tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/school-sport-34783/articlesSchool sport – The Conversation2024-02-05T16:57:29Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226512024-02-05T16:57:29Z2024-02-05T16:57:29ZChildren’s high-impact sports can be abuse – experts explain why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573083/original/file-20240202-23-vzvavg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C13%2C4486%2C2977&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/young-players-in-action-during-a-training-session-of-the-news-photo/1585783804?adppopup=true">ANDRE DIAS NOBRE/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disorder likely caused by repeated head injuries. It was first described as dementia pugilistica and punch drunk syndrome <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/dementia-pugilistica#:%7E:text=CTE%2C%20previously%20termed%20dementia%20pugilistica,et%20al.%2C%202011">almost 100 years ago</a>. CTE continues to be a serious risk associated with high impact sports, such as boxing, American football and rugby. </p>
<p>Although the risks of traumatic brain injuries, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1375">such as concussion</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995699/#:%7E:text=CTE%20has%20recently%20been%20found,also%20lead%20to%20neurodegenerative%20changes.">longer-term brain degeneration</a> from repetitive hits in impact sports have been known for decades, some sport governing bodies continue to try and cast doubt onto the relationship between impact sports and CTE. However, media attention has begun <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36376056/">to change people’s minds</a>. </p>
<p>This growing awareness is accelerated by the many lawsuits against organising bodies in relation to brain trauma. Former professional and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/19/amateur-players-launch-lawsuit-against-rugby-authorities-over-brain-injuries">amateur players</a> in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/14/landmark-class-action-chases-compensation-for-alleged-long-term-concussion-damage-to-afl-players">sports such as</a> American football, Australian rules football and rugby say their governing bodies failed to prevent harm during their playing careers. </p>
<p>The NFL has paid out <a href="https://www.nflconcussionsettlement.com">almost a million pounds</a> to former players suffering the effects of sport-induced brain trauma. High-profile rugby players are now also taking <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/gavin-henson-and-phil-vickery-among-over-200-ex-rugby-stars-taking-legal-action-over-brain-injuries-13020450">legal action over brain injuries</a>.</p>
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<p>These are not only issues for elite players. Studies into the brains of former players have found CTE in those <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1012463_en.html#:%7E:text=Importantly%2C%20risk%20of%20CTE%20pathology,to%20influence%20risk%20of%20CTE.">who only played as amateurs</a>. CTE has also been found in the brains of players under the age of 30 and even <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/28/health/cte-younger-athletes/index.html#:%7E:text=The%20youngest%20person%20diagnosed%20with,football%20player%2C%20McKee%20told%20CNN.">those as young as 17</a>. </p>
<p>Each additional year of playing impact sports <a href="https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2019/10/07/cte-risk-more-than-doubles-after-just-three-years-of-playing-football/">raises the risk of CTE</a>, by as much as 30% in American football. </p>
<p>The dangers of high-impact sport aren’t contentious. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.938163/full">Academic evidence</a> and <a href="https://concussionfoundation.org/news/press-release/NIH-CTE-repetitive-traumatic-brain-injuries#:%7E:text=United%20States%20National%20Institutes%20of,brain%20injuries%20%7C%20Concussion%20Legacy%20Foundation">medical professionals</a> now agree that sport-induced brain trauma leads to degenerative brain disease.</p>
<h2>Not suitable for under-18s</h2>
<p>Given this context, our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511321.2023.2284923">recent paper</a> written with Jack Hardwicke, a senior lecturer in the sociology of sport at Nottingham Trent University, has questioned whether it is right for children to participate in sports that intentionally feature impact, particularly involving the head. We argue that allowing under-18s to take part in high impact sports should be viewed as a form of child abuse – we use the term “child brain abuse” – and that these impact sports should be legally prohibited. </p>
<p>We are not calling for adult versions of impact sports to be banned and our argument does not apply to sports or activities where brain trauma might occur by accident. But in sports where impact is a structured part of the game, like boxing – or sports that create rapid brain movements, as in rugby tackling – collisions are not accidents, they are an inherent part of the sport. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987636/">claims that sport is safer</a>, there has been rightful concern over childhood <a href="https://theconversation.com/rugby-concussions-and-duty-of-care-why-the-game-is-facing-scrutiny-161773">concussions</a> in these impact sports – and brain injury can occur at very low levels of impact. For example, heading a football can result in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235239641630490X?via%3Dihub">immediate and measurable alterations</a> to brain functioning and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/focus-pfa-university-of-nottingham-studies-fifa-b2354775.html">longer-term brain diseases</a>, such as CTE.</p>
<p>The risk of CTE is <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/09/25/allyson-pollock-and-graham-kirkwood-tackle-and-scrum-should-be-banned-in-school-rugby/">far higher in sports</a> such as American football and rugby. The odds of developing degenerative brain diseases are <a href="https://www.thepfa.com/players/brain-health/field">increased in former players</a> of impact sports than are found in sports without deliberate impacts or the general population. </p>
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<h2>Staying healthy</h2>
<p>Some sports bodies <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/rugby-played-schools-form-child-abuse-study-b1136563.html#:%7E:text=Rugby%20being%20played%20in%20schools%20is%20a%20form%20of%20child,injuries%20associated%20with%20playing%20rugby.">defend high-impact sports</a> by arguing that sport and physical activity are important for overall health. Teams sports <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9874288/">can reduce isolation</a> and help players to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9180162/">develop a range of social skills</a>. </p>
<p>But these benefits can still be gained from non-impact versions of sports, <a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/participation/playing/ways-to-play/the-touch-union/what-is-touch">such as touch rugby</a>, which can help teach discipline and teamwork without the <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/6/319.abstract">harm from brain trauma</a>. </p>
<p>There are no health benefits of tackling – and there are no health benefits of being struck in the head. The health benefits of impact rugby or boxing are instead gained from the body’s overall movement. </p>
<p>Tag rugby tends to be faster moving than the sport’s full contact version so is better for <a href="https://www.centurion-rugby.com/blogs/rugby/81203265-9-benefits-to-tag-rugby">improving cardiovascular health</a>. Research has shown that incidents of contact during children’s rugby are the cause of cause of <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/bmjosem/10/1/e001740.full.pdf">87% of known injuries</a>. Tackling, in particular, is responsible for 52% of all injuries - with concussion being the most common injury type. Tagging, rather than tackling, saves children’s brains from harm.</p>
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<h2>Inability to consent</h2>
<p>Our research shows that impact sports should be treated equally with other prohibited activities for children, such as smoking. Children are unable to make informed decisions about the long-term risks of these activities. Parental provision for these activities is also <a href="https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/30/2016/08/No.139-Criminal-Law-Consent-in-the-Criminal-Law-A-Consultation-Paper.pdf">socially stigmatised or criminalised</a>. </p>
<p>Our research draws on a number of legal positions that support our argument that neither children nor parents on their behalf can consent to sports that require brain trauma as a necessary component of the sport. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf">Article 19</a> of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to which 195 countries are signatories, covers protection from violence, abuse and neglect. <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Our-rights_UNCRC.pdf">It states that</a>: </p>
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<p>Governments must do all they can to ensure that children are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and bad treatment by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. </p>
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<p>Some commentators <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/rugby-isnt-child-abuse-but-it-is-ghastly/">have agreed</a> that while high-impact sports are dangerous, using the term child abuse is a step too far. </p>
<p>However, the NSPCC, the UK’s leading children’s charity, <a href="https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/neglect/">say that physical neglect</a> is a form of abuse that occurs if a child is not kept safe. Allowing children to participate in impact sports while being aware of the harm they can cause is, our research shows, a failure keep children safe.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-rugby-should-not-be-compulsory-and-tackling-needs-to-be-outlawed-heres-the-evidence-196993">School rugby should not be compulsory and tackling needs to be outlawed – here's the evidence</a>
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<p>Opponents of prohibiting children from playing high-impact sports argue that <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-13038525/BORIS-JOHNSON-Rugby-doesnt-risk-young-peoples-lives.html">boys are naturally aggressive</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2329496520959300">heavy contact sport</a> helps them to learn how to <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110706195908.htm">control their feelings</a>. </p>
<p>Boys, some argue, need physical activities – they <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/56c8138843034f93feb463bf9e69f96f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=33810">need space and learn through activity</a>. But there is no research showing that boys need to endure brain trauma in order to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-16028-002">grow up to be responsible men</a>.</p>
<p>There is no justifiable health reason for a child to play impact sport over non-impact versions. We are asking that ministers privilege children’s brains over corporate sporting bodies. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-induced-traumatic-brain-injury-families-reveal-the-hell-of-living-with-the-condition-172828">Sport-induced traumatic brain injury: families reveal the 'hell' of living with the condition</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Parry is affiliated with the Concussion Legacy Foundation (UK). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Anderson and Gary Turner do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The dangers of high-impact sport aren’t contentious. Medical professionals agree that sport-induced brain trauma leads to degenerative brain disease – so why are we still allowing children to play?Eric Anderson, Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport, University of WinchesterGary Turner, Doctoral researcher in Policy Analysis of Traumatic Brain Injury in UK Combat Sports, University of WinchesterKeith Parry, Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Event Management, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166862024-01-03T17:41:27Z2024-01-03T17:41:27ZDyspraxia affects children’s wellbeing – here’s how parents and caregivers can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567121/original/file-20231221-22-obf0w5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C59%2C7106%2C5237&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/lonely-asian-school-boy-watches-his-1479198308">Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s likely <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2066137/">at least one child</a> in every classroom has movement difficulties in the form of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental dyspraxia.</p>
<p>DCD is a disorder that affects a child’s ability to perform and learn everyday tasks that require <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dmcn.14132">motor coordination</a>. Children with DCD typically struggle with academic tasks such as handwriting, as well as dressing themselves and using cutlery and tools. They may <a href="https://dcdaustralia.org.au/what-is-dcd-2/">find it difficult</a> to play ball games or to learn to ride a bike or swim. Parents also report that their children with DCD are <a href="https://dcdaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Impact-for-DCD-Report-Summary.pdf">more tired</a> than other children at the end of the day. </p>
<p>When these skills are hard and frustrating to learn – and tiring too – a child’s motivation to take part in them can wane, along with their self-belief. </p>
<h2>Hidden struggles</h2>
<p>DCD is a <a href="https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/what_is_dyspraxia/dyspraxia-at-a-glance/">common childhood disorder</a>. Children with DCD often also have one or more <a href="https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/what_is_dyspraxia/dyspraxia-foundation-faqs/">other developmental disorders</a>, such as ADHD, autism and developmental language and learning disorders. But because children with DCD often avoid the tasks they struggle with, their issues may become invisible. </p>
<p>Children with DCD often have lower <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5770330/">academic attainment</a> than their peers. Parents in Australia reported that they believed the <a href="https://dcdaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Impact-for-DCD-Report-Summary.pdf">main challenges</a> at school for their children with DCD were “teacher awareness of the condition, fatigue and keeping up in class, making friends and socialising, inclusion in the playground, and bullying”.</p>
<p>Children with DCD are likely to take part in less <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/oti.1393">physical activity</a> than peers. This can be exacerbated by adult leaders not knowing how to successfully integrate children with DCD into a <a href="https://journals.lww.com/pedpt/fulltext/2018/04000/role_of_pediatric_physical_therapists_in_promoting.9.aspx">team sport environment</a>. Children with DCD are more likely to choose <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/oti.1393">sedentary activities</a>, such as reading and playing computer or board games. </p>
<p>This can result in less physically active lifestyles and lower physical fitness and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422218301264?via%3Dihub">cardiovascular health</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, avoiding group and social activities can lead to a child with DCD becoming left out – and this has an impact on their happiness. Children with DCD often <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422221002365#:%7E:text=Children%20with%20developmental%20coordination%20disorder,dimensions%20than%20typically%20developing%20peers.">score lower</a> on quality of life measures than their peers in areas including physical wellbeing and friendships. DCD <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11136-018-2075-1">also affects</a> parents’ and siblings’ wellbeing, family life and the parents’ work. </p>
<p>Adults with suspected DCD <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089142221300005X">report issues</a> with anxiety and depression and rate their life satisfaction fairly poorly. </p>
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<p>Seeking a referral to a health professional who is versed in paediatric treatment can be a positive first step to help a child deal with DCD. Telehealth programmes – remote healthcare that takes place, for instance, over video call – to help improve motor skills are just starting to emerge, with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/03080226231181018">preliminary evidence</a> suggesting they are effective. </p>
<p>School- and other group-based activity programs are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422218300027">also beneficial</a> for skill development, social interaction and fitness, but are not widely available. Active video games <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422218300027">may also be useful</a> to hone skill and fitness. <a href="http://elearningcanchild.ca/dcd_workshop/index.html">Online resources</a> can help point parents towards ways to assist their child with activities they find difficult. </p>
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<img alt="Boy writing in notebook with pencil" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567141/original/file-20231221-23-wxxywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567141/original/file-20231221-23-wxxywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567141/original/file-20231221-23-wxxywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567141/original/file-20231221-23-wxxywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567141/original/file-20231221-23-wxxywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567141/original/file-20231221-23-wxxywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567141/original/file-20231221-23-wxxywl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">DCD can make handwriting difficult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/student-drawing-pencil-on-notebook-boy-1582631920">Fabio Principe/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Raising awareness of DCD matters. It has consequences for the child and their families, but also for society. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308022619866642">Research has found</a> that in the UK, the average direct healthcare cost to parents of a child with DCD. over a six-month period was £700. But this does not take into account any changes to employment – affecting the workforce – that might be needed to accommodate care needs. </p>
<p>Awareness of DCD remains low, which means children are not receiving the support they desperately need. Parents also report difficulties <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308022619866642">accessing services</a> for their children. </p>
<p>For parents or caregivers, it is recommended that their child with DCD receive intervention delivered by healthcare professionals with the relevant <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.14132">training and expertise</a>. Informed intervention that considers the individual aspirations and preferences of the child, and that integrates sound motor learning strategies will enable them to improve their motor skills, build confidence, and meet their life goals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Dunford receives funding from Elizabeth Casson Foundation.
Authors: Carolyn Dunford, Peter Wilson, Mellissa Prunty as part of the “DCD Big Ideas Group” 25 key researchers in the field of DCD (from early-career to established) working to develop a clear vision for the future of research on DCD.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mellissa Prunty receives funding from The Royal College of Occupational Therapists. She is also Chair of the National Handwriting Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Wilson receives funding from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), and previously from the Australian Research Council (ARC). </span></em></p>Children with DCD often avoid the tasks they struggle with, meaning their issues may become invisible.Carolyn Dunford, Reader in Occupational Therapy, Brunel University LondonMellissa Prunty, Reader in Occupational Therapy, Brunel University LondonPeter Wilson, Professor of Developmental Psychology, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1878742022-08-03T12:10:29Z2022-08-03T12:10:29ZEuro 2022 can be a catalyst for women’s football in England – here’s how<p>Euro 2022 has all the ingredients to be a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jul/29/readers-on-euro-2022-and-womens-football">breakthrough moment</a> for women’s football in England. </p>
<p>A peak television audience of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/aug/01/england-victory-in-womens-euro-2022-final-draws-record-tv-audience-of-17m">17 million</a>, the biggest UK audience for a programme in 2022 so far, tuned in to watch England beat Germany in the final. Attendance records were smashed in the group stages of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62170687">tournament</a>, and <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/07/31/england-smash-attendance-record-as-87192-take-to-wembley-to-cheer-on-lionesses-against-germany-17099369/">87,192 people</a> attended the final – the most for any Euros fixture, men’s or women’s.</p>
<p>However, we do need to exercise caution around claims of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/21674795211003524">watershed moments</a> for women’s sport. In the US, major soccer tournaments have led to only <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/21674795211003524">minimal changes</a> in media coverage of women’s sport. We need to ensure that when the dust settles, women’s football is not relegated back to the margins.</p>
<p>We have <a href="https://dro.dur.ac.uk/35624/">carried out research</a> on why people in the US and England become fans of women’s football. Drawing on our findings, here are some key ways to build on the Euro 2022 tournament and secure the future of English women’s football.</p>
<h2>Make football accessible to all girls at school</h2>
<p>For those who watched the celebrations after England’s semi-final victory, it was hard not to be moved by former Arsenal and England player Ian Wright’s emotional plea to allow girls access to the beautiful game. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/sport/england-euro-2022-ian-wright-b2132140.html">Wright said</a>: “Whatever happens in the final now, if girls are not allowed to play football just like the boys can in their PE after this tournament, then what are we doing?” According to the <a href="https://www.thefa.com/news/2021/oct/11/letgirlsplay-20211011">Football Association</a>, only 63% of schools currently offer girls’ football in PE lessons.</p>
<p>Research has shown how girls’ <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Feminization-of-Sports-Fandom-A-Sociological-Study/Pope/p/book/9780367233006">interest in sport</a> can drop off in their <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shaping-Up-Womanhood-Physical-Education/dp/033509693X">teenage years</a>. A <a href="https://www.womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tackling-Teenage-Disengagement-March-2022.pdf">recent survey</a> by the charity <a href="https://www.womeninsport.org/">Women in Sport</a> found that 68% of teenage girls who said they “used to be sporty” now gave a feeling of being judged as a reason they no longer took part. </p>
<p>In our research, gaining basic access to football in physical education was an issue. Inequalities in access to football spanned generations. Even younger English women fans had experienced a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Feminization-of-Sports-Fandom-A-Sociological-Study/Pope/p/book/9780367233006">gender divide</a> in physical education that stopped them from playing football. </p>
<p>Concrete action needs to be taken to ensure equal access to all sports in physical education at school. For example, the government could ensure that it is a requirement that boys and girls play the same sports at school, rather than segregating by sport. </p>
<p>Where football is offered to boys, it needs to be available for girls and vice versa for other sports. Greater opportunities to play the sport will play a key role in growing the sport as we look towards the 2023 Women’s World Cup and beyond.</p>
<h2>Get women’s football on TV</h2>
<p>Euro 2022 has attracted millions of viewers in Britain, even for matches that have not involved qualifying teams England or Northern Ireland, showing that there is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jul/27/englands-euro-2022-win-over-sweden-drew-peak-tv-audience-of-93-million">an appetite</a> for watching women’s football in general. Our research on fans shows that watching women’s football mega events, usually on television, plays a key role in initiating interest in the sport, with many later becoming invested fans. Respectful media coverage, therefore, needs to be a central goal for women’s football. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00380385211063359">Research by one of us</a> (Stacey Pope) also shows that exposure to women’s football through TV coverage can, in some cases, change attitudes. This can lead to some men moving from expressing overtly misogynistic attitudes to progressive attitudes. One man in the research survey said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>From a personal point of view, it changed my view on the sport. I used to see it as a bit of a joke, but having watched the [Women’s] World Cup [I] now feel the opposite.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Lessons for men’s football</h2>
<p>One of the striking differences that has been identified between men’s and women’s football is the inclusivity of fan communities at the women’s game. This perceived inclusivity was the main motivation for attending matches for 39% of English fans in <a href="https://dro.dur.ac.uk/35624/">our research</a>. People in our research study felt that women’s football was welcoming to women, children and LGBTQ+ fans. </p>
<p>This culture was commonly contrasted against men’s football, with fans finding women’s football to be a “safer” environment featuring less vulgarity, drunkenness and aggression. Female fans described UK men’s football culture as “daunting” and saw the atmosphere as “angry” and “hostile”. </p>
<p>We only have to contrast images of fans at Euro 2022 matches with the disturbances at the men’s Euro 2020 final last year to see this in play. A recent report by the Football Supporters’ Association also found that when attending men’s matches, <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12464169/one-in-five-women-suffer-unwanted-physical-attention-at-football-matches-survey-finds">20% of women</a> had experienced unwanted physical attention and 34% of women had heard sexist comments. Women’s football shows that football fan culture can be an inclusive space.</p>
<p>A number of the fans in our <a href="https://dro.dur.ac.uk/35624/">study</a> (22% of England fans) were motivated in their fandom by a commitment to gender equality. Euro 2022 provides an ideal platform to open up these difficult conversations around gender inequality in football and discuss how this can be addressed.</p>
<p>The 2022 Euros has shown that there is widespread enthusiasm for women’s football. The challenge now will be keeping it in the spotlight it so richly deserves. One mega event alone cannot overturn issues of gender inequality that are so widespread in society. But acting on the suggestions here would be one step towards ensuring there is a legacy from this tournament.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187874/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stacey Pope receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Allison received a FIFA Research Scholarship from the International Centre for Sports Studies</span></em></p>We can build on the tournament to raise the profile of women’s sport.Stacey Pope, Associate Professor in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Durham UniversityRachel Allison, Associate Professor of Sociology, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1856812022-07-11T03:00:37Z2022-07-11T03:00:37ZRicher schools’ students run faster: how the inequality in sport flows through to health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472715/original/file-20220706-24-1k44z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7360%2C4891&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cross-town sporting rivalry between the kids from the wealthy school and those from the country school – or the poorer suburbs – has been fodder for Hollywood movies such as Friday Night Lights, McFarland USA, Coach Carter, The Mighty Ducks and Hoosiers. We like to believe sport is the great leveller and privilege doesn’t matter once you enter the arena or sports field. Yet our study indicates this isn’t true. Educational advantage carries over into sporting participation and success.</p>
<p>This finding matters for reasons other than sport. Sport promotes physical activity, and the gaps in participation and success go some way towards explaining disparities in the health of students from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia">better funding and resourcing</a> for government schools, particularly those in areas of low-socieconomic status (SES), could make a substantial difference to supporting healthy active lifestyles for all Australian students.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1511533480005746691"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aussie-kids-are-some-of-the-least-active-in-the-world-we-developed-a-cheap-school-program-that-gets-results-162844">Aussie kids are some of the least active in the world. We developed a cheap school program that gets results</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What was the focus of the study?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13573322.2022.2076666">Our study</a> looked at the sporting success of primary schools in Tasmania. Inequalities related to differences in <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia">school funding</a>, infrastructure and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.667628/full">academic outcomes</a> have been studied. Yet sporting success had remained largely unexamined. </p>
<p>Of course, wealthier schools have advantages in terms of sporting infrastructure and equipment. And students from low-SES backgrounds are <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1796-0">much less likely</a> to undertake physical activity that requires indoor facilities, costly infrastructure or equipment, or access to water or snow.</p>
<p>Therefore, we looked at the least resource-intensive and highest-participation sporting event on the primary school calendar, the cross-country running carnival. In Tasmania all primary schools send their best runners to compete at their regional event, and potentially on to the state-wide competition. A school is placed on the combination of its three fastest runners’ finishing times in each age and sex division. </p>
<p>We had access to the results from the 55 government primary schools in the southern (greater Hobart) regional association, and 130 primary schools that took part in the state carnivals over ten years. We matched these data with each school’s population, educational advantage and geography.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-sporting-nation-is-a-myth-so-how-do-we-get-youngsters-back-on-the-field-78186">Our 'sporting nation' is a myth, so how do we get youngsters back on the field?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What did the study find?</h2>
<p>While there were some outliers in some years, overwhelmingly <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13573322.2022.2076666">the study</a> found the participation and success of schools depended on three factors: size, geographic region and educational advantage. </p>
<p>It makes sense that the larger schools did better than the smaller schools because they had more runners to choose from. </p>
<p>What we found concerning was, regardless of size, there was a direct correlation between a school’s relative educational advantage and its success in running carnivals. The richer they were, the faster they ran. This was true at both the regional and state carnivals. </p>
<p>The state-wide event also enabled us to look at each school’s success when compared to its geographic location. We found that geography, as well as educational advantage, determined participation rates. The more remote the school, the less often it sent runners to the state carnival. </p>
<h2>What can be done about these disparities?</h2>
<p>It’s deeply concerning that the socioeconomic status of schools has a direct impact on students’ success in cross-country running, and that the school’s location can determine their opportunities to participate. Previous research has found <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6849">disadvantaged students</a> and rural communities have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josh.12063">poorer health</a> than their wealthier and more urban peers. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.communities.tas.gov.au/ticket-to-play/about-ticket-to-play">Subsidising families’ sport-related costs</a> or <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-8049-6">giving vouchers</a> could help students from lower-income communities take part in sport, get coaching and increase their participation in events. Partnerships between schools and clubs could also help reduce physical activity inequalities and barriers such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13613324.2019.1679755">transport</a>, as well as promote lifelong connection to community sport.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sport-can-help-young-people-to-become-better-citizens-173733">How sport can help young people to become better citizens</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Unhappy boy being checked by a doctor" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472901/original/file-20220706-23-by6c0g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472901/original/file-20220706-23-by6c0g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472901/original/file-20220706-23-by6c0g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472901/original/file-20220706-23-by6c0g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472901/original/file-20220706-23-by6c0g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472901/original/file-20220706-23-by6c0g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472901/original/file-20220706-23-by6c0g.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">Lower rates of physical activity among children from low socioeconomic backgrounds have consequences for their health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, complex challenges such as reducing structural inequality and improving children’s health require more than just money.</p>
<p>Schools could consider increasing the formal and informal opportunities they offer their students to play sport and be physically active. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00613.x">Research</a> shows attending a school with many sporting opportunities can reinforce positive attitudes to physical activity. </p>
<p>Low-SES students have <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6849">poorer health</a> as a result of lower rates of physical activity. School and community programs to promote active and healthy lifestyles in low-SES communities are essential. Examples of programs that could be extended to more schools include the national <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/schools">Sporting Schools</a> program and <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/heal/schools/Pages/llw-at-school.aspx">Live Life Well @ School</a> in New South Wales and <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/programs-and-projects/walk-to-school">Walk to School</a> in Victoria. </p>
<p>These programs have:</p>
<ul>
<li>introduced students to <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/schools/schools">new physical activities</a></li>
<li>resulted in more students <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/schools/schools">joining local sports clubs</a></li>
<li>helped schools <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/schools/schools">buy new sporting equipment</a></li>
<li>aided schools in <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/heal/schools/Pages/case-studies.aspx">developing more healthy canteen menus</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/heal/schools/Pages/case-studies.aspx">provided parents</a> with ideas on healthy eating and physical activity.</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-kids-whod-get-the-most-out-of-extracurricular-activities-are-missing-out-heres-how-to-improve-access-169447">The kids who'd get the most out of extracurricular activities are missing out – here's how to improve access</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Education can improve health literacy</h2>
<p>Efforts to increase physical activity among students need to be backed up by education about the <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/-/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/Health-Inequalities/Fair-Foundations/Summary/Health-Equity_Summary_PhysicalActivity.pdf?la=en&hash=253342CE2532365EC0F3425694AA0D6C8837199B">benefits</a>. Students need to know how they can take ownership of maintaining their own health and well-being. </p>
<p>People with higher education are more likely to <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-10-98">seek, understand and act</a> on health information and services, including messages that promote physical activity. In other words, they have greater health literacy. Schools could consider programs focused on <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/key-ideas/">developing health literacy</a> among their students. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/hl4k">HealthLit4Kids</a> is one such program. It aims to halt negative intergenerational health behaviours by providing children with the tools to better understand their own health. It is <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/4/1449">operating</a> in some Tasmanian schools and could be scaled up to benefit more students and their families. </p>
<p>Initiatives like these would help reduce some of the inequalities that have influenced the findings of this study.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/breaking-the-cycle-119149">Breaking the Cycle</a> series, which is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vaughan Cruickshank does 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. This article is part of The Conversation's Breaking the Cycle series, which is about escaping cycles of disadvantage. The series is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Thomas and Kira Patterson 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>Lower participation and poorer performance in cross-country running by students at low-SES schools is troubling, because physical activity and fitness are closely tied to health and well-being.Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of TasmaniaJeffrey Thomas, Lecturer in Behaviour Management, University of TasmaniaKira Patterson, Lecturer in Health Pedagogy, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1737332022-02-23T01:03:45Z2022-02-23T01:03:45ZHow sport can help young people to become better citizens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447690/original/file-20220222-25-1dc1634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/5821004209">woodleywonderworks/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most Australians have followed health advice to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-09/coronavirus-majority-australians-support-mandatory-face-masks/12641758">wear face masks</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/charting-australias-covid-vaccine-rollout/13197518">have COVID-19 vaccinations</a>. Actions like these that benefit others are known in psychology as prosocial behaviours. In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886920307261">COVID context</a>, prosocial behaviours reduce the spread of the virus and keep health-care institutions functioning. </p>
<p>The likelihood of prosocial behaviour by an individual is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0791603519863295">affected by their values</a>. In particular, their social and civic values influence their concern for the welfare of others.</p>
<p>We recently undertook <a href="http://ecite.utas.edu.au/146795">research</a> on possible connections between sport and promoting thinking about social issues and the common good. Working with health and physical education student teachers, we explored shared learning opportunities between two areas of the Australian Curriculum, <a href="https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/?strand=Personal,+Social+and+Community+Health&strand=Movement+and+Physical+Activity&capability=ignore&priority=ignore&elaborations=true">Health and Physical Education</a>, and <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/civics-and-citizenship/">Civics and Citizenship Education</a>. Fair play, ethical debates and dilemmas, community involvement, identity and inclusivity are areas where sport and civic values intersect.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-kids-whod-get-the-most-out-of-extracurricular-activities-are-missing-out-heres-how-to-improve-access-169447">The kids who'd get the most out of extracurricular activities are missing out – here's how to improve access</a>
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</p>
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<p>Civic values help keep people happy and secure in a functional society. In democracies such as <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/humanities/civics/Pages/default.aspx">Australia</a>, these values include freedom, equality, responsibility, accountability, respect, tolerance and inclusion. </p>
<p>When young people learn these values it helps create a cohesive society.
This has become increasingly important in light of COVID misinformation and conspiracy theories, and the various threats to democracy around the world in recent years.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1213098940360515584"}"></div></p>
<h2>What does sport have to do with civic values?</h2>
<p>Adolescence is an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0791603519863295">important time</a> for developing civic values. Personal life experiences, relationships and social contexts all influence this development. These contexts can include home, school and extracurricular activities such as sport.</p>
<p>Sport is a big part of the lives of many young people. It <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18971513/">provides</a> opportunities for:</p>
<ul>
<li>participation</li>
<li>breaking down cultural barriers</li>
<li>building community identity</li>
<li>making friends, developing networks and reducing social isolation.</li>
</ul>
<p>Sport requires us to work with others to achieve team goals. In this way, it can help children to develop attributes such as altruism and empathy. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jasp.12713">one study</a>, for example, young people taking part in organised sport were more accepting of migrants. Those who did not have contact with migrant children through sport had more negative attitudes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children in a huddle on the middle of a sport ground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447691/original/file-20220222-22-e9x69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447691/original/file-20220222-22-e9x69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447691/original/file-20220222-22-e9x69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447691/original/file-20220222-22-e9x69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447691/original/file-20220222-22-e9x69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447691/original/file-20220222-22-e9x69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447691/original/file-20220222-22-e9x69.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">Research has found children who play sport are more likely to accept others and feel empathy for them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pushing-casual-sport-to-the-margins-threatens-cities-social-cohesion-92352">Pushing casual sport to the margins threatens cities' social cohesion</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Research has noted parents <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5969199/">describing sport</a> as a “school of life”. It teaches their children tolerance, teamwork, a sense of duty, the value of hard work, and socialisation skills. </p>
<p>Sport’s development of character and understanding of values such as fair play and respect can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232744682_Emotions_cognitive_interference_and_concentration_disruption_in_youth_sport#read">benefit young people in their wider lives</a>. </p>
<p>More broadly, by fostering prosocial behaviour, sport can make significant contributions to the common good. </p>
<p>For example, a <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10940-021-09536-3.pdf">2021 review</a> of 13 international studies investigated the effects of sports programs on crime prevention and re-offending. It found participants in these programs had greatly reduced aggressiveness and antisocial behaviour. Their self-esteem and mental well-being improved significantly. The result was a decrease in criminal behaviour. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/ncss/se/2017/00000081/00000004/art00008">creator of basketball</a>, James Naismith, believed the sport taught players values and moral attributes. He developed basketball not just as an indoor game football players could play through the winter, but as a context for young people to learn teamwork, co-operation, fair play, sportsmanship and self-sacrifice. He believed team sports taught the skills essential for a functioning community.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-was-the-best-five-years-of-my-life-how-sports-programs-are-keeping-disadvantaged-teens-at-school-162855">'It was the best five years of my life!' How sports programs are keeping disadvantaged teens at school</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>It’s not all rosy</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, in elite sports, gamesmanship, greed, cheating and a win-at-any-cost mentality can sometimes be elevated above positive virtues such as courage, co-operation and sportsmanship. In our study, many student teachers referred to news reports with negative messages about cheating, doping and racism. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1121337426998247425"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-the-cricketers-banned-for-ball-tampering-ever-regain-their-hero-status-its-happened-before-94096">Can the cricketers banned for ball tampering ever regain their hero status? It's happened before</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Yet our data also highlighted sporting contexts as positive catalysts for reflection and pro-social behaviours. Participants noted examples such as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“equal pay for men and women (e.g. surfing)”</p>
<p>“evolving attitudes towards mental health issues in sport”</p>
<p>“sportspeople taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matters movement”</p>
<p>“sport as a breath of fresh air in the context of the restrictions of COVID-19”</p>
<p>“great sporting moments have arisen with the inclusion of disabled or disadvantaged people”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sport has recently been a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Events have <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12662-021-00726-6">been cancelled</a> and games played in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-27/no-crowds-for-matches-in-melbourne-amid-covid-surge/100169580">empty stadiums</a>. But sport has also been a shining light for people struggling in lockdown. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/missing-out-on-pe-during-lockdowns-means-students-will-be-playing-catch-up-170101">Missing out on PE during lockdowns means students will be playing catch-up</a>
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<p>This was particularly true of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) described the event as a beacon of hope after so much of normal life was brought to a standstill. Other commentators have similarly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sport-yearender-covid-idCAKBN2IS04D">said</a> Tokyo “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sport-yearender-covid-idCAKBN2IS04D">made sport a shining light in the gloom</a>” and <a href="https://m.facebook.com/breakfastnews/photos/a.10150516947383983/10158685334193983/?type=3">described the Games</a> as “such a welcomed distraction, really highlighted how much sport can bring a smile to people’s faces”.</p>
<h2>So, how do we maximise the benefits?</h2>
<p>Teaching students about civic values and sport as part of the school curriculum isn’t the only way to foster prosocial behaviour. We can reap its broader benefits for a healthier society by encouraging young people to play sport at school and in the community. Ways to do this include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>governments, schools and community groups <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/physical-activity-its-important">promoting</a> physical activity benefits such as better health, increased energy and improved mood and sleep</p></li>
<li><p>increasing opportunities to be physically active in school programs, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/bushwalking-and-bowls-in-schools-we-need-to-teach-kids-activities-theyll-go-on-to-enjoy-123004">activities they can enjoy for years after school</a> such as bushwalking and cycling </p></li>
<li><p>making students more aware of community clubs and facilities by inviting club staff or volunteers to talk to students and run practical sessions </p></li>
<li><p>allowing girls to wear sports uniforms that make them more comfortable and confident, such as clothing that’s <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/girl-sport-uniforms-national-study.pdf">stretchy, dark-coloured and hides sweat</a></p></li>
<li><p>helping parents to get involved in their children’s physical activity by offering family activities and providing take-home bags of basic play equipment and <a href="https://soscn.org/downloads/resources/early_movers/Booklet_7_Getting_parents_and_carers_involved.pdf">activity suggestions</a> </p></li>
<li><p>removing <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/youth_participation/barriers_and_motivation">barriers to participation</a> such as the cost of club fees and equipment and an overemphasis on competition. This can be done by providing <a href="https://www.communities.tas.gov.au/ticket-to-play">vouchers</a> and promoting other reasons people play sport such as personal achievement and satisfaction, and <a href="https://australianmastersgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2021-AMG-SPT-Sport-Handbook_Template_Hub.pdf">social interaction</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bushwalking-and-bowls-in-schools-we-need-to-teach-kids-activities-theyll-go-on-to-enjoy-123004">Bushwalking and bowls in schools: we need to teach kids activities they'll go on to enjoy</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173733/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The benefits of sport for young people include not only health and enjoyment, but also an appreciation of many of the civic values and ethics that make our democracy work.Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of TasmaniaCasey Peter Mainsbridge, Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, Director of Student Engagement School of Education, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1456802020-09-25T01:40:17Z2020-09-25T01:40:17ZTelevising school sport could put too much focus on performance, a price too high for young athletes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359238/original/file-20200922-18-1kw9ff7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=104%2C0%2C1967%2C1145&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Racheal Grazias</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A new deal to televise and live stream more secondary school sports in New Zealand has attracted significant <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018763093/televised-school-sport-great-exposure-or-breeding-elitism">attention</a> and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/300093746/rob-waddell-grilled-over-controversial-school-sports-broadcast-deal">debate</a>.</p>
<p>First XV secondary school rugby in New Zealand has been televised for some time on Sky Sport. The attraction of new revenue for broadcasters and other sporting organisations is clear, but what might the cost be for young athletes?</p>
<p>The new broadcast deal is a collaboration between the <a href="https://nzsportcollective.co.nz/">New Zealand Sport Collective</a> (created by former Olympic rowing champion Rob Waddell and representing more than 50 sports) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/skysportnext">Sky Sport Next</a>, a YouTube channel run by Sky TV.</p>
<p>The deal evolved after consultation with several bodies including the New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council (<a href="http://www.nzsssc.org.nz/">NZSSSC</a>), which coordinates secondary school sport. </p>
<p>It is easy to understand why some school students would like to be on television. But there are moral and ethical issues that need to be considered by those charged with governing school sport.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/children-have-fun-playing-sports-and-dont-need-to-satisfy-adults-ambitions-115373">Children have fun playing sports and don't need to satisfy adults' ambitions</a>
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</em>
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<p>Some principals claim the partnership was <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/300093746/rob-waddell-grilled-over-controversial-school-sports-broadcast-deal">not discussed with them in advance</a>.</p>
<p>The increased television exposure adds to concerns of an <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/121953593/urgent-conversation-needed-to-address-overheated-secondary-school-sport-climate">overly professionalised</a>, “win at all costs” culture that already exists in some school sport.</p>
<p>In response to these concerns, the NZSSSC set up a <a href="http://www.nzsssc.org.nz/newsarticle/92570?newsfeedId=51035&newsfeedPageNum=4">broadcasting charter</a> in an attempt to protect the health and well-being of students and allow those who do not want to be televised to opt out.</p>
<p>But in reality, the power imbalances at play and other influences mean the charter is unlikely to be effective in many situations. For example, rather than opting out, some schools may feel pressure on them to stay in, to please players and parents. </p>
<h2>Health vs performance</h2>
<p>Adult high-performance sport must constantly balance health and performance, but secondary school sport must prioritise health.</p>
<p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-03969-001" title="Athletic identity: Hercules' muscles or Achilles heel?">Evidence suggests</a> professional, high-performance athletes are at increased risk of a “high athlete identity”. This is the degree to which someone defines themself based on their athletic role, and looks to others for confirmation based on that role. This can have both positive and negative consequences. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two players in a game of school rugby, one running with the ball." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359282/original/file-20200922-14-14j0rqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">School sport should be more about promoting health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/taka</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A performance culture in school sport increases the likelihood of students developing a high athlete identity and this has been linked to <a href="https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol22/iss10/18/" title="Attrition in School Rowing in New Zealand: A Qualitative Descriptive Study">dropout from sport</a>.</p>
<p>Given only a very small number of students will become professional athletes (<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-get-real-with-college-athletes-about-their-chances-of-going-pro-110837">possibly less than 2%</a>) the potentially negative consequences on mental health are a major concern. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31810972/" title="Mental health issues and psychological factors in athletes: detection, management, effect on performance and prevention: American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement-Executive Summary">Research</a> in adults and US college athletes shows greater difficulty adjusting to a lack of sporting success and more frequent psychological issues in people with higher levels of athletic identity. </p>
<p>A recent secondary school rugby <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/12554" title="Secondary school first XV rugby players’ perceptions of the coaching environment: A qualitative descriptive study">study</a> in New Zealand found high performance expectations often led to a fear of failure. The expected commitment was too much alongside academic workloads. </p>
<p>On the physical side, there is real concern about attitudes to injury. The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02640414.2020.1749409" title="What they know and who they are telling: Concussion knowledge and disclosure behaviour in New Zealand adolescent rugby union players">under-reporting of concussion in rugby</a> is associated with the perceived importance of a match. More than <a href="https://pnz.org.nz/Attachment?Action=Download&Attachment_id=1338">50% of players</a> across multiple secondary school sports say they’ve seen a player play on when they thought they were concussed. </p>
<p>Beyond concussion, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12065350">80% of secondary school netball and football players</a> say they have played while injured, and 50% report being pressured to do so. Increased intensity, driven by a performance culture, has also contributed to <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/11754" title="Early specialisation, sport participation volume and musculoskeletal injury in early adolescent New Zealand children">increased injuries at even earlier ages</a> in intermediate school sport (ages 12 and 13). </p>
<p>Recent data from the Accident Compensation Corporation (<a href="https://www.acc.co.nz/newsroom/stories/significant-surge-in-kiwi-kids-side-lined-by-sports-injuries/">ACC</a>) and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244020300505" title="Ten-year nationwide review of netball ankle and knee injuries in New Zealand">Netball NZ</a> reveal a rise in injuries in the 10–14 age group over the past ten years.</p>
<h2>Protecting young athletes</h2>
<p>In response to concerns, Sport New Zealand recently launched its <a href="https://balanceisbetter.org.nz/">Balance is Better</a> initiative, which promotes an evidence-based, developmental approach to youth sport.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mg9RN_Asm0w?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">We’re all about competition, but …</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This philosophy does not seem to align with increased television exposure for school sport. It led to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018763404/televised-school-sport-is-a-governance-role-needed">questions being asked</a> about the mixed messages emanating from our government agency and their lack of leadership on this issue. </p>
<p>In New Zealand we appear to be at a crossroads in relation to youth sport. As researchers concerned about some of the costs associated with the increasing professionalisation of youth sport, the Balance is Better philosophy suggests we were moving in the right direction. </p>
<p>But increased exposure on television risks extending the high-performance culture in which success is measured solely by the scoreboard. This is increasingly irreconcilable with a culture in which healthy competition contributes to positive youth development.</p>
<h2>School sport for all</h2>
<p>At a time when the current culture of youth sport is a <a href="https://sems-journal.ch/8021" title="Health for Performance: a necessary paradigm shift for youth athletes">concern in many countries</a>, is validating participation through the televising of youth sport the direction we want to go? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-get-real-with-college-athletes-about-their-chances-of-going-pro-110837">Let's get real with college athletes about their chances of going pro</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>School sport should be an inclusive form of physical activity. It should be strategically aligned with health and developmental benefits for all students. It should engage as many students as possible, for as long as possible.</p>
<p>A performance-driven culture in school sport, fuelled by television exposure, promotes an <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/13/878.long" title="Detecting and developing youth athlete potential: different strokes for different folks are warranted">inefficient and ineffective way</a> to identify and develop talent. There is little evidence success in school sport predicts future adult sporting success. </p>
<p>The priority for schools should be to develop healthy, high-performing people, not high-performing athletes. School sport can (and should) be a highlight in the educational experience of youth, potentially enhancing physical, social and cultural development.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145680/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>School sport should prioritise development of the person, not the athlete. A new TV deal has some worried there hasn’t been enough debate as to how this will impact the culture of school sport.Chris Whatman, Associate Professor, Sport and Exercise Science, Auckland University of TechnologySimon Walters, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1362162020-04-26T12:01:28Z2020-04-26T12:01:28ZAthletes’ mental health at risk in lockdown as coronavirus puts training and Olympics on hold<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328772/original/file-20200417-152558-ca4fby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=391%2C509%2C3953%2C2770&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A man is seen through the Olympic rings in front of the New National Stadium in Tokyo. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP/Jae C. Hong)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Telling an athlete to go outside and exercise [in order to feel better during COVID-19 isolation] isn’t really helpful for those struggling with mental illness.”</p>
<p>Those are the words of a prospective Olympian who has struggled with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. They highlight one of the challenges faced by athletes during this time of extreme, far-reaching disruption in training and daily routines.</p>
<p>The recommendation of daily outdoor physical activity included on most governments’ lists of essential <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-exercise-covid-19-guidelines-1.5509056">reasons</a> to leave home is a welcome one, given its proven benefits to promote good <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-using-exercise">mental health</a>. However, elite athletes — the ones you might assume would thrive most in a world (finally) valuing daily exercise as essential — may be suffering more than most.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329861/original/file-20200422-47799-ign9dq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329861/original/file-20200422-47799-ign9dq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329861/original/file-20200422-47799-ign9dq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329861/original/file-20200422-47799-ign9dq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329861/original/file-20200422-47799-ign9dq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329861/original/file-20200422-47799-ign9dq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329861/original/file-20200422-47799-ign9dq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many facilities such as running tracks and sports fields are closed. Nets have been removed from basketball courts at an Ontario school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls, familiar routines have evaporated and hoped-for opportunities have given way to uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The usual sources of stress or of support — families, friends, school, housing, relationships, jobs to name a few — take on new significance, positive or negative. Pre-existing mental illness may be worsened as the situation remains in flux.</p>
<p>As some waves of uncertainty abate (there will be an Olympic Games, <a href="https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-ipc-tokyo-2020-organising-committee-and-tokyo-metropolitan-government-announce-new-dates-for-the-olympic-and-paralympic-games-tokyo-2020">just not in 2020</a>), others emerge: what happens with funding? Will the athletes who planned to retire after the Games in August <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/olympic-games-covid-19-1.5515513">keep training until 2021</a>? (<a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/rowing/52140705">Some will not</a>.) When can full-time training start again?</p>
<h2>The toll on athletes</h2>
<p>As an Olympic rower turned sports medicine physician, and an elite volleyball player turned sports psychiatrist, we get it. We have seen an uptick in the number of athletes coming to see us to help them navigate the distress and uncertainty that this is causing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328967/original/file-20200420-152567-auvj09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328967/original/file-20200420-152567-auvj09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328967/original/file-20200420-152567-auvj09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328967/original/file-20200420-152567-auvj09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328967/original/file-20200420-152567-auvj09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328967/original/file-20200420-152567-auvj09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328967/original/file-20200420-152567-auvj09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Banners along the route of the Olympic torch relay are removed from City Hall in Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture in central Japan on March 25, 2020. The Olympic torch relay was postponed because the Tokyo Games themselves have been pushed back to 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Yoshiaki Sakamoto/Kyodo News via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While some challenges can be anticipated — disappointment at the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, anxiety about not being able to train, insomnia with the change in routine — others may come as a surprise.</p>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100715">Elite athletes suffer from depression</a> at a rate similar to the general population (rates range from four per cent to 68 per cent), but the culture of sport can make recognizing the signs and symptoms in oneself difficult, let alone reaching out for help. A <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101386">recent study</a> revealed about one out of six international track and field athletes reported having experienced suicidal ideation.</p>
<p>For many athletes, the team environment is critical. Research shows that team training not only boosts performance, but <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0136705">lessens the pain athletes feel</a>. A sudden shift to solo exercise can be frustrating, painful and lonely, placing significant mental strain on even the most resilient athletes.</p>
<p>Athletes become creatures of habit, of predictable routines. And COVID-19 has been anything but predictable.</p>
<h2>Ways to overcome</h2>
<p>There’s hope. Athletes are no strangers to adversity. Getting through it is often about reminding them of the various ways they have handled and overcome challenges in the past. This pandemic has evened the playing field somewhat as athletes around the world find themselves on the same team in a contest far bigger than sport.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328973/original/file-20200420-152585-oe5lu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328973/original/file-20200420-152585-oe5lu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328973/original/file-20200420-152585-oe5lu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328973/original/file-20200420-152585-oe5lu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328973/original/file-20200420-152585-oe5lu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328973/original/file-20200420-152585-oe5lu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328973/original/file-20200420-152585-oe5lu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Olympic flame handover ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics was held in an empty stadium in Athens, Greece on March 19, 2020 because of fears over COVID-19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Aris Messinis/Pool via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here’s our top <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2020/03/25/athlete-mental-health-and-mental-illness-in-the-era-of-covid-19-shifting-focus-a-new-reality/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork">advice</a>:</p>
<p><strong>Be aware of your health and your needs</strong>.</p>
<p>· Control what you can control in your life: eating, sleeping, self-care, staying connected, having a purpose, forward thinking — these basics will get you through.</p>
<p>· Take charge of your training: work with your sporting organization to develop appropriate training regimens.</p>
<p>· Remember that you are not alone. You may not want to burden your teammates if you are concerned they are struggling too, but reaching out can be a big help to you and to the other person.</p>
<p><strong>Sport prepares us for adversity</strong>.</p>
<p>· Mental toughness, resilience, adversity tolerance — the qualities that make elite athletes tenacious competitors also make them leaders in life. The strength and leadership of athletes, coaches and the athlete’s entourage are accessible online, with positive messages of support and solidarity weaving together a global network of shared ideas and experiences. Isolation doesn’t have to mean “alone.”</p>
<p>· For all of our toughness, athletes also feel for our friends whose businesses are shuttered and finances are in peril. In these times we will experience a myriad of emotions ranging from guilt (for even thinking about sport), to sadness, fear or comfort. Friends may try to find ways to bring laughter as an oasis in this storm. Allow it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328969/original/file-20200420-152602-1rsm0mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328969/original/file-20200420-152602-1rsm0mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328969/original/file-20200420-152602-1rsm0mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328969/original/file-20200420-152602-1rsm0mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328969/original/file-20200420-152602-1rsm0mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328969/original/file-20200420-152602-1rsm0mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328969/original/file-20200420-152602-1rsm0mo.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">A security guard walks past the Olympic rings near the New National Stadium in Tokyo on March 23, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We can’t always overcome mental ill health on our own. We can take one step to reach out for support. Sport teaches us to choose our path, the healthy path follows forward thinking: continuing to train and maintain goals, while making use of available support and trusting that opportunity will still come. </p>
<p>The most important thing we can do right now is whatever it takes to keep moving forward so that when the lockdowns are lifted, the arenas and playing fields reopen and the fans in the stands trickle back in, we will be ready.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136216/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>For athletes, COVID-19 means more than cancelled competitions. Having their athletic goals put on hold and their training routines disrupted can take a toll on athletes’ mental health.Carla Edwards, Sports Psychiatrist, Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster UniversityJane Thornton, Clinician Scientist, Sport Medicine Physician, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1243752019-10-30T12:55:32Z2019-10-30T12:55:32ZAt these championship-winning schools, coaches sacrifice time and money for players to beat the odds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299341/original/file-20191029-183147-ay8dw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Coaches say dedication and sacrifice can help low-resource schools overcome the odds.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/150334205?irgwc=1&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Pixabay%20GmbH&utm_source=44814&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fpixabay.com%2Fimages%2Fsearch%2Ffootball%2520coach%2F&size=huge_jpg">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When high schools compete against each other in sports, often the winner is not the school with the best talent, it’s the one with the most financial resources to help develop and support its athletes.</p>
<p>Perhaps nowhere is that stark reality more evident than in Des Moines, Iowa. From 2009 through 2018, football teams at the city’s five high schools <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/07/02/2019-iowa-high-school-athletic-association-classification-ighsau-dan-sabers-dmps-des-moines-public/1619000001/">did not win a single game</a> against eight suburban schools.</p>
<p>Most of the kids in the Des Moines public schools are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/22/us/school-football-poverty.html">poor</a>. Most of the kids in the surrounding suburban schools are not. There are also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/22/us/school-football-poverty.html">disparities</a> in what kind of equipment and resources the schools have.</p>
<p>These types of disparities are forcing athletic associations in a growing number of states, including Iowa, to consider <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/22/us/school-football-poverty.html">plans to create special athletic divisions</a> to level the playing field so poor schools don’t have to compete against better-resourced ones. </p>
<p>Rather than grouping schools into conferences based upon a school’s enrollment, these new plans take other factors into account, such as how many students receive free or reduced-cost lunch, which is generally used as an indicator of how much poverty there is in a given school.</p>
<p>It’s an idea that doesn’t sit well with several coaches who are the focus of a study I am doing of high schools located in poor neighborhoods that nevertheless go on to win championships. The coaches in my study worry that creating a special athletic division sends a message that kids from poor backgrounds are not able to compete at high athletic levels.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Book">researcher in sports psychology</a>, I have discovered
that although financial imbalances play a role in determining winners, they can be overcome with dedicated people in place. In many instances, the coaches told me, it takes personal sacrifice and investments. These investments can sometimes make or break a team. However, one problem is that when these sacrifices and investments come from one individual coach, often they are not sustainable.</p>
<h2>Out of pocket</h2>
<p>One coach I interviewed heads an Atlanta varsity boys basketball team at a school in a poor neighborhood – which is also listed on <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-failing-schools-map/">Georgia’s list of “failing schools”</a>. He spoke of how he has used his personal funds to help his players get experience in a developmental league, which provides opportunities for players to compete outside of school.</p>
<p>The league entrance fee was $250 total, “but I couldn’t even get my players to pay me $20 each, so I had to fund the entry fee out of my own pocket,” the coach said.</p>
<p>He is keenly aware of how different things are at schools located in more affluent areas. He mentioned how the coach at a more affluent school raised thousands of dollars in just two days from selling parking spots for a concert located across the street from the school.</p>
<p>A track and field coach from Georgia, who repeatedly produces state champions and college scholarship athletes, said that she rarely, if ever, receives any money from the athletic department to fund her program. Consequently, she calculated that she spends “$1,000 to $2,000 of my own money a year getting things for my athletes.”</p>
<p>The coaches noted how schools with more affluent parents are <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/rich-parents-school-inequality/431640/">better able</a> to support their teams through athletic booster clubs. The financial support alone does not make better athletes, they say. However, the greater financial support at those schools – often, but not always, private schools – can help lure top athletes who are looking for better athletic and educational opportunities. </p>
<p>As I explained in an article about 2019 NBA draft picks, leaving a public school with few resources to go to a private academy evidently <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-many-nba-players-finding-a-better-high-school-was-critical-to-success-118160">enhances a player’s chances</a> of being drafted by the NBA.</p>
<h2>Investments of time</h2>
<p>The coaches I spoke with said they did not believe it was impossible to overcome the problem of financial disparities. But they acknowledged that at a school where most of the kids are poor, the coaches must be willing to do more, both on the court and off.</p>
<p>Sometimes coaches find themselves having to feed their players.</p>
<p>“The nutrition piece always bugged me because there was not a lot I could do financially,” said a former basketball coach whose team won a regional championship in 2008 and made the state quarterfinals. “So I did pregame meals out of my own pocket every game, and even though it maybe was only a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that adds up over time, and I have my own family to feed,” said the coach, who is now an assistant school principal.</p>
<p>The sacrifices that coaches make for their players don’t always involve money. A lot of those sacrifices involve time.</p>
<p>For instance, the Atlanta basketball coach – whose team won the district and region and made the state quarterfinals in the 2017-2018 academic year – gave up most of his summer vacation to open up the school gym so his team had a safe place to spend free time.</p>
<p>A football coach at another Georgia high school, whose team routinely beats the best schools in the state, related how he comes in to train his football players at 6 a.m. before going to his “other job” as a teacher at another school, then returns again to the school that afternoon for practice with the whole team. </p>
<p>These commitments and sacrifices often take a toll on these coaches’ own personal health or cause friction in relationships in their home life.</p>
<p>These sacrifices can go a long way, but schools cannot count on individuals to fix a systemic problem. What would level the playing field would be to make sure all schools have access to the same resources – not creating, in essence, a league of poor schools.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124375/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Book does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Amid plans to create special sports divisions for high-poverty schools, coaches at such schools explain how they produce championship-winning teams despite having fewer resources.Rob Book, PhD Candidate, Lecturer, University of Southern DenmarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1230042019-09-15T20:16:56Z2019-09-15T20:16:56ZBushwalking and bowls in schools: we need to teach kids activities they’ll go on to enjoy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292359/original/file-20190913-35584-zzrqg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=802%2C401%2C4300%2C2850&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Schools could use bushwalking as an activity and link it to lessons in other subjects such as geography and science.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Physical education is <a href="https://www.childresearch.net/data/international/international_2007_01.html">one of the most popular subjects</a> for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28661718" title="Three-Year Study of Students' Attitudes Toward Physical Education: Grades 4-8">less</a> favourable attitudes towards what’s known in the Australian school curriculum as Health and Physical Education (<a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/">HPE</a>) can start to creep in.</p>
<p>By adulthood, the mention of HPE brings on both pleasant (for those who enjoyed HPE at school or completed HPE activities well) and unpleasant <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-tj/Fulltext/2018/08150/_My_Best_Memory_Is_When_I_Was_Done_with_It____PE.1.aspx" title="'My Best Memory Is When I Was Done with It' PE Memories Are Associated with Adult Sedentary Behavior">memories</a> (those who suffered embarrassment, bullying or injuries). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teenagers-who-play-sport-after-school-are-only-7-minutes-more-active-per-day-than-those-who-dont-120756">Teenagers who play sport after school are only 7 minutes more active per day than those who don't</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These attitudes towards HPE are important as early life experiences can be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25269062" title="Supporting public health priorities: recommendations for physical education and physical activity promotion in schools">linked</a> to our health later on. Adults with positive memories of HPE are more likely to be physically active throughout their lives.</p>
<p>That’s why we need to get students hooked on a range of activities they don’t give up on and can enjoy doing for many years after they leave school.</p>
<h2>Exercise for our health</h2>
<p>One of the major focuses of any HPE program in schools is to develop movement skills and physical activity in young people. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) <a href="https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/sites/default/files/learning/document/2017/1/231101E.pdf">says</a> physical activity is vital to improve mental, social and physical health, as well as preventing diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. </p>
<p>Lifestyle diseases are likely to be an increasing problem in Australia due to the <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australia-at-a-glance/contents/demographics-of-older-australians/australia-s-changing-age-and-gender-profile">projected increase</a> in the percentage of the population aged 65 years and over.</p>
<p>For this reason, a high-quality HPE program early on at school that provides opportunities for students to experience a range of activities they can engage in later in life is important.</p>
<p>This can prepare students for the skills needed for lifelong engagement in physical activity and to lead active and healthy lives. </p>
<h2>Our activities change as we age</h2>
<p>The activities with the <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/smi/ausplay">highest participation</a> by Australians of different age groups are shown in the table below. These findings show some obvious differences between age groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292518/original/file-20190916-8693-1vw0m2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Conversation/Authors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/smi/ausplay/results/sport">Clearinghouse for Sport</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>School-aged students participate in more team-based activities. Often these involve physical contact and/or require speed and agility. Participation rates in these activities decrease substantially after the age of 35.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292361/original/file-20190913-35596-1adfr8j.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">Playing soccer is popular among the 5 to 11 age group, but participation falls as people get older.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ngarkat/2556928877/">Flickr/</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australians aged 65 and over mainly participate in less intense aerobic activities. Seven of the top 10 (walking, golf, cycling, bowls, yoga, bush walking and pilates) activities for the 65-plus age group do not even make the top 10 for school-aged Australians.</p>
<p>Giving students increased access to these activities might assist schools in meeting UNESCO’s <a href="https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/sites/default/files/learning/document/2017/1/231101E.pdf">challenge</a> to help young people develop lifelong participation in physical activity.</p>
<h2>Teach them healthy habits when they’re young</h2>
<p>Some school HPE and outdoor education programs are likely to include a few of these activities listed for the adult age groups. </p>
<p>But the crowded curriculum and specific HPE time allocations can be a problem. Teachers often don’t have time to cover these activities in enough detail to really hook students in. That means students don’t get to the point where they want to make these activities a permanent part of their movement tool kit. </p>
<p>Busy schools should consider integrating aerobic activities into other subject areas. For example, an excursion to a local park or reserve for bushwalking or orienteering could be linked with geography and science. It could also help inspire writing tasks in English or measurement tasks in maths. </p>
<p>Teachers could be encouraged to use class breaks for short yoga sessions. Yoga and pilates could be offered at lunchtime, either with a teacher, posters and signs, or via <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/top-yoga-iphone-android-apps">an app</a> projected on a screen. </p>
<p>Doing a web search for your location and activities (for example, “golf/bowls/bushwalking clubs near me”) will help schools find nearby clubs to connect students with. Schools could invite club staff or volunteers to come to talk to the students and run practical sessions.</p>
<p>Being aware of local recreational clubs and organisations and the opportunities they provide (such as <a href="https://sportscommunity.com.au/fundraising/events-functions-and-fundraising-activities/barefoot-bowls/">barefoot bowls nights</a>), as well as websites where they can get more information (<a href="http://www.trailhiking.com.au/">bushwalking trails</a>), will make it easier for students to engage with these activities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292358/original/file-20190913-35634-j5kvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Barefoot bowls appeals to many different age groups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Josh McGuiness</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Engaged students are active and healthy for life</h2>
<p>So we need to make sure students are provided with enough <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4541109/" title="Students’ Perceptions of Motivational Climate and Enjoyment in Finnish Physical Education: A Latent Profile Analysis">choice</a> in activities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-sporting-nation-is-a-myth-so-how-do-we-get-youngsters-back-on-the-field-78186">Our 'sporting nation' is a myth, so how do we get youngsters back on the field?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Improved choice for students within HPE programs allows them to discover activities that provide appropriate levels of challenge for them to be able to overcome and achieve for overall enjoyment.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607380/" title="The Effect of Physical Education Climates on Elementary Students’ Physical Activity Behaviors">Evidence</a> suggests that providing such a mastery climate in school HPE and junior sport can help students feel high levels of competence in their physical abilities. This then assists with students’ individual motivations to be physically active.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292374/original/file-20190913-35596-1j90uvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teach children to enjoy yoga at an early age and it will stay with them as they age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebull/3241322719/">Flickr/Mike Bull</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123004/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>We need to keep active and exercise to stay healthy. So why not teach school kids some of the activities they’d go on to enjoy later in life?Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of TasmaniaBrendon Hyndman, Senior Lecturer & Course Director of Postgraduate Studies in Education, Charles Sturt UniversityShane Pill, Associate Professor in Physical Education and Sport, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1207562019-07-29T20:23:20Z2019-07-29T20:23:20ZTeenagers who play sport after school are only 7 minutes more active per day than those who don’t<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285225/original/file-20190723-11343-xdmzxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hockey contributes a lot to activity levels compared to other sports.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Teenagers who play organised sport only get seven minutes more physical activity per day, on average, than teenagers who don’t play any sport.</p>
<p>Our research, published in the <a href="https://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(18)31097-1/fulltext">Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport</a>, found organised sport contributes to just 4% of teenagers’ daily physical activity levels.</p>
<p>There are several possible explanations for this. Teenagers typically get most of their physical activity during <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28682656">school hours and unstructured leisure time</a> rather than organised sport. </p>
<p>Studies show teenagers spend <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21135319">between one-third</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29452749">one-half of time at sport practice</a> getting activity at an intensity that’s beneficial for their health. Teenagers may also be getting to and from sport practice and games in a car. </p>
<p>And those who don’t play sport may be spending this time doing other physical activities. </p>
<p>This isn’t to say sport isn’t important, but there are different ways to be active. Teenagers might walk or cycle to and from school, walk between classes at school, participate in physical education, shoot hoops at the local park with friends, help with chores around the house and also play sport.</p>
<h2>What did we study?</h2>
<p>We recruited 358 teenagers (146 boys, 212 girls) from 18 Victorian secondary schools for the study. We asked them to report the number of sports teams and physical activity classes they took part in outside school hours, as well as the type of sport they played and the number of times they played each week. </p>
<p>We also recorded participants’ daily physical activity by asking them to wear an accelerometer (a device recording their movements) for eight days.</p>
<p>Participants (with a mean age of 15.3) spent a mean of 27 minutes per day doing moderate to vigorous physical activity. </p>
<p>Half reported playing at least one sport. Those who played sport did so an average of 3.4 times per week. They got seven more minutes per day of activity than the participants who did no sport. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285989/original/file-20190729-43114-s9ynr7.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">There are many ways to be physically active.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Participants got an extra five minutes of physical activity per day, on average, for each additional sport. Field hockey and gymnastics contributed most to activity levels. </p>
<p>This doesn’t mean playing sport isn’t important. Sport offers a range of <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-10-98">social and mental health benefits</a> for teenagers. But our study shows it’s not the best way to meet physical activity guidelines or to lose weight. Previous studies also show the link between <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335517300682">playing sport and weight loss is quite weak</a>. </p>
<h2>Why does this matter?</h2>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines">physical activity guidelines</a> recommend teenagers get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day, including activities that strengthen muscle and bone at least three times a week.</p>
<p>But only 6% of 15-to-17-year-olds <a href="https://www.activehealthykidsaustralia.com.au/report-cards/">meet these guidelines</a>. Latest figures show <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/behaviours-risk-factors/overweight-obesity/overview">one in four Australian children</a> and teenagers (aged 2-17) are overweight or obese. </p>
<p>The federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on school and community sport over the last decade or more. The <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/schools">Sporting Schools</a> program, for instance, provides children with access to over 30 national sporting organisations that deliver sport sessions (sometimes along with equipment) during school term.</p>
<p>Sports programs may fail to reach teenagers who are least active. Teenagers who play organised sports <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29432790">tend to come from higher socioeconomic areas</a>. Government-funded sports programs also often run at weekends and after school, but physical activity should be accumulated throughout the day every day.</p>
<p>The government is now starting to target more than organised sport to get young people moving. In spite of its title, the <a href="https://www.sportaus.gov.au/nationalsportplan/home">Sport 2030 – National Sports Plan’s</a> top-line goal is to “build a more active Australia”. </p>
<p>This is the first time Australia has had a national sport or physical activity policy. The next steps are to develop a national action plan or evidence-based framework. And there are several templates that could be followed. </p>
<p>For instance, the Heart Foundation’s <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/for-professionals/physical-activity/blueprint-for-an-active-australia">Blueprint for an Active Australia</a> contains 13 action areas, 12 of which target-specific settings and population groups such as workplaces, health care, children and adolescents, sport and active recreation. </p>
<p>Action area 13 recommends research and program evaluation to ensure meaningful progress is being made towards increases in overall physical activity across the population. </p>
<p>Plans like these recognise the need for relevant agencies and government areas to work together. Sport and recreation needs to work with education and schools, the health sector, urban planning, transport, justice, disability organisations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, parent groups and private industry to support young people to get moving.</p>
<p>Our research findings support the notion that focusing solely on a single strategy or sector is not enough to address current levels of inactivity among Australian youth. A teenager would need to be playing sport daily and performing at the elite level for it to be the main contributor to them meeting guidelines.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harriet Koorts has received research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, VicHealth, and Sport and Recreation Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Salmon's spouse owns Askisi Pty Ltd, a company that manufactures height adjustable desks for schools. She receives research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council, VicHealth, Sport and Recreation Victoria, and Sport Australia. She is on the Board of e.motion21, a not-for-profit organisation that provides dance and fitness programs for children and young people with Down Syndrome. </span></em></p>Sport is only one way of being active and it’s usually done at particular times and on particular days. Teens should get physical activity throughout the day, every day.Harriet Koorts, Research Fellow Implementation Science, Deakin UniversityJo Salmon, Alfred Deakin Professor, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1129572019-07-08T20:11:32Z2019-07-08T20:11:32ZLook up north. Here’s how Aussie kids can move more at school, Nordic style<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282816/original/file-20190705-51292-1qhjgxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some Nordic school kids are doing an average of two to three hours of physical activity a week. Does Australia need to lift its game?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sangudo/8088867674/in/photolist-djMyxL-oeTL4z-qbazGv-djMun8-8CMreq-66zzhS-8CJm9a-arHjKQ-ax2nuJ-2d9o4Zr-SoGh2U-6x9huE-oeYDuT-arHjG3-9W4NFv-mMHvuy-qjHLjq-2vU5z-UTSLHm-ayXUFy-cvMyz9-c3y76j-9sraaP-HvLJoH-pXPps9-jxUaWV-aV4ouX-THnUKg-5Qv7UW-djMhFU-oeQHiZ-RgPTe7-REvPxt-REwNAM-quqVdd-REvKbT-2eyyxnY-5GXEAS-RvjAiK-5GXFg3-dYewrF-8Hpynr-REwc9V-q5s4oL-2aw1Xx2-ek1kTK-242GJKt-5GTjsP-72dVtw-ax2Byo">CAHPER/Sangudo/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Inactivity in school children has been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/just-how-healthy-are-aussie-pre-teens/11281164">in the news again</a> with the release of a study into the health of Australian 11-12 year olds from around the country.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/Suppl_3/1">1,800 person study</a> found most children were healthy. But there was room for improvement in areas including physical activity and weight.</p>
<p>It’s a different story for Finnish children and their other Nordic counterparts. They outperform most other highly developed nations when it comes to childrens’ <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/full/10.1123/jpah.2018-0472">physical activity levels</a> and <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/nutrition/publications/2018/childhood-obesity-surveillance-initiative-cosi-factsheet.-highlights-2015-17-2018">obesity rates</a>.</p>
<p>So what can Australia’s school system learn from the Nordic approach to physical education?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/they-believe-in-teachers-and-in-education-for-all-why-finlands-kids-often-top-league-tables-32223">They believe in teachers and in education for all: why Finland's kids often top league tables</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Active kids do well, wherever they are</h2>
<p>Throughout the world, physical education <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02671520701809817">is recognised</a> for its contribution to education itself (teaching movement skills), development of personal and social skills (including learning rules, strategy and cooperation with others) and of course children’s physical health. </p>
<p>More research is also suggesting physical activity (which in school, is achieved through physical education and active play during break periods) is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244016000554">positively associated with educational attainment</a>, particularly in maths. In other words, active kids tend to do better at school.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/move-it-move-it-how-physical-activity-at-school-helps-the-mind-as-well-as-the-body-100175">Move it, move it: how physical activity at school helps the mind (as well as the body)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Does the curriculum need to be more specific?</h2>
