International Sports Competitions Research Articles

Competitive effectiveness of Kazakhstani athletes specializing in Greco-Roman wrestling in the international sports arena

Despite the great popularity of Greco-Roman style wrestling and the success of Kazakhstan athletes in the international sports arena, there is no in-depth analysis of the competitive performance of our athletes at major sports competitions in the literature available to us. The purpose of the study was to analyze the performances of Kazakhstