.com/ugandas-ban-on-sports-betting-was-the-right-thing-to-do-110728">ills</a> to young people in sub-Saharan Africa. These include severe gambling addiction and money laundering. Some of these concerns are also experienced in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216302126?via%3Dihub">other</a> parts of the world. These include <a href="https://akademiai.com/doi/10.1556/2006.7.2018.49">smartphone addiction</a> and a closely related phenomenon: internet addiction. These ills in turn lead to heightened levels of social anxiety and loneliness among the affected population.</p>
<h2>The drivers?</h2>
<p><a href="https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/assa/2018/01/22/the-boom-of-smartphones-and-social-media-in-cameroon-by-patrick-awondo/">Smartphone penetration</a> around the continent has exhibited a remarkable growth rate. Cameroon, for instance, had 72% registered users of social networks among those aged 15 to 24 in 2016. This grew to that level from 43% in the first half of that year. The most popular social networks for that community was Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Twitter. This development has come at a time when there is growing interest in sports betting - the most popular gambling option for African youth. Mobile phones are the preferred avenue for sports betting.</p>
<p>Of course the increasing availability of smartphones is unleashing the innovative potential of many sub-Saharan African youth. The plethora of social media platforms have the potential to change lives around the continent. Many social media adaptions are the result of the ingenuity of sub-Saharan youth, like M-Pesa, Ensbuuko and WorldRemit (financial services); ButterflyiQ, Momconnect, Usalama (health and security); Cityaps, Musanga and Twiga Foods (supply chain platforms); and Ushahidi, tajirat al-Facebook and Kano’s WhatsApp entrepreneurs (to strengthen social cohesion).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.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>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Kenyan man checks out the Football World Cup fixtures. Matches are often screened in small viewing centres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Irungu/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another driver is clever marketing and advances in technology - the digital satellite television space across the continent broadcasts sports events of African clubs and popular European soccer leagues. In Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and across much of sub-Saharan Africa, the advent of <a href="https://www.dstvafrica.com/en-ng/browse-compare-packages">DStv</a> (Digital Satellite Television) and other broadcast platforms have brought foreign league matches to viewing centres and hence to the doorstep of individuals who on their own who be hard-pressed to afford watching prized league games in their respective homes.</p>
<p>These viewing centres are in the nooks and crannies of urban centres in all these countries. In turn self-acclaimed fans of some of the biggest clubs in the world like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Juventus and Paris Germain can keep up with the performance of their teams without ever visiting the homes of these clubs.</p>
<p>A third driver is the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/youngest-populations-africa/">youth bulge</a> in Africa. The continent has the <a href="https://population.un.org/wpp/">youngest population in the world</a>, with an estimated 60% of people under the age of 25. Of the 420 million youth in Africa today, the majority are unemployed, have insecure jobs or are in casual employment. For many on the continent, the slick advertising of sports betting firms provides an irresistible proposition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victor Odundo Owuor 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>As smartphone uptake and connectivity grows in Africa, so does the often unhealthy trend of young people betting on sports using their phones.Victor Odundo Owuor, Senior Research Associate, One Earth Future Foundation, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1183822019-06-16T17:23:41Z2019-06-16T17:23:41ZHere are the best parents to have around, according to youth sport coaches<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278889/original/file-20190611-32351-7828jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=52%2C14%2C3158%2C2118&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parenting style impacts the emotional climate in kids' team sports, and parenting practices impact positive and negative outcomes for child athletes. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Unsplash/Ben Hershey</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Youth sport is part of the fabric of family life for many families. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13573322.2016.1150834">Parents are more intensely involved</a> in contemporary youth sport than ever before. And while youth sport can provide a context for parent-child interaction and bonding, parents exert both positive and negative influences on their children in sport.</p>
<p>Parents help children understand and interpret their sport experiences, acting as role models of positive and negative behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. But being the parent of a young athlete is an intricate social experience that cannot merely be reduced to “good” or “bad” behaviours. </p>
<h2>Complex social milieu</h2>
<p>In sport, parenting occurs in a complex social milieu, in which parents interact with other parents, coaches and children. Parents face complex demands that require a repertoire of skills to facilitate positive sport experiences for their children. </p>
<p>Given these complexities, perhaps it is not surprising that coaches, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029217307100">sport organizations</a> and even <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/tsp.27.3.281">parents themselves</a> have called for more parent education and support.</p>
<p>Parenting approaches can be thought of in two distinct but related ways. First, there’s parenting style — the broader emotional climate parents create. A parenting style <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED467276">that supports children’s autonomy</a> is particularly effective for enhancing children’s motivation and experiences. </p>
<p>Such parents provide their children with options to choose and encourage children to solve problems on their own rather than controlling their children’s behaviours. They provide structure in the form of clear and consistent guidelines, boundaries and rules for their children’s behaviour. They are often highly involved in their children’s sport, but still foster a sense of children’s independence.</p>
<h2>Holding children accountable</h2>
<p>In addition to identifying the emotional climate that parents create with their parenting styles, sport researchers also consider parenting practices — specific behaviours within a particular context, such as at a youth sport event. Specific parenting practices have been associated with positive and negative outcomes among children. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279006/original/file-20190611-32366-xlehkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279006/original/file-20190611-32366-xlehkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279006/original/file-20190611-32366-xlehkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279006/original/file-20190611-32366-xlehkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279006/original/file-20190611-32366-xlehkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279006/original/file-20190611-32366-xlehkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279006/original/file-20190611-32366-xlehkx.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">Child athletes prefer when parents provide positive yet realistic post-competition feedback.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For instance, in studies examining the role of parents in junior tennis using the perspectives of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16702176">coaches</a>, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-19053-011">players and parents</a>, parenting practices perceived to positively influence players’ development included the provision of unconditional love, logistical and financial support and parents holding children accountable for their on-court behaviour. Conversely, negative parenting practices included parents over-emphasizing winning, lacking emotional control and criticizing children.</p>
<p>Similarly, studies <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2010.495324">with child athletes</a> themselves have revealed their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.2011.10599807">preferences for parenting practices surrounding competitions</a>. For example, my colleagues and I studied how <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2010.525589">early adolescent female athletes prefer their parents to behave at team sport competitions</a>. We found their preferences include parents assisting with game preparation, focusing on effort rather than outcome, showing respect, not drawing undue attention to themselves and providing positive yet realistic post-competition feedback.</p>
<h2>‘Best’ sport parents</h2>
<p>One study we conducted at the University of Alberta examined exemplary parenting in competitive female youth team sport. We asked coaches to nominate <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-39065-001">some of the “best” sport parents the coaches had ever worked with</a>. </p>
<p>The study revealed some interesting findings. These parents supported their daughters’ autonomy in various ways, including fostering independence and understanding — and supporting — their daughters’ goals for sport. We found the idea of sharing goals is important; these exemplary parents shared their children’s goals, rather than imposing their own goals on their children. </p>
<p>Exemplary parents also build healthy relationships in the sporting milieu, which can involve supporting the coach and players on the team, connecting with other parents and volunteering with the club. Finally, these parents were in tune with their own emotions, especially during and after competitions.</p>
<h2>Importance of free & active play</h2>
<p>Parents are increasingly becoming aware of advice that children should sample a range of sports, rather than specializing in a single sport. There is some evidence to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2325967116644241">support the benefits of sport sampling and the risks of early specialization</a>. However, in the larger goal of supporting healthy child and family development, parents should be cautious about involving their children in too many sports. </p>
<p>When sport seasons overlap, children may become overscheduled. It is vital to retain a sense of balance, because if children over sample and become overscheduled, they miss out on a vital part of their childhood — <a href="https://theconversation.com/let-them-play-kids-need-freedom-from-play-restrictions-to-develop-117586">active play</a>. Parents, too, can hardly expect to be at their best when they’re run ragged with travelling from event to event.</p>
<p>Parents can create positive sporting experiences if they listen to their children and understand their children’s goals for sport, consider how their parenting styles and practices support their children’s experiences, and build healthy relationships in the sporting milieu. But with this investment in sport, it is important to retain a sense of balance in children’s lives.</p>
<p>Sport then becomes an enjoyable and rewarding feature of family life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Holt receives funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Supporting one’s child on a sports team isn’t always a walk at the ballpark. Parents face complex demands that require a repertoire of skills that are rarely discussed or taught.Nick Holt, Professor in Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/886322017-12-05T04:06:22Z2017-12-05T04:06:22ZSydney’s stadiums debate shows sport might not be the political winner it once was<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197687/original/file-20171204-23018-162ucm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">NSW Sports Minister Stuart Ayres claims Sydney is falling behind other Australian cities in its big sporting event infrastructure.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Joel Carrett</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Less than two decades after Sydney <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/24/news/what-did-olympics-bring-sydney.html">hosted the Olympics</a>, its sports infrastructure is back in the national consciousness. </p>
<p>The New South Wales government has come in for heavy criticism over <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/olympic-and-sydney-football-stadiums-demolished-and-rebuilt/9182798">its plan</a> to knock down and rebuild the Olympic Stadium (currently branded ANZ) in Sydney’s west and the Sydney Football Stadium (currently branded Allianz), which sits in the east alongside the Sydney Cricket Ground.</p>
<p>The cost? Somewhere above A$2 billion.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the media-sport-politics machine cranked up in earnest.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xNmuyxlZ9Kk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sydney’s Olympic Stadium has played host to many great sporting moments, including Cathy Freeman’s 400m win.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A debate beyond the field</h2>
<p>Sydney Morning Herald columnist and sport aficionado Peter FitzSimons <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fitz-files/stadium-replacement-a-monument-to-excess-20171201-gzwthe.html">reported that</a> his article criticising the decision elicited the strongest reaction to anything that he’d written in the paper over three decades. There followed a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/premier-berejiklian-stop-nsw-government-wasting-2b-rebuilding-sfs-olympic-stadiums">change.org petition</a> and a welter of unfavourable publicity reaching well beyond Sydney.</p>
<p>Even the NSW opposition leader, Luke Foley, broke out of the state political freezer to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/nsw-stadium-rebuild-an-outrageous-extravagance-foley/9226364">press his criticisms</a> on national radio.</p>
<p>This was, for Foley, a matter of west versus east, education and health versus big sport, and the state government pandering to its elite mates on the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust. <a href="http://www.sydneycricketground.com.au/about-us/governance/trustees/">Its trustees</a> include the influential broadcaster Alan Jones and uber-conservative businessman Maurice Newman.</p>
<p>Sport Minister Stuart Ayres had, by then, rolled out the familiar justifications that Sydney was falling behind the likes of Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in its big event infrastructure. This was not just a matter of civic pride, but of jobs in the event sector. And, in any case, <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/sydney-is-well-behind-other-aussie-cities-for-major-events/news-story/96055fadd5d8dfe39322d93f4efc2e51">Ayres claimed</a> the cost was only 1% of planned five-year expenditure on health and education.</p>
<p>The sport-friendly local tabloid, The Daily Telegraph, editorially supported him <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/daily-telegraph-editorial-spending-2-billion-on-revamping-our-sports-stadiums-is-a-good-thing/news-story/d01c8e770a3fbca46cedb7fc7d770cea">with the unequivocal opinion</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Spending $2 billion on revamping our sports stadiums is a good thing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Judging by the amplified negative response, this riposte was finding the going hard.</p>
<h2>Is sport’s political power fading?</h2>
<p>What does all this claim and counter-claim over public investment in infrastructure tell us about sport, politics and economics?</p>
<p>First, it appears that sport does not have quite the privileged place at the front of the public trough queue it once occupied. </p>
<p>Whereas once there would have been a great deal of flowery language about sport’s unchallenged place in Australian hearts, the justification for the funding priority given to two large enclosed sport spaces has been almost entirely economic.</p>
<p>In Australia, as elsewhere in the world (especially North America), cities have been drawn into a place-marketing competition in which private sport concerns demand public subsidies. If governments don’t stump up the cash through building facilities, offering tax incentives and other inducements, sport franchises and signature events <a href="http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/1743.html">threaten to relocate</a>.</p>
<p>In Sydney’s case, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/state-backflip-could-lose-grand-final-for-anz-stadium/news-story/ba311701a3b5cd28fa79c6861f625d35">one threat</a> is that it may lose major events like the NRL Grand Final if it does not do what is expected of it by those who run the game. That many locals seem prepared to run that risk suggests that sport cannot simply appeal to its intrinsic worth as a substitute for reasoned argument.</p>
<p>But, if there is some well-founded scepticism about sport being unimpeachably good for the soul, it also seems that many people have become wary of the case that it is beneficial for the wallet.</p>
<p>The seemingly hard-headed world of sport event economics has been <a href="http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-the-economics-of-sport">frequently exposed</a> as a fantasy island of rubbery figures, optimistic projections and misleading extrapolations.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-cities-hosting-major-sporting-events-is-a-double-edged-sword-76929">For cities, hosting major sporting events is a double-edged sword</a></strong></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Building sport infrastructure has become enmeshed with all the other contentious projects that are currently underway in Sydney. The best known of these is the $17 billion (and rising) <a href="https://www.westconnex.com.au/about">WestConnex road network expansion</a>. </p>
<p>The Australian auditor-general <a href="https://theconversation.com/westconnex-audit-offers-another-17b-lesson-in-how-not-to-fund-infrastructure-73206">has been highly critical</a> of the cavalier way in which public funds were committed at the behest of governments and interest groups. Public transport advocates <a href="http://www.westconnex.info/">have bemoaned</a> its lost opportunities.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/westconnex-audit-offers-another-17b-lesson-in-how-not-to-fund-infrastructure-73206">WestConnex audit offers another $17b lesson in how not to fund infrastructure</a></strong></em></p>
<hr>
<p>The information-light argument that has been made for the Sydney stadium rebuilds has, it appears, a similar level of substance to WestConnex. Substituting “sport and jobs” for the “roads and jobs” mantra has been met with much cynicism, especially when more imaginative, lower-key ways of spending $2 billion on sport and other socially beneficial areas are being canvassed.</p>
<p>Building up suburban, community-based sport facilities, reducing junior sport registration costs, advancing school classroom renovation timetables and restoring the embattled technical and further education system <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/Privatisation%20in%20NSW%20-%20a%20timeline%20and%20key%20sources.pdf">have all been suggested</a> as better ways of spending on the public good out of the proceeds of privatisation.</p>
<p>Working out who should benefit from public funding inevitably raises questions of need and privilege. The NSW Coalition government’s efforts to keep both sides of town happy across the east-west divide has left it uncomfortably astride the M4 motorway that it is widening in the name of WestConnex.</p>
<p>Sport stadium debates, like the contests they stage, can be unpredictable affairs. The fate of governments may stand or fall with the grandstands.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe receives funding relevant to this article from the Australian Research Council for the following projects: 'A Nation of "Good Sports"? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia' (DP130104502) and 'Australian Cultural Fields: National and Transnational Dynamics' (with Tony Bennett et al, DP140101970).</span></em></p>The New South Wales government has come in for heavy criticism over its $2 billion plan to knock down and rebuild two of Sydney’s largest sports stadiums.David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/781862017-06-06T19:21:56Z2017-06-06T19:21:56ZOur ‘sporting nation’ is a myth, so how do we get youngsters back on the field?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171965/original/file-20170602-25700-1e6r1fb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Neglected and sub-par facilities are one of many barriers to youth participation in sport.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tupwanders/4090730864/">tup wanders</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sport is seen as a key part of Australia’s identity. Yet woefully rundown facilities and outdated sport offerings are creating significant barriers to youth participation. </p>
<p>In partnership with the <a href="http://yourlocalclub.com.au/who-we-are/our-stories/">Cooks River Sporting Alliance</a>, Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club, and 12 public and private schools from Sydney’s inner west, we’ll be working with youth to co-design an innovative program to reverse the decline in youth participation in sport. </p>