<p>The Australian national curriculum combines <a href="https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/?strand=Personal,+Social+and+Community+Health&strand=Movement+and+Physical+Activity&capability=ignore&priority=ignore&elaborations=true">health and physical education as one learning area</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282818/original/file-20190705-51262-b1vwly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Physical activity at school sets children up for a lifetime of being active.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.defense.gov%2F2019%2FJun%2F19%2F2002147179%2F-1%2F-1%2F0%2F190610-Z-FC129-011.JPG&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wv.ng.mil%2FNews%2FArticle%2F1880737%2Fstarbase-west-virginia-summer-camps-provide-stem-learning-for-military-kids%2F&docid=dTHGAHqAUYGZMM&tbnid=g0LHs-N5CUSvzM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwj5uMLM-JzjAhWOaCsKHSB1ALoQMwiIASgdMB0..i&w=2752&h=4128&hl=en&bih=1001&biw=1876&q=kids%20physical%20education%20&ved=0ahUKEwj5uMLM-JzjAhWOaCsKHSB1ALoQMwiIASgdMB0&iact=mrc&uact=8">Edwin Wriston/West Virginia National Guard</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The health component sets out to teach children about many aspects of health, including alcohol, nutrition, relationships and sexuality. The physical education component offers children the chance to take part in games, adventure activities, fundamental movement skills, sports and rhythmic movement activities such as dance.</p>
<p>The curriculum says children should engage in “regular movement-based learning experiences”. However <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/health-and-physical-education/aims/">how regular this needs to be and how long for is not specified or even recommended</a>.</p>
<p>This contrasts with the Nordic countries which enforce weekly minimums for physical education in schools. For example, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/31/2/480/1750644">Denmark</a> has a <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/full/10.1123/jpah.2018-0509">mandatory 60-90 minutes of physical education a week</a>.</p>
<p>In Finland, physical activity classes are also mandatory. Data suggests primary and secondary schools provide an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00336297.2014.948688">average two hours a week</a>. The Norwegians provide an <a href="http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-3d12a050-c7d7-465c-bbaa-6094db35fefd?q=643dd351-28ed-4ce7-80e8-c55996684711$1&qt=IN_PAGE">average two to three hours a week</a>.</p>
<h2>How about specialist teachers?</h2>
<p>Delivering effective physical education classes requires a varied skill set, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>motivating children</li>
<li>developing skills</li>
<li>managing behaviour</li>
<li>engaging children, particularly ones with lesser skills, and</li>
<li>modifying activities to challenge children with different needs and abilities.</li>
</ul>
<p>Classroom teachers <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/JOER.101.2.99-112?casa_token=Lt4dtwvOTX4AAAAA:8oUarxTKbDjVyMjYCMlSsWnptUhKLNv0I3Ydi--DgZs4VfhDCmMhOPERmXCvBj_VSfVOYGXGpvxZ">often report</a> they are not fully equipped to plan, implement and assess physical education lessons. </p>
<p>So Nordic countries are aiming to <a href="https://www.ucviden.dk/portal/en/publications/status-paa-idraetsfaget-2011-spif11(357113ec-00ef-4df0-addb-8bfd21225b84).html">only use specialist physical education teachers</a>.</p>
<p>Specialist physical education teachers <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1356336X11402266">are also better at</a> motivating students to engage in physical education and physical activity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-grassroots-to-gold-the-role-of-school-sport-in-olympic-success-8849">From grassroots to gold: the role of school sport in Olympic success</a>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.activehealthykids.org/">Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance</a> <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/full/10.1123/jpah.2018-0472">recommends</a> all physical activity classes be delivered by specialist, tertiary-qualified physical education teachers. </p>
<p>However, a recent review by <a href="https://www.activehealthykidsaustralia.com.au/">Active Healthy Kids Australia</a> found <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.12751">no Australian states or territories</a> are meeting this recommendation.</p>
<h2>On the right track, but could do better</h2>
<p>The Australian national curriculum is on the right track in many ways. Gone are the harrowing days of waiting to be picked for a team, being made to run for punishment, and measuring children’s weight or skinfolds in front of the class.</p>
<p>The national curriculum emphasises enjoyment and participation in movement-based activities, positive challenges, leading to personal and social outcomes, intended to set children up for lifelong activity. </p>
<p>However, by failing to mandate physical education time each week, we risk physical education being “pushed to the periphery” and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1356336x07085708">losing out</a> to other priorities.</p>
<p>Australia could learn from the Nords by:</p>
<ul>
<li>introducing nationwide mandatory physical education policy that ensures every school in Australia schedules weekly classes as part of the core curriculum;</li>
<li>mandating every school in Australia delivers high-quality physical education through tertiary-trained physical education teachers for all students.</li>
</ul>
<p>Without these mandates, great things are happening in some schools. However, other schools are slipping through the cracks. It’s time to learn from the Nordic countries to ensure high-quality physical education for all. Because the right physical education can lay the foundations for an active lifestyle, for life.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kids-diets-and-screen-time-to-set-up-good-habits-make-healthy-choices-the-default-at-home-114827">Kids' diets and screen time: to set up good habits, make healthy choices the default at home</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112957/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carol Maher receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Pawlowski and Katja Siefken 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>Specialist teachers and hours of compulsory physical education a week are keeping Nordic school children moving. When it comes to physical activity, Australia could do better.Katja Siefken, Lecturer, University of South AustraliaCarol Maher, Associate Professor, NHMRC Career Development Fellow, University of South AustraliaCharlotte Pawlowski, Associate Professor, University of Southern DenmarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1145012019-04-03T10:48:35Z2019-04-03T10:48:35ZThe Trump administration’s attempts to defund the Special Olympics, explained<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267198/original/file-20190402-177163-1f9kr3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Special Olympics basketball clinic in Charlotte, N.C. in January 2019</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Hornets-Special-Olympics-Basketball/6165f87233c3438995677b59fbd53705/3/0">AP Photo/Chuck Burton</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government has long <a href="http://annualreport.specialolympics.org/financials">covered about a tenth</a> of the Special Olympics’ budget. This nonprofit that gives athletes with intellectual disabilities a chance to train and compete in a wide variety of sports gets most of the rest of its funding from charitable donations from <a href="https://www.specialolympics.org/about/partners/">foundations</a>, <a href="https://resources.specialolympics.org/Topics/Research/Program_Research_Toolkit/Visibility___Corporate_Partnering.aspx">corporations</a> and <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Special-Olympics-Largest-Private-Donation-318639701.html">individuals</a>. It spent a total of roughly US$150 million in 2017, the most recent year for which information is available, with the federal government’s portion totaling $15.5 million.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump’s first three proposed budgets, for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 fiscal years, would have broken that formula. Instead of the usual arrangement, his first three draft spending plans called for <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/highschool/2019/03/26/betsy-devos-funding-cuts-special-olympics-warranted/39260497/">giving nothing at all</a> to the Special Olympics. </p>
<p>But for the upcoming fiscal year, the organization anticipates getting $17.6 million from Uncle Sam. That’s because Congress ignored the president’s proposed budgets and provided uninterrupted funding for the <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/trump-administrations-special-olympics-cuts-never-chance">Special Olympics</a> during the administration’s first two years. Now, Trump has disavowed his own proposed cuts. </p>
<p>Over the past several years, I have gained an increasing understanding of and appreciation for the Special Olympics through collaboration between the organization and American University, where I am a professor and direct the <a href="http://www.idppglobal.org/">Institute on Disability and Public Policy</a>.</p>
<p>Based on my scholarship about <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YqJKLwYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">disability policies</a> around the world, I believe that stripping the program of federal funding would undercut the organization’s work: empowering <a href="https://www.specialolympics.org/about/our-mission">people with intellectual disabilities</a> by reducing the stigma and discrimination against them though their participation in sports.</p>
<h2>The Special Olympics</h2>
<p>This script changed abruptly when Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos told the <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/department-of-education-budget-request-for-fy-2020">House Appropriations Committee</a> in late March about proposed <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/28/18285360/betsy-devos-special-olympics-shriver-pocan">educational cuts topping $7 billion</a>, including ending all U.S. funding for the Special Olympics in the 2020 fiscal year.</p>
<p>Amid the <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/436216-kennedy-on-cuts-to-special-olympics-this-will-never-happen">bipartisan uproar</a> over DeVos’ proposed cuts, Trump changed his mind. He declared he personally opposed this line item from his own budget proposal. There’s a good reason for the fuss this budget debate stirred up: No other organization does what the Special Olympics does.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.specialolympics.org/about/eunice-kennedy-shriver">Eunice Kennedy Shriver</a>, a fierce defender of the rights of people with intellectual disabilities, founded the Special Olympics more than 50 years ago. Unlike the Olympics, which primarily holds global sports events every other year, the Special Olympics holds at least one competition somewhere in the world almost every day. Its year-round training and sports competitions serve over 5.7 million athletes in 174 countries worldwide, from <a href="https://www.specialolympics.org/programs/latin-america/argentina">Argentina</a> to <a href="https://www.specialolympics.org/programs/africa/zambia">Zambia</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Education Secretary Betsy DeVos refused to give any details about federal funding for the Special Olympics when she responded to questions from Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The role of philanthropy</h2>
<p>During her congressional testimony, DeVos did praise the Special Olympics. As she pointed out, she does support the organization with some of <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/14/devos-education-donation/110430930/">the salary</a> that she – a <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a13086194/betsy-devos-net-worth/">billionaire</a> – has waived.</p>
<p>But she also said at first that the philanthropic support the organization gets renders federal funding for the Special Olympics unnecessary. “The Special Olympics is an awesome organization, one that is well supported by the philanthropic sector, as well,” she told <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/28/18285360/betsy-devos-special-olympics-shriver-pocan">Rep. Mark Pocan</a>, a Wisconsin Democrat.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.apnews.com/9e4bf2732b0744a98192c923ac19f38e">DeVos reversed course</a> in a subsequent statement. “I am pleased and grateful the President and I see eye-to-eye on this issue and that he has decided to fund our Special Olympics grant,” she said. “This is funding I have fought for behind the scenes over the last several years.”</p>
<p>Her staff now say they sought to restore the funds before the proposed cuts became contentious, and they blame efforts to get rid of the funds on the <a href="https://www.abc-7.com/story/40222169/wh-budget-office-not-devos-pushed-for-proposed-special-olympics-cuts-official-says">Office of Management and Budget</a>, a White House agency that administers federal spending.</p>
<p>DeVos was wrong when she initially said that the Special Olympics didn’t need federal funding because charity provides the money it needs. Federal funding covers a very specific Special Olympics initiative, its <a href="https://www.specialolympics.org/our-work/unified-champion-schools">Unified Champion Schools</a> program. The program uses sports as a foundation to build a climate of acceptance by having children with and without disabilities <a href="http://www.playunified.org">play sports together in schools</a>. This program promotes social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities <a href="https://fusiontables.googleusercontent.com/embedviz?q=select+col6+from+1r7iMSTfn2-C_3__4eBDnyV6jyzh2dmXLjvvr22pt&viz=MAP&h=false&lat=45.940530610706396&lng=-59.62711314016417&t=1&z=3&l=col6&y=2&tmplt=3&hml=GEOCODABLE">across the country</a>.</p>
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<p>While philanthropic support does contribute to the Champion Schools program, especially at the local level, federal funding allows the headquarters organization to administer and oversee the program. </p>
<p>What might have happened without the media attention brought about by DeVos’ confrontations with lawmakers? It looks likely that Congress would have ignored this proposed cut for a third time. </p>
<p><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/436097-gop-senator-says-special-olympics-cuts-will-not-be-approved">Sen. Roy Blunt</a>, a Missouri Republican who chairs the Senate subcommittee that manages this segment of the budget, says he is a strong supporter of the Special Olympics. He has promised to protect its funding. </p>
<p>What’s more, this is hardly the only line item in Trump’s draft budgets <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/03/11/donald-trumps-budget-calls-billions-more-border-wall/3072621002/">Congress has been ignoring</a>. Nor is this the first time lawmakers have pushed back against many White House spending priorities.</p>
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<h2>Abdicating global leadership</h2>
<p>This proposed cut is only one of many the Trump administration has seemed to make <a href="http://time.com/5168472/disability-activism-trump/">people with disabilities</a> a low priority. But to be sure, <a href="https://specialedshortages.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Budget-Cuts-Survey-Press-Release.pdf">it’s not the first time</a> these concerns have arisen. In 2013, for example, a budgetary impasse forced an estimated $600 million <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/670/661444.pdf">reduction in special ed spending as part of the sequestration</a> process.</p>
<p>It’s also not the first time a White House has seemed insensitive about athletes with intellectual disabilities. President Barack Obama once <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7129997&page=1">inappropriately joked about being bad at bowling</a> by comparing himself to Special Olympics contenders. The difference between what happened next is stark.</p>
<p>Obama immediately apologized personally to Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver.</p>
<p>In contrast, after the administration tried to cut the budget, Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/28/politics/devos-special-olympics-durbin/index.html">blamed his underlings</a> and tried to <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-special-olympics-falsehoods-get-little-worse">take credit</a> for rescuing the Special Olympics funding that his own team jeopardized.</p>
<p>Current U.S. policies appear to be at odds with the nation’s historic role as a <a href="http://usicd.org/index.cfm/rightsnow">global leader</a> on disability rights. The United States was among the first countries in the world to pass legislation to support the multifaceted rights of people with disabilities, the landmark <a href="https://www.ada.gov">Americans with Disabilities Act</a>, or ADA, in 1990.</p>
<p>And American disability policies laid the foundation for and inspired the creation of the United Nations <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a>, a global treaty that 172 countries have ratified so far. The Obama administration signed the treaty but the Senate has not ratified it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derrick L. Cogburn has received funding from The Nippon Foundation of Japan to launch the Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP) and create a masters program on comparative and international disability policy. American University has a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Special Olympics, and Dr. Cogburn coordinates that relationship.</span></em></p>The White House proposed these cuts for three years in a row. That clashes with longstanding bipartisan leadership regarding rights for all people with disabilities.Derrick L. Cogburn, Professor of International Service and Professor of Information Technology & Analytics at the Kogod School of Business, American University Kogod School of BusinessLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/803282017-08-03T20:16:47Z2017-08-03T20:16:47ZWhen it comes to sport, boys ‘play like a girl’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180809/original/file-20170802-19483-9p7tje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Primary school-aged boys and girls can play in mixed teams until they reach high school, our research suggests.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/clappstar/6180090785/">Clappstar/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Girls in primary school are just as physically capable as their male classmates, according to <a href="http://www.neurology.org/content/88/16/1512">our research</a>, taking the sting out of the insult “you play like a girl”. </p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.neurology.org/content/88/1/36">we compared</a> primary school children’s physical capabilities, differences between girls and boys were not as important as people think. So, they should be happily playing with and competing against each other in the backyard, playground and sporting fields.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-the-toy-aisles-that-teach-children-about-gender-stereotypes-59005">It's not just the toy aisles that teach children about gender stereotypes</a>
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<p>As part of <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/health-sciences/research/1000-norms.shtml">wider research</a> to assess people’s physical capabilities across the lifespan, we tested 300 children and adolescents between the ages of 3 and 19.</p>
<p>We tested each child for over two hours, taking more than 100 measurements. These included measuring the strength of 14 muscle groups, the flexibility of 13 joints and 10 different types of balance. We looked at factors including hand dexterity, reaction times, how far kids could walk, how high and how long they could jump, as well as their gait.</p>
<h2>What did we find?</h2>
<p>Across all measures of physical performance, there was one consistent finding. There was no statistical difference in the capabilities of girls and boys until high-school age (commonly age 12).</p>
<p>Let’s use standing long jump (also known as a broad jump test) as an example. This provides a measure of your legs’ explosive power. It needs minimal equipment and the results <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/22648464">compare well</a> with the type of information you get from strength testing using expensive equipment. It’s also one of the tests would-be American NFL (National Football League) players take to <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2016/2/26/11103688/nfl-combine-2016-drills-broad-jump">impress talent scouts</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The standing long jump is a test football scouts use to assess explosive power.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found no difference between boys and girls before they turn 12 (see graph below). Every physical measure followed this pattern.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176537/original/file-20170703-22491-xxz453.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Before the age of 12, boys and girls do just as well as each other in the standing long jump.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do our findings compare?</h2>
<p>Other studies have had similar results. These have included ones testing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16876555">muscle strength</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17675356">walking</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21615494">jumping and balancing</a>.</p>
<p>However, it’s difficult to directly compare data from one study to another, as different studies have different sample sizes, include children of different age ranges, and assess different measures. For example, we were the first to use the timed stairs test and stepping reaction time to find what regular children were capable of.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22561975">Some</a> <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150041">studies</a> found differences in physical capabilities between primary school-aged boys and girls using the same types of tests we used. And others reported small differences in the jump height of boys and girls aged 6-17 years <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/205552770">but not</a> with the long jump.</p>
<p>These differences can in part be attributed to sampling methods that were limited to specific age ranges or locations and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873582/">socioeconomic backgrounds</a>, the latter potentially having a significant impact on physical health and activity. </p>
<p>By contrast, the children in our research were generally representative of the Australian population, using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics about socioeconomic status, ethnicity and body mass index. </p>
<h2>What do our findings mean for kids, coaches and parents?</h2>
<p>There is no consensus across schools or among different sports about mixed-gender sports for primary school children.</p>
<p>For instance, boys and girls compete separately in most local <a href="http://manlywarringahlittleathletics.org.au/program/">Little Athletics</a> after age five but field hockey can have <a href="http://www.nahockey.org.au/">mixed gender teams</a> until age 17.</p>
<p>And in tennis, primary school-aged girls and boys <a href="https://app.education.nsw.gov.au/sport/AppPage/Page/1002">play separately</a> in singles matches but can play against each other in mixed doubles.</p>
<p>Our findings support the push for boys and girls to compete in mixed sporting teams until the end of primary school, after which the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF03262292">hormonal changes of puberty</a> mean boys tend to perform better in sports and tasks requiring strength and speed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-sporting-nation-is-a-myth-so-how-do-we-get-youngsters-back-on-the-field-78186">Our 'sporting nation' is a myth, so how do we get youngsters back on the field?</a>
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<p>There are also some practical advantages to mixed sport in primary school and in weekend competitions:</p>
<ul>
<li>fewer scheduling conflicts for councils (allowing school and sport administrations to fit games more conveniently into busy sporting venues)</li>
<li>fewer clubs or organisations to share already stretched government and private sector funding</li>
<li>consolidation of coaching and manager talent, and most importantly </li>
<li>fewer parent-taxi drop offs.</li>
</ul>
<p>Perhaps perceived differences in physical capability between boys and girls are based on outdated gender stereotypes that appear at birth, when some boys are given their first footy and some girls their first doll.</p>
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<p>But whatever the origin of the idea young boys are physically more capable than young girls, the evidence is clear. Boys “play like a girl”, and that’s certainly no insult.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Burns receives funding from NIH (National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Inherited Neuropathies Consortium, Rare Disease Clinical Research Network #2U54NS065712), Charcot-Marie Tooth Association of Australia, Charcot-Marie Tooth Association (USA), Diabetes Australia, Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, New Zealand Neuromuscular Research Foundation Trust, Elizabeth Lottie May Rosenthal Bone Bequest and Perpetual Limited.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marnee McKay 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>Girls in primary school are just as physically capable as their male classmates, our research shows.Marnee McKay, Lecturer of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, University of SydneyJoshua Burns, Professor, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/761672017-07-05T12:07:45Z2017-07-05T12:07:45ZExercise can be punishing – but here’s how to stop thinking of it as a punishment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174054/original/file-20170615-23528-1esuc1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&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/silhouette-jogger-sunsetvintage-color-522073195?src=sgiTygjvKQ_qPU9iq6bF1Q-1-56">shutterstock/oranzyphotography</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The fitness industry is said to be worth <a href="http://www.leisuredb.com/blog/2016/5/11/press-release-2016-state-of-the-uk-fitness-industry-report">£4.4 billion</a> in the UK alone. But, despite medical research telling us that exercise will help us live longer, the majority of people do not engage with health and fitness. Could it be that exercise is still considered a punishment – as it was in Victorian prisons? Or do we just need to increase the fun and social aspect to exercise to get more of us working up a sweat?</p>
<p>Medical research suggests exercise is good for our health and will help us all live <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001335">longer</a>. But a report by the British Heart Foundation indicates that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39457993">20m</a> people living in the UK are physically inactive. To be considered active, the UK department of health recommends adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213740/dh_128145.pdf">week</a>. So it begs the question, why do close to a third of the country’s population struggle to meet this recommended amount of exercise, when doing so could prolong their life? </p>
<p>A reason why inactive people may not engage in enough exercise is because it is <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2016/january/one-in-ten-brits-admit-to-doing-no-physical-activity-in-the-last-ten-years">not perceived</a> to be a fulfilling or satisfying leisure pursuit. Other competing pastimes of a more sedentary nature, such as watching TV, reading and gaming, are seen by some as being more enjoyable. </p>
<h2>Exercise as punishment</h2>
<p>The treadmill was devised as a form of punishment for convicted criminals in the <a href="https://gloscrimehistory.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/on-the-treadmill-hard-labour-at-gloucester-prison/">Victorian era</a>. At this time, prisoners had to undertake long hours of hard labour by walking on treadmills to grind flour. This form of punishment was abolished in the late 19th century for being too cruel. </p>
<p>Exercise also has a long history of being used as a form of <a href="https://theconversation.com/punishing-students-with-exercise-is-reckless-political-posturing-23495?sa=pg1&sq=exercise+punishment&sr=2">correctional behaviour in schools</a>. Indeed in 2014 the then Conservative education secretary, Nicky Morgan, proposed to ban exercise being used in schools as <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2752761/Schools-barred-making-pupils-run-laps-punishment-Education-Secretary-orders-U-turn-using-exercise-disciplinary-measure.html">a form of punishment </a> for fear that it would put children off being active.</p>
<p>Given that exercise has a lengthy historical association with the use of discipline for the purpose of punishment and obedience, can 21st-century society ever be truly accepting of exercise as a leisure pursuit that can have personal fulfilment? At present, the high volume of inactivity levels in the UK suggests a large amount of people are not motivated to take exercise. Getting people to be more active, therefore, would require a shift in people exercising because they want to rather than having to. </p>
<h2>Making it social</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176905/original/file-20170705-6062-g92sgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176905/original/file-20170705-6062-g92sgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176905/original/file-20170705-6062-g92sgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176905/original/file-20170705-6062-g92sgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176905/original/file-20170705-6062-g92sgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176905/original/file-20170705-6062-g92sgi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176905/original/file-20170705-6062-g92sgi.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">A group training session.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daxiao Productions/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/events/2017/06/21/festival-ideas-workshop/">My research</a> explores the role of social psychology for the development of interventions that make physical activity a fulfilling pursuit for long-term condition sufferers. This is because social psychological science has consistently demonstrated that people are motivated to seek social connections in order to fulfil their psychological needs as human beings. For example, “<a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1995-29052-001">the belongingness hypothesis</a>” states that people have a basic need to feel closely connected to others.</p>
<p>So it is important people have positive social exercise experiences which enrich their quality of life and in doing so make the pursuit of exercise a more satisfying and worthwhile activity. This can be achieved by creating exercise environments that provide individuals with a shared sense of social connectedness, creating opportunities for people to form friendships, meaningful attachments and mutually supportive relationships. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-27545191/overweight-football-fans-train-at-top-clubs">the EuroFit programme</a> takes a unique approach for improving men’s health and fitness by allowing fans to train in the environment of a professional football club they support. <a href="https://www.letsride.co.uk/city-ride">City Ride events</a> are another example, where families and friends of all ages and abilities can enjoy cycling together through the streets of a vibrant traffic-free environment. Similarly, <a href="https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/health-wellbeing/exercise-fitness/walking-sports">walking sports</a> offer a social atmosphere of fun, laughter and camaraderie for those who may have difficulty participating in high impact activities. </p>
<p>Connecting people in dynamic and socially rewarding exercise environments has the potential to offset the drudgery often associated with exercise and make it a leisure pursuit worth doing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Levy 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>Try thinking of exercise as fun and something to enjoy with friends.Andy Levy, Reader in Psychology, Edge Hill 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.