Unpacking competition: On the possibilities of a minor sport

Abstract

In this article, I conceptualize defensive playing in table tennis by analyzing it from the viewpoint of affective philosophy (Deleuze and Guattari, 1986, 1987). The spatial and emotional aspects of the atmosphere of such play are investigated through an autoethnography of company table tennis. By using my ownbody as an “instrument of research” (Longhurst et al., 2008), I practically evoke and feed on the tension between modern competitive sport and “sport for all” (Eichberg, 2010). It is suggested that the defensive stance in table tennis might be seen as a trajectory toward a “minor sport” (Deleuze and Guattari, 1986, 1987), i.e. as a mild resistance to the competitive ethos of sport.