<p>Our program, Designing in Youth, will feature new sport offerings, advertising materials and redesigned facilities. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3315587/">Research</a> shows that environmental design works best when it considers multiple factors. Thus, the first phase of our project is a survey to identify psychological and social barriers alongside environmental drivers of youth sport participation. </p>
<h2>Barriers to participation</h2>
<p>Australia’s sporting landscape offers more barriers than motivations for youth, and the effects are obvious. The World Health Organisation recommends 60 minutes of physical activity every day. In Australia, only <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-active-evidence.htm">one in ten</a> young adults do this. </p>
<p>Despite many programs to increase youth physical activity and sport participation, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18091006">results have been inconsistent</a>. Perhaps these programs’ failure to have a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871410/">lasting impact</a> on young people’s exercise habits is due to their <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/107/6/1459">highly structured</a> nature and <a href="http://docslide.net/documents/in-focuspositive-coaching-youth-sports-hold-a-lesson-for-leaders.html">lack of youth leadership</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://docslide.net/documents/in-focuspositive-coaching-youth-sports-hold-a-lesson-for-leaders.html">Youth report</a> their reasons for playing sport include enjoyment, development of physical and motor skills, self-esteem and peer interaction, among other factors. We hypothesise that better interventions emphasise the fun factor and involve peer-led, unstructured play. This should produce long-lasting improvements in attitudes to physical activity. </p>
<p>Most organised sports promote practice and winning over play, are primarily coach-led and do not encourage the development of physical and motor skills. These <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1356336X14555294">factors are barriers</a> to youth sport participation. </p>
<p>This is partly due to poorly designed facilities. Few facilities promote both social and competitive participation, focus on peer leadership, or offer a wide variety of sporting activities in one place. </p>
<h2>Neglect of grassroots sport</h2>
<p>In New South Wales, the divide between elite and grassroots sport is huge. Most youth participation is in grassroots sport, but the funding <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2012-2013/SportFunding#_Toc360096410">mostly goes into elite clubs</a>. </p>
<p>Sports fields for grassroots clubs are commonly placed as afterthoughts, typically on leftover land. In NSW, this can be seen along Cooks River in the suburbs of Hurlstone Park and Canterbury. Here, sporting events and practices are regularly cancelled due to flooding.</p>
<p>To make things worse, many fields are not designed for sport and poorly maintained. The uneven, pitted surfaces are bad for play.</p>
<p>At these fields, bathroom blocks are rare, dirty and often falling apart. There are usually no changing rooms or showers. Many fields have few, if any, benches to sit on, and no access to food and drink vendors. </p>
<p>In addition, facilities are usually designed for one sport only. This leaves parents or siblings with nothing else to do while they wait.</p>
<p>In other countries, such as the Netherlands, facilities for local sport clubs <a href="http://www.cladglobal.com/CLADnews/architecture-design/Feyenoord-football-stadium-design-architecture-OMA-David-Gianotten-Eredivise-Netherlands-regeneration/326277?source=news">function as community centres</a>. Their fields are designed for various sporting activities and have playgrounds and hospitality centres nearby. </p>
<h2>Why does participation matter?</h2>
<p>The decline in sport participation may be a factor in the rise of poor mental health. Despite decreases in substance abuse such as smoking and binge drinking, rates of self-harm, depression, anxiety and suicide are <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2015-ley096.htm">on the rise</a> among Australian youth. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_young_people/en/">Many studies</a> have found habitual sport activities are an effective way to improve mental health. Other health benefits include reductions in obesity and blood pressure. The 2010 report, <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/aust_sport_path/%24file/aust_sport_path.pdf">Australian Sport: Pathway to Success</a>, recognised boosting youth participation in sport and supporting grassroots clubs as important for improving both population health and national sporting success. </p>
<p>Despite all this evidence of many benefits, studies have charted a <a href="http://www.who.int/whr/2002/en/">steady global decline in sport participation</a> between the ages of 11 and 16. Participation is particularly low among <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/09654280010343555">older girls</a>. </p>
<p>Past studies have <a href="http://www.who.int/whr/2002/en/">identified some barriers</a> to participation. These include <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/09654280010343555">reduced parental influence</a> on choice of activity, boredom with the available sports, and <a href="http://www.sportandrecreationspatial.com.au/resources/2014%20JSAMS%20Transition3..pdf">time challenges</a> created by increased academic workload.</p>
<p>Other possible barriers such as poorly designed and maintained public parks have not been well studied. It’s probable that the poor condition of facilities and the lack of variety in sports and other non-sporting amenities on offer also discourage participation.</p>
<h2>A new approach to involving youth</h2>
<p>If we’re to increase youth participation, we need to include their opinions in the redesign process to ensure being involved in sport appeals to them.</p>
<p>Most programs worldwide have focused only on promoting an overall increase in physical activity. But regular and vigorous sports participation has greater long-term benefits, including improvements in <a href="https://www.dsr.wa.gov.au/docs/default-source/file-support-and-advice/file-research-and-policies/brain-boost-how-sport-and-physical-activity-enhance-children%27s-learning.pdf?sfvrsn=4">children’s learning</a>. </p>
<p>We hope Designing in Youth will help create a whole new landscape for sport in Sydney’s inner west. If successful, our communities and our use of public outdoor space will change for the better. </p>
<p>We should see youth outside again. And maybe, just maybe, we will restore our status as a sporting nation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78186/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah Ascher Barnstone receives funding from Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Brooks receives funding from Hurlstone Park and Canterbury RSL
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Job Fransen receives funding from Hurlstone Park/Canterbury RSL</span></em></p>The first step in reviving a lost sporting culture is to involve young Australians in working out why sport has lost its appeal and how to reverse the decline in youth participation.Deborah Ascher Barnstone, Professor, Associate Head of School, School of Architecture, University of Technology SydneyFiona Brooks, Professor of Public Health, Associate Dean Research, University of Technology SydneyJob Fransen, Lecturer in Skill Acquisition and Motor Control, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/705212017-01-18T03:02:15Z2017-01-18T03:02:15ZHow professional sport handicaps youth sporting culture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151117/original/image-20161221-26712-1sd50r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia's junior community sport system has been heavily professionalised and commercialised.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent spate of incidents and reports of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-28/australia-in-wada-top-10-doping-offenders-for-2014/7365936">doping</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-38565304">match-fixing</a> and wall-to-wall TV coverage of betting, alcohol and junk food advertisements has stimulated considerable debate about the impact of commercialised sport on Australian youth. </p>
<p>Researchers have <a href="http://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/jpah.2016-0345">clearly mapped</a> how the rise of Australian commercialised sport has coincided with growth in obesity and physical inactivity, as well as little increase in sport participation among youths. But the relationship between commercialised sport and junior sport has largely been left to the periphery of any analysis.</p>
<h2>Junior sport participation</h2>
<p>Australia has both a unique and rich junior sport heritage, comprised of school and community sport. </p>
<p>In most other countries, junior sport is either promoted in the school or the community. This “either/or” approach can mean children fall through the gaps. In Australia, the two-pronged school and community approach meant that, historically, participation was extremely high.</p>
<p>The school sport system is currently under stress. There has been a marked decline in participation, especially in the public school system, as it is not mandated in the <a href="http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/learning-areas-subjects/health-and-physical-education">Australian National Curriculum</a>.</p>
<p>There are several indicators highlighting the decline in youth participation in sport. </p>
<p>One pertinent example is the decline of swim education, linked by the YMCA to the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/swimming-and-water-safety-lessons-should-be-mandatory-for-all-children-20170102-gtl10q.html">recent spike in holiday drownings</a>. Compulsory swim programs emerged in state education systems from the 1890s but are now in decline. These programs highlight the historical importance of schools in the habituation of sport, both short- and long-term.</p>
<p>ABS figures and other reports <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/334338/CrawfordReport.pdf">show</a> almost 40% of school-aged students do not play sport outside the school setting. </p>
<h2>Classism and youth sports</h2>
<p>There is a compounding class issue in this. Many private schools make sports a priority. This encourages students to make physical activity a central part of their lives. However, this is not the case in many public schools. </p>
<p>At the community sport level, things are not much brighter. Participation in most sports is not cheap, and parents make significant monetary sacrifices to enrol their kids.</p>
<p>NSW state Labor MP Ron Hoenig recently called for a parliamentary inquiry to investigate the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/nsw-labor-mp-ron-hoenig-calls-for-a-parliamentary-inquiry-into-childrens-soccer-20161130-gt1d4t.html">cost of football instruction</a>, which consistently ranks as the highest in Australia. </p>
<p>While rugby league and Australian rules football have some of the lowest joining fees, they are not to everyone’s taste. This means many kids miss out on their preferred sport at school because it isn’t offered, or because they are priced out at the community level.</p>
<h2>Professionalisation of junior sport</h2>
<p>The decline in community sport is not only related to cost. The junior community sport system <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Darren_Burgess2/publication/42389686_Talent_Development_in_Adolescent_Team_Sports_A_Review/links/546fc8d40cf24af340c0953f.pdf">has been professionalised</a>, and the major sports see it as primarily a function of talent identification and/or early specialisation, with a focus on competition. </p>
<p>With this central goal in mind, the sparse amount of money that filters down to junior sport focuses on the mantra of “can the coach identify the next champion?”. While it would be naive to say this was not the case in earlier eras, in the modern era it is pervasive. </p>
<p>All major Australian sports have “talent identification programs”, “elite athlete programs”, “academies of excellence” and other derivatives. Prospective juniors and parents understand this very quickly and become socialised out of the sport because of this elite competitive focus. </p>
<p>There is little attempt by most sports governing bodies to grow mass participation at the grassroots level. While it may be a KPI for the people in charge of the sport, ultimately they are judged on the size of the next TV deal, the success of the national team, and income-generating opportunities. </p>
<p>Sports are therefore financial entities driven by bottom lines. They are becoming heavily monetised markets. </p>
<h2>Lack of junior sport governance</h2>
<p>Junior development takes years of toil to see improvements, and can only occur with governance that focuses on this component. The AFL is an exception to this, and has attempted to pursue both elite-level and grassroots-level expansion, especially in the area of female participation and in states where AFL is not the dominant sport. </p>
<p>This has <a href="http://s.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/AFL/Files/Annual%20Report/2014-AFL-Annual-Report.pdf">paid dividends for the AFL</a>, which outperforms the other football codes at both grassroots and elite levels in terms of spectatorship and participation.</p>
<p>This all means that many schoolchildren do not participate in sport. Therefore, these young people <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16978162">miss out on</a> the psychological, educational and physiological benefits it brings.</p>
<h2>Decay of sport in youth culture</h2>
<p>From the 1880s until as recently as the 2000 Sydney Olympics, junior sport was an institution that brought people together and defined Australia. There was an assumption that you would participate in sport as well as spectate.</p>
<p>Arguably, the high points of Australian sporting culture were the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and the 2000 Games in Sydney.</p>
<p>Playing sport was once a feature central to growing up in Australia. It’s time to question what role commercialised sport has played in youth sport’s decay.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is part of a short series of articles on equality in, and access to, sport. Catch up on the others <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/sport-access-and-equality-34779">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Georgakis 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 relationship between commercialised sport and junior sport has largely been left to the periphery of Australian sporting analyses.Steve Georgakis, Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/711442017-01-17T02:57:07Z2017-01-17T02:57:07ZAustralia needs to make sport a more equal playing field: here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152954/original/image-20170117-23932-1ozoqc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Survey data show men are more likely to participate in sport for fun or enjoyment than women.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For an ostensibly fun-based activity, sport in Australia generates a good deal of anxiety. Questions like the following are often raised:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do enough people participate in it? </p></li>
<li><p>Are they representative of the whole population? </p></li>
<li><p>Is enough public and private funding given to the appropriate sports to enable success, especially in the international arena? </p></li>
<li><p>Do too many people watch sport on TV without playing it? </p></li>
<li><p>Are some sports over- or under-represented in the media?</p></li>
<li><p>Is sport a vehicle for unhealthy products and attitudes? </p></li>
<li><p>Are sport organisations and sportspeople being corrupted by big money, drugs and gambling?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>All of these questions go far beyond sport’s most-celebrated contests between professional teams and athletes, and are much richer than its weekly suburban rituals.</p>
<h2>Who plays sport and why?</h2>
<p>Sport is a particular <a href="http://www.ausport.gov.au/supporting/nso/asc_recognition">form of physical culture</a>. What lessons can we learn from who plays it in Australia? </p>
<p>Recent <a href="http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/34648_ausplay_summary_report_accessible_final_7.12.2016.pdf">AusPlay data</a> from the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) tell us about both sport and physical activity. The findings must be treated with caution to avoid talking about organised sport when, in fact, describing casual exercise such as swimming and walking.</p>
<p>AusPlay’s survey of more than 20,000 adults – people over 15 years of age – and more than 3,000 parents/guardians of children reported in its key national findings that younger people are more physically active than older people. This is not only because physical education is part of the school curriculum, as almost:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>3.2 million children (69%) participated in some form of organised sport or physical activity outside of school hours.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>By contrast, it shows sport-related activity fell to only 37% among those aged 65 and over.</p>
<p>Although sport is widely viewed as male-dominated, the survey found adult men and women participate at similar levels across the life stages, and – surprisingly – that females aged nine-to-11 are slightly more active than their male peers.</p>
<p>Another instructive finding is that sport clubs and venues play an important role in fostering participation. Football (soccer) and golf clubs lead the field in this respect. But it is also clear that “being active” is an expensive business: more than A$10.7 billion was spent on participation fees over the past year.</p>
<p>This headline information about sport and exercise participation in Australia is valuable but limited. It does not say much about sport as a social institution, its cultural role, and the barriers to participation in it.</p>
<p>Some of that more illuminating detail can be found in the <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/smi/ausplay/results/national">survey’s data tables</a>. Here we find the top motivation for participating is “physical health or fitness” for 75.6% of men and 81.4% for women. 50.3% of men participate for “fun/enjoyment”, compared with 39.2% of women.</p>
<p>So, the gender differences not apparent in overall participation rates begin to emerge.</p>
<p>Similarly, in examining the barriers to participation stage of life, social class, level of education, and occupational status are shown to be important influences. For adults the main reason (37.1%) not to be active is “not enough time/too many other commitments”. But among those aged 35-44, when work and parenting pressures are likely to be at their height, it is 56.8%.</p>
<p>The non-participation demography demonstrates that you are less likely to engage in sport and physical activity if you live in a remote location, are unemployed, did not complete high school, are Indigenous, speak a language other than English at home, have a disability or other restrictive physical condition, and an annual household income under $40,000.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152950/original/image-20170116-22302-ifayil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152950/original/image-20170116-22302-ifayil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152950/original/image-20170116-22302-ifayil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152950/original/image-20170116-22302-ifayil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152950/original/image-20170116-22302-ifayil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152950/original/image-20170116-22302-ifayil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152950/original/image-20170116-22302-ifayil.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">Sport clubs play an important role in fostering participation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reinforcing social inequalities</h2>
<p>In other words, sport is not a magical space that transcends social inequalities. In various ways it reproduces and even reinforces them. </p>
<p>An example of the latter is when, as the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674212770">discussed in the French context</a>, elite sports organisations function as places where “social or cultural capital” can be exchanged and those outside the “club” are overtly or subtly excluded.</p>
<p>Sport in Australia long left behind the amateur ideal of playing for the fun of the game. While many people still enjoy playing sport, they are a minority of the population. The most-prized forms of sport are heavily industrialised and commercialised, and closely tied to the gambling, alcohol, fast food and branded merchandising and leisure-wear industries.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://westernsydney.edu.au/ACF">research</a> has revealed that while playing and watching sport is an important part of Australian culture, it fails to live up to much of its own publicity. A <a href="https://westernsydney.edu.au/ACF">national survey of 1,200 people</a> found that 61.2% of respondents never play any kind of organised sport. 55.5% had watched sport live at a venue in the last year, and 84.9% had watched it live through the media.</p>
<p>Gender was found to be significant. Proportionately, more men than women play at all measures of frequency, but more women (70.7%) than men (51.5%) never play organised sport. Among those who identified as working class, 63.8% never played sport, while that was only the case for 45.8% of the upper-middle class.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://westernsydney.edu.au/ics/research/projects/a_nation_of_good_sports_cultural_citizenship_and_sport_in_contemporary_australia">qualitative study</a> conducted in greater western Sydney, I was frequently told how children found it difficult to join sport clubs because their families could not afford the registration fees, or were not able to transport them safely to and from training.</p>
<p>Several young women, especially those from Middle Eastern and Pacific Island backgrounds, encountered difficulties participating in sport because of gendered cultural expectations and responsibilities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152953/original/image-20170116-9062-13dywm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152953/original/image-20170116-9062-13dywm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152953/original/image-20170116-9062-13dywm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152953/original/image-20170116-9062-13dywm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152953/original/image-20170116-9062-13dywm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152953/original/image-20170116-9062-13dywm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152953/original/image-20170116-9062-13dywm5.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">High registration fees are a barrier preventing many children from participating in organised sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Eradicating barriers</h2>
<p>It is apparent from these findings, which are more sport-focused and nuanced than the AusPlay data, that there is much work to do if we are to eradicate such barriers to participation in sport. </p>
<p>If it is accepted that access to sport, which is massively subsidised by governments and corporations, is a right of cultural citizenship, then more systematic attention needs to be given to bolstering rights and responsibilities in the sport field.</p>
<p>This area of citizenship includes enabling equitable sport participation, offering reasonably priced entry and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-price-is-not-right-how-much-is-too-much-for-a-beer-at-sporting-events-69708">quality consumables</a> at sport venues, and guaranteeing <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sport-Public-Broadcasting-and-Cultural-Citizenship-Signal-Lost/Scherer%20Rowe/p/book/9780415886031">free-to-air TV viewing</a> of major national sports events. </p>
<p>These are measures of sporting success that far exceed Australian victories in the tennis, the Olympics and the Ashes.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is part of a short series of articles on equality in, and access to, sport. Catch up on the others <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/sport-access-and-equality-34779">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe receives funding from the Australian Research Council for the Discovery Projects 'A Nation of "Good Sports"? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia' (DP130104502) and 'Australian Cultural Fields: National and Transnational Dynamics' (DP140101970).</span></em></p>There is much work to do if Australia is to eradicate various barriers to participation in sport.David Rowe, Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/636072016-08-23T13:15:36Z2016-08-23T13:15:36ZHow you can help your child enjoy sport (and win gold medals)<p>In the aftermath of Rio 2016, children all across the world will be turning to their parents, saying that they want to be the next Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, or Usain Bolt. Billions of youngsters already participate in competitive sport, and it is well known that global events like the Olympics encourage many into <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/keep-the-flame-alive/9508496/Keep-The-Flame-Alive-Olympics-inspires-children-to-be-more-active.html">picking up a new activity</a>. </p>
<p>There are numerous physical, psychological, and social benefits associated with sport participation for children, as well as, for a very small number, being the first step to becoming an elite athlete. Through the provision of “appropriate” support – that is positive, encouraging feedback, as well as the usual financial and time input – <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2015.1134633">parents play a critical role</a> in enabling these outcomes. </p>
<p>It’s really not easy to support a child in competitive sport, and many may struggle to manage their own emotions as well as their child’s. Parents watch their children succeed and fail as they compete. They watch them struggle with skills they completed easily in training and execute tasks they’ve never managed before. They see the smiles of joy and satisfaction, and watch as they fight back tears of disappointment. They look on through half-open eyes as a bigger kid makes a dangerous tackle or a referee misses an important call. And they see it all knowing that, whatever the outcome, they have to think of the “right” thing to say after the competition. </p>
<p>Emotions arise not simply because parents have dreams of their child gaining a multi-million pound contract or standing on an awards podium, but because their child is disappointed and there’s nothing they can do to help. There is the frustration over the weeks, months or even years, of constant rushing from work to get children to training sessions and competitions, and guilt associated with missing time with other children, partners, or friends. Worrying too is common, as parents consider whether encouraging a child to take part in competitive sport is the right thing to do. Then there’s concern over financial commitments, and the fact that this can only escalate with further participation. </p>
<h2>Being positive not pushy</h2>
<p>So how can parents and carers provide the very best support for their children’s sporting endeavours? How can they make sure that they are not only happy and healthy but encouraged in a positive manner too? </p>
<p>Often, parents are stereotypically earmarked as “pushy”, but one does not <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/sep/12/are-pushy-parents-putting-children-off-sport">need to be this way</a> in order to help a child achieve their sporting potential – and indeed, many parents are not. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HZuG9tFcXak?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Kids need appropriate parental support to initially engage with their choice of sport, and to keep it up long-term. By providing the right types of support – such as positive feedback, even where the child is disappointed in their own performance – parents can help to enhance their <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661888/">children’s love of their sport and motivation</a> to improve their skills, while reducing feelings of pressure and stress. But if parents get it “wrong”, for example criticising an already disappointed youngster, they can instead increase the <a href="http://believeperform.com/coaching/the-influence-of-parents-in-youth-sport/">pressure, stress, and anxiety</a> that children experience – all of which have been associated with dropping out. </p>
<p>Given the influence that parents can have on the quality of children’s sporting experiences – paired with the increasing media reports of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11542148/Four-in-10-children-put-off-sport-by-competitive-parents.html">“negative” parental behaviours</a> at youth sport competitions – it is not surprising that many organisations and coaches have taken steps to try and <a href="http://www.appliedsportpsych.org/resource-center/resources-for-parents/dos-and-donts-for-parents-of-young-athletes/">improve parental involvement in sport</a>. A quick scan of social media highlights numerous articles, infographics, and signs reminding parents of what they <a href="http://www.thefa.com/respectguide/">should and should not be doing</a> to support their children’s sporting involvement and, most importantly, how they should be behaving at competitions. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"448080629666549760"}"></div></p>
<p>Such signs, leaflets, and articles often present simple messages for parents: remember that you are not being judged by your child’s success; the “athletes” you are watching are just kids, and kids will make mistakes; the focus of sport should be on fun, and winning is not the most important thing; and always respect referees, coaches, other parents, and other children, all of whom are human and are trying their best. </p>
<p>These messages make sense: they align with how children would like to see their parents engaging, and ultimately seem pretty simple for parents to understand and adhere to. But is it really that straightforward? </p>
<h2>Competitive culture</h2>
<p>It’s very easy to get caught up in the competitiveness of any sport, not least when you have a strong emotional bond with one of the players. Parenting children involved in youth sport is challenging and complicated. Over the last few decades, youth sport has become increasingly professionalised and privatised; children are competing at younger ages, specialising earlier, and parents are often required to commit <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36956367">more time and more money</a> to support their participation. It’s an environment that has become increasingly pressurised and competitions can be hugely emotional. </p>
<p>But despite all this, appreciating the challenges and the complexity of the task ahead can “improve” parental involvement in sport and help ensure that children have the most positive and successful sporting experiences. <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/pushy-or-laid-back-the-challenge-being-sporting-parent">Parents have to tread a fine line</a> as they support their children and this will be made far easier if those around them - be they coaches, organisations, or even other parents - understand, acknowledge, and help them manage the demands they are facing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Camilla Knight has received funding from Sport Wales and the International Olympic Committee. She is affiliated with the Welsh Institute of Performance Science and the Child Protection in Sport Unit.</span></em></p>Child sport success relies on having a positive parental influence.Camilla Knight, Senior Lecturer in Sports Science, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/621002016-08-16T20:12:12Z2016-08-16T20:12:12ZBack to the future: has the AFL lost its community?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130504/original/image-20160714-12358-1ihhq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Whichever way you look at it, Australian rules football makes a clear difference for the better in people’s lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Joe Castro</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Sport, we’re told, lies at the heart of what it means to be Australian. But what in reality does this mean? The Conversation, in partnership with <a href="https://griffithreview.com/">Griffith Review</a>, is publishing a series of essays exploring the <a href="https://griffithreview.com/editions/our-sporting-life/">role and place of sport in Australian life</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Tasmania’s northwest coast city of Burnie has long suffered high unemployment. In 2015, however, residents were shocked to find that unemployment among young people in Burnie had <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-09/burnie-prepares-for-fresh-approach-to-tacking-high-jobless-rate/6457462">topped the nation</a>: 21% of young men aged between 15 and 25 were neither employed nor studying. Just under half of all young people did not finish high school. And between 2011 and 2015, the number of Newstart recipients had grown by 40%. </p>
<p>Hard hit by the shrinking manufacturing sector, youth unemployment in the region was forecast to swell even further in the years ahead, to 33%. For young Burnie residents, the future looked bleak indeed.</p>
<p>Alarmed by these findings, the leadership of Australian rules football in Tasmania surveyed Burnie AFL players. They wanted to know how many of its players were unemployed and not studying. </p>
<p>They feared the worst. With Burnie football players in the bullseye of the most at-risk demographic – men under the age of 30, some from the lowest socioeconomic ranks – football officials were worried about their own.</p>
<p>What they found surprised even them. Club officials reported that not one of their players was unemployed. All were either employed or in full-time education. The employment (or studying) rate for AFL players in a city with the nation’s highest unemployment rate was 100%.</p>
<p>Asked to explain this remarkable disparity between young footballers and the rest of the community, club officials pointed to two simple factors. </p>
<p>First, young men who play football gain vital skills that make them employable. They show up on time, every time; they’ve learned how to work in teams; they understand that hard work and self-discipline lead to improvement; they are confident; they can cope with pressure; and they are fit and healthy – they don’t allow alcohol, junk food or drugs to overtake their lives. </p>
<p>Second, they are part of a social network that supports them. When faced with a risk of losing their job, someone from the club would connect these young people to someone else looking for reliable and capable young employees. Club members could recommend the young player for employment and, because of the footballers’ basic skills, be confident in doing so. The club officials don’t get paid to help; they just do it, because they care and they know it’s the right thing to do.</p>
<p>This result is repeated across Tasmania and across the country. Young people who participate actively in organised sport perform far better than their peers, not just in athletic pursuits, but in life. They are less likely to be out of a job, less likely to smoke, less likely to abuse drugs, less likely to be obese and more likely to succeed in school and beyond. </p>
<p>Whichever way you look at it, football (and no doubt other organised sports) makes a clear difference for the better in people’s lives.</p>
<h2>A widening distance</h2>
<p>But that is not the end of the matter. Football also makes a clear difference to communities.</p>
<p>A study of the decline of Victorian country towns discovered that the single most dangerous development for a town in trouble – that is, the most strongly correlated predictor of its demise – was not loss of the school, or local bank, or post office, bad as these were, but loss of the local football team.</p>
<p>When towns lost the ability to finance, support and field a local team, they were almost always on the slipperiest slide to extinction. And the converse is also true – a thriving local football club was one of the best predictors of other measures of community vigour, including demographic stability, health and education statistics.</p>
<p>With the decline of other non-government social and community institutions, these findings are particularly important. Churches do their best, but nowadays can only sporadically reach the most at-risk young people. Welfare organisations, similarly, do their best, but are often forced into either an oversight role or a merely palliative one. </p>
<p>Community progress associations have mostly atrophied into insignificance. Political parties are nowadays only remotely connected with communities. Government bodies are often even less effective, especially with the most at-risk young men. Schools, government welfare agencies, police and the justice system frequently confront young people only as authority figures. Too often they fail to inspire or seem relevant.</p>
<p>In many communities, including Indigenous communities, literally the only organisations that can reach at-risk young people and integrate them into a lifestyle based on aspiration, self-discipline and achievement are community sports clubs. </p>
<p>The scale of organised AFL football, in particular, remains impressive. In Tasmania, for example, an estimated 100,000 people are actively involved in the game, whether as players, umpires, officials, bus drivers, jumper washers, committee members, sponsors or other volunteers. In the past, up to half of the Tasmanian population was involved.</p>
<p>Taken together, these figures make the AFL by far the largest non-government organisation in the state. It is bigger than the all the active attendees at churches, bigger than all political parties combined, and perhaps even larger than government. Across Australia, an estimated 1,247,610 people are <a href="http://www.footyindustry.com/?p=1877">actively part</a> of Australian football.</p>
<p>The health of a community’s overwhelmingly largest and most influential organisation ought to be of vital concern. The principal reason the AFL should actively invest in nurturing young players and their communities is because it can, and probably no other organisation has that ability. Because it can, it has a moral obligation to do so.</p>
<p>But rather than vigorously reinforcing its role and responsibility in the community, the AFL is increasingly turning away. The 18 elite AFL clubs are no longer directly immersed in any specific district or regionally defined community; with AFL talent programs now centrally based, they don’t rely on these communities for new players or for the lion’s share of their financial support.</p>
<p>Conversely, they do little to support the irreplaceable role of local clubs in nurturing young people and making communities coherent – unless an external agency pays them to do so. The attitude of most AFL clubs appears to be: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ask not what the AFL can do for the community, but what the community can do for the AFL.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A major focus of the AFL itself is attracting government money – to itself.</p>
<p>In reality, the ever-deeper “corporatisation” of elite-level Australian rules football – its obsession with money, its “hollowing out” at the top level, and its widening distance from local communities – has begun to undermine the AFL’s ability and even its willingness, like that of the churches and community associations before it, to perform the vital functions identified above in the lives of young people and communities. </p>
<p>Behind the superficially reassuring numbers, AFL football is shrivelling in the communities that created and nurtured it. It’s time the AFL, as the nation’s leading and only native sport, rethought and reconfigured its relationship with the community that supports it.</p>
<p>No doubt senior AFL officials will hotly dispute assertions of decline. Their public relations departments will produce reams of statistics reassuring the public that more money than ever before is passing through the “AFL economy”, “more children than ever before” participate, AFL clubs have more members, more watch on television and more attend games than ever before. </p>
<p>But, in their hearts, everyone associated with the AFL knows the decline in the community is real. The statistics are buttressed by ever-laxer definitions: a child attends a football clinic and is counted as a “participant”; clubs offer ever-cheaper “teaser” memberships to bolster numbers; and attendance and viewership of the elite level is flatlining and, in any case, is part of what is sapping the energy from community football.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130503/original/image-20160714-12372-1wmsea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130503/original/image-20160714-12372-1wmsea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130503/original/image-20160714-12372-1wmsea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130503/original/image-20160714-12372-1wmsea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130503/original/image-20160714-12372-1wmsea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130503/original/image-20160714-12372-1wmsea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130503/original/image-20160714-12372-1wmsea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">AFL football is shrivelling in the communities that created and nurtured it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Reynolds</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The signs of regress</h2>
<p>Behind these statistics, signs of decline at the community level can be observed everywhere. </p>
<p>Just attend a state league or local game – in decades past, thousands did so. Today, the stands are mostly empty, save for a handful of the players’ relatives, friends and dedicated club organisers. </p>
<p>Local clubs, even in the most football-crazy regions such as Tasmania, are struggling to stay alive. Schools no longer offer, or sometimes even allow, pupils to play Australian football. Mothers urge their offspring to choose a “less dangerous” alternative, like soccer. </p>
<p>With the number of high-school-age children playing Australian football diminishing, elite clubs are increasingly forced to rely for new talent on athletes converted in their teens from other codes, especially soccer and basketball, or from overseas. </p>
<p>New players do not come from talent developed in the clubs’ home bases, but from an amorphous national draft, intended to “equalise” the competition. The result is that clubs face no incentive to support and develop the game among youngsters in a community that is “theirs”. Talent development is financed by centralised grants handed down from AFL headquarters in Melbourne. The flow of talent is hollowing out.</p>
<p>Far from being the “nation’s game”, as it <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/australiasgame">loudly trumpets</a>, Australian football, in terms of mass support and participation, is confined to only three of six states: Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. </p>
<p>The traditional AFL state of Tasmania watches, but is barred from participating in its own right – as is the Northern Territory. </p>
<p>The “expansion states” of Queensland and NSW “participate”, in the sense that elite-level clubs are located in their cities, but the public in those regions is largely uninterested. The AFL has made little real progress in winning hearts and minds in NSW and Queensland. </p>
<p>It was amusing but sad, for example, to hear the response of one prominent Sydney-based AFL player when asked by a Melbourne-based football show what it felt like to be recognised in the street.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I live in Sydney, mate. No-one here recognises you. And if they do, you can be pretty sure they’re originally from Melbourne.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While the AFL continues to dominate television ratings, soccer arguably now has a better claim to be “Australia’s game”. According to the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4177.02011-12?OpenDocument">Australian Bureau of Statistics</a>, almost twice as many young people play soccer as Australian football (419,600 for soccer versus 268,700 for AFL).</p>
<p>And, interestingly, soccer has pursued an entirely different growth path. It has built its strength from the bottom up, out of local community and children’s clubs, towards the top level. </p>
<p>The AFL, by contrast, has attempted to grow “top down”, by first installing elite clubs in hither-to uninterested regions, then attempting to fill out support at local and community levels. It hasn’t worked. </p>
<p>AFL clubs in places like western Sydney and the Gold Coast resemble moon bases, parachuted in, protected by glass domes and supplied with oxygen from afar. They are largely isolated from, and ignored by, their surrounding environment and community.</p>
<p>AFL clubs, particularly in the Victorian heartland, have been deracinated. They no longer belong to a specific geographically defined community.</p>
<p>While historical associations linger, Collingwood is today not rooted in the suburb of Collingwood, nor Carlton in the suburb of Carlton, or Richmond in Richmond, Essendon in Essendon, Hawthorn in Hawthorn, or North Melbourne in North Melbourne. Geelong is an exception.</p>
<p>These clubs are now spoken of as “brands” or “franchises”. Indeed, the jargon of the corporate world is progressively replacing the language of community. Teams no longer play a “style” or “type” of football, but a “brand” of football; regions are no longer “communities”, but “markets”; players are now told they are in the “entertainment business”; it’s no longer even a “game” but a “product”. </p>
<p>AFL football is today more festooned with corporate advertising and sponsorships than perhaps any other code in the world, with the possible exception of car racing. Player jumpers are plastered with multiple logos, every season sees more corporate slogans and advertisements, they rotate perpetually around the field in eye-catching and distracting neon, players are required to be seen with “sports drinks” they don’t drink, junk food they don’t eat and gambling companies they don’t bet with.</p>
<p>Anything goes, so long as it sucks in more cash.</p>
<p>But football is not really an industry, and the AFL is not really a business. There are no shareholders, no requirement to make a profit, and therefore no real discipline from the marketplace. </p>
<p>At one level, the AFL’s mimicry of the corporate world is harmless play-acting, akin to government bureaucrats who also increasingly employ ugly jargon from the business world. But, at another level, “corporatisation” without shareholder or market discipline is the worst of possible worlds.</p>
<p>AFL officials pay themselves as if they were running a real business, but they are accountable only to a self-appointed commission recommended by the officials themselves and nominally “ratified” by the 18 member clubs (and, in a general way, to public opinion). </p>
<p>The result is that the AFL bureaucracy can absorb with impunity an enormous proportion of the code’s resources, centralise control in itself and indulge in obviously pointless but expensive extravagances like showpiece games in far-flung cities such as Dublin and Shanghai.</p>
<p>But much worse than this is that they make decisions on flawed, business-sounding bases. And it’s in doing this that the AFL moves ever further away from the community that ultimately sustains it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130502/original/image-20160714-12383-qlc0ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130502/original/image-20160714-12383-qlc0ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130502/original/image-20160714-12383-qlc0ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130502/original/image-20160714-12383-qlc0ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130502/original/image-20160714-12383-qlc0ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130502/original/image-20160714-12383-qlc0ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130502/original/image-20160714-12383-qlc0ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Almost twice as many young people now play soccer as Australian football.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why isn’t Tasmania allowed a team?</h2>
<p>Consider the perennial issue of an AFL team for Tasmania. Why is a foundation Australian football state like Tasmania not permitted to field its own AFL team? </p>
<p>Everyone with inside information on the game understands that it’s not because Tasmania lacks the talent to be competitive (the number of Tasmanians playing in the AFL easily equates to a team), or that it could not financially sustain a team. </p>
<p>If an estimate of the necessary support base is obtained by dividing the population of Melbourne – 4,442,918 – by the number of teams located there – nine – the result is 493,657, or less than the population of Tasmania. In any case, the majority of the required money is provided by the clubs’ share of sponsorship and TV rights.</p>
<p>The reason Tasmania is not allowed a team is that Tasmania is considered a “captive” not a “growth” market. There’s no incremental income for the code to be gained in Tasmania.</p>
<p>Tasmanians already watch and contribute to the AFL as much as they are likely to. Indeed, under current arrangements in which the Tasmanian government subsidises out-of-state teams to play in Tasmania a few times a year, Tasmanians contribute considerably more per capita than any other state.</p>
<p>Tasmania now endures the situation in which two interstate teams (Hawthorn four games, North Melbourne three) play each year in Tasmania. Compounding the problem, it was revealed this year that Tasmania’s players in the new women’s competition will be <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-season-2016-tasmania-shafted-again--this-time-on-the-womens-football-front-20160503-gold6p.html">“allocated” to western Sydney</a>, in spite of a manifest lack of any affinity between the two regions.</p>
<p>But, as in other regions, more children in Tasmania now group up playing soccer rather than Australian football, and the AFL relies on them switching in their teens. When soccer decides to locate a top-level team in Tasmania, thus providing a pathway to elite sport that doesn’t necessitate leaving the state, loyalties will probably migrate, and Tasmania faces the risk it will cease to be an AFL state. </p>
<p>The motivation for the AFL’s approach is the logic of the fake market over the logic of community. Were the AFL genuinely committed to its community base, it would find a way to locate a Tasmanian team in Tasmania. But under the spurious logic of the market, it has no incentive to do so.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130501/original/image-20160714-12380-1t33z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130501/original/image-20160714-12380-1t33z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130501/original/image-20160714-12380-1t33z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130501/original/image-20160714-12380-1t33z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130501/original/image-20160714-12380-1t33z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130501/original/image-20160714-12380-1t33z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130501/original/image-20160714-12380-1t33z4h.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">Tasmania hosts four Hawthorn AFL games per year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Rob Blakers</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reconnecting with its community</h2>
<p>If declining youth participation, abrogation of the responsibility to support local communities, stagnation and failure to grow the game in new regions, hollowing out of the talent flow, and increasingly successful competition from soccer are all recognised problems, how can the AFL reconnect with its community and rebuild its foundations? </p>
<p>The first step is to recognise that these apparently disparate challenges have a common root cause: increasing distance from the community. The next is to actively seek ways to reconnect.</p>
<p>The key is to reforge the direct links between clubs and a specific community. This would involve allocating each club a geographically specific “zone”, for which it would have responsibility in community and game development, and from which it would recruit players and gain resources. </p>
<p>The AFL has recently released a plan to connect with regions for multicultural and Indigenous talent development. What’s needed is re-establishment of the symbiotic bond between club and community. </p>
<p>For certain clubs, the “zone” would be obvious: the Geelong region to the Geelong club, for example. For others, it would require some division, for example northern and South Australia being divided between the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide, or Western Australia between West Coast and Fremantle. </p>
<p>For the heartland Melbourne clubs (half of all AFL clubs remain in Melbourne, in spite of the fact that the city represents only one-fifth of Australia’s population), the task would be more challenging. But the reality is that football lovers barrack for clubs and players, not for the AFL. </p>
<p>Interestingly, every club official I spoke with favoured the zone concept, but no-one at AFL headquarters did.</p>
<p>Reforging links would also require serious integration of women into the game, on field and off. The AFL has largely failed in this. While 1,08,100 women and girls play soccer (one-quarter of the total soccer players), only 27,900 women and girls play AFL (just under one-tenth).</p>
<p>Yet women are more often than men the irreplaceable pillars of community organisations. Women make up at least half of AFL supporters and are a cornerstone of many local clubs. Not so, however, at the elite level. </p>
<p>While the AFL frequently invokes the necessity of gender equity, within its own sphere it has made little progress. The proposed women’s league has so far displayed little vitality, and few within the AFL professional bureaucracy take it seriously. Many want simply to hand off responsibility (especially financial responsibility) to the clubs.</p>
<p>Similarly, only one of the 18 AFL club presidents is female; all 18 AFL club chief executives are male. These figures are widely known, but one could be forgiven the impression that reversing this anomaly is a secondary priority. </p>
<p>Not so well known is that over recent years, every AFL state and territory chief executive has been replaced, and yet none of these senior community-football-focused positions has been filled by a female. </p>
<p>The most vital step, however, would be to shift the AFL’s culture away from that of a fake “corporation” and back towards that of a “community’ organisation. </p>
<p>This process needn’t imply any de-professionalisation or reliance on amateurs. Many of the world’s highest-performance organisations are neither government nor for-profit corporations; they are "not for profits”. In simple economic terms, a non-profit organisation retains its surplus revenues to further achieve its purpose or mission, rather than distributing its surplus income to the organisation’s shareholders (or equivalents) as profit or dividends.</p>
<p>A for-profit business conducts activities to make a profit, and it adjusts those activities – adding, deleting, augmenting them – in order to maximise its profit. </p>
<p>A not-for-profit organisation, by contrast, raises money, including profit, in order to undertake a specified set of activities. The cart and the horse are in the opposite order. A not-for-profit adjusts how it raises money in order to be able to more effectively serve its goals.</p>
<p>In reality, this is what the AFL already is. The problem is that it too often pretends to be a for-profit corporation. Not-for-profits include many service organisations, but also some of the world’s outstanding achievers. Much of the US higher education system, including the world’s best teaching and research organisations – organisations that lead the world in breakthrough technologies and science – consists of highly professional not-for-profits. </p>
<p>Similarly, many of the best healthcare organisations, including the world’s best hospitals, are not-for-profits. </p>
<p>If it is to meet its multiple challenges, the AFL needs to retain and reinforce its professionalism, including its ability to raise considerable sums of money, but needs to evolve its culture back towards its original mission and the communities it grew out of.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read others from the Griffith Review’s latest edition <a href="https://griffithreview.com/editions/our-sporting-life/">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan West 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 their hearts, everyone associated with the AFL knows the decline in the community is real.Jonathan West, Emertius Professor, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/615262016-06-24T15:35:49Z2016-06-24T15:35:49ZMaking young children give everything to football is a bad idea – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127896/original/image-20160623-30289-3peqt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jossie's juveniles. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&searchterm=child%20footballer&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=299163980">matimix</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of the players at Euro 2016 will have been recruited to football clubs as children. Football has become such a big business that top clubs are under great pressure to ensure they recruit the next Cristiano Ronaldo before their nearest rival. As a result, they are taking on players very young. </p>
<p>British clubs <a href="http://talksport.com/magazine/features/2011-07-06/child-football-prodigies-man-uniteds-rhain-davis-barcelonas-kai-fifield-ajaxs-sonny-pike-and-more">commonly</a> take advantage of the fact that they can sign players on schoolboy terms from the age of nine. And the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2062101/Manchester-United-sign-Charlie-Jackson-5-Future-football-star-talent-spotted-age-3.html">clubs invite</a> even younger children to their development centres and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35054310">have been known</a> to scout five-year-olds. </p>
<p>When a youngster signs for a big club, they and their parents <a href="http://www.footballexchange.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/The-developmental-activities-engaged-in-by-elite-youth-soccer....pdf">sometimes have to</a> agree not to play other sports or play for other football teams for fear of injury. This helps explain why British players who go on to become professionals <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239794492_Developing_football_expertise_A_football-specific_research_review">tend not</a> to participate in other sports. Yet the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28254123">average age</a> of World Cup winning teams is as old as 27.5 years. So is this early specialisation necessary? </p>
<p>Many specialists like myself would say it looks more like a by-product of the current talent development system rather than the most effective route to expertise. Research <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265688271_The_developmental_model_of_sport_particiation_15_years_after_its_first_conceptualization">suggests that</a> in sports like football where players reach their peak well into adulthood, you needn’t specialise before the age of 13; and you’re more likely to keep playing and to become an elite performer <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2012.721560">if you take part</a> in a range of activities between the ages of six and 12. </p>
<p>One of the main arguments in favour of early specialisation is the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07303084.2010.10598522">hypothetical positive relationship</a> between the amounts of time you spend practising a sport and the level of achievement you go on to attain – the idea that 10,000 hours of practice makes perfect. But this has been <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Malcolm_Collins/publication/224846985_What_makes_champions_A_review_of_the_relative_contribution_of_genes_and_training_to_sporting_success/links/00463538f3d5f2b20f000000.pdf">widely contested</a> within sports research – and, even if this is true, it’s not necessarily an argument for concentrating on one sport. </p>
<p>For example the Stoke City and England goalkeeper Jack Butland, who is missing Euro 2016 through injury, played rugby alongside football until he was 16. He <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/jack-butland-stoke-citys-goalkeeper-on-missing-the-rough-and-tumble-of-rugby-a6698416.html">strongly believes</a> the rugby helped him develop as a goalkeeper. The research evidence <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239794492_Developing_football_expertise_A_football-specific_research_review">suggests that</a> related team sports with similar rules, movement, dimensions and strategies to football have the most transferable benefits. Playing darts may not be quite as beneficial, in other words. </p>
<h2>The impact of specialising early</h2>
<p>At top UK football clubs, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32064842">only one in 200</a> of those under nine make it to the senior team. There are obvious psychological effects on young footballers having to cope with not only the time demands and pressure of being part of a professional club but often the brutal rejection following years of commitment. </p>
<p>It also takes its toll on the body <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/45/9/702.short">by subjecting</a> young players to more frequent and intensive loads. Between 10% and 40% of football injuries among children and adolescents <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-013-0061-x">are from</a> playing too much. Players under 14 <a href="http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/34/6/928.short">incur</a> more training injuries than older players and they develop growth-related disorders linked to overplaying because their skeletons and tissue are still growing. The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2012.721560">evidence indicates</a> that children are better off not training intensively, yet the UK has <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2016.1173221">recently adopted</a> an Elite Player Performance Plan that focuses on early specialisation and increases the number of on-pitch hours for youngsters per week. </p>
<p>For all these reasons, the compromise for numerous continental European football clubs is to engage players at a young age but not to make them overspecialise. For example FC Barcelona is Europe’s largest multi-sports club. It has four professional sections besides football – basketball, handball, roller hockey and futsal (a variant of five-a-side football). There are also six amateur sections – athletics, rugby, volleyball, field hockey, ice hockey and figure skating. Another example of this approach is Sporting Clube de Portugal, home to Sporting Lisbon. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127898/original/image-20160623-30267-1yb91tq.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>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Messi need not apply.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/okfotos/17175741191/in/photolist-saLasP-rRuprB-saLsnF-azLXHx-azPQ5L-saEyKd-saEPX7-s8wjZE-re1C86-rdPohd-rTne5i-rRuoJ4-rRuw3T-rRusQa-s8vV3G-rTdWkS-s8w2AG-rTmVDr-saEXGL-s8wzz1-rTdz2j-rTeUdL-s8wsiC-s8wwDb-saF5v5-rTdSaY-rdP7rL-rTnfGr-s8w39L-saP44p-rRugdn-rRtTMr-saEETW-s8wo9L-rTeTrf-rTn51r-s8w4g5-saEqhG-rTfefJ-s8wvBG-s8wftA-rdPeuy-rTdLdh-saEYtL-saKPJR-rdP82y-saF3qU-saEL6j-saEXk3-re1TEt">OK Fotos</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there are clubs such as Belgium’s Standard Liége, which are not multi-sports clubs but do provide coaching support <a href="http://www.ecaeurope.com/Research/ECA%20Report%20on%20Youth%20Academies/ECA%20Report%20on%20Youth%20Academies.pdf">that develops</a> general skills and abilities, such as agility and coordination, that can be transferable to numerous sports. </p>
<p>These clubs approach youth football in these ways because the reality is that early specialisation is not the most effective route to the top. Countries whose clubs operate in this way are surely more likely to end up with the better players in the long run. The UK <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2009/sep/09/chelsea-fifa-premier-league-academies">has long</a> had a reputation for producing very few top players from club academies. If Euro 2016 ends up being another campaign where England falls short, it needs to take this into account.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61526/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Pinchbeck 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>Many clubs sign players as young children and make them agree to not play anything else. The evidence suggests they’re making a big mistake.Jessica Pinchbeck, Lecturer in Sport and Fitness, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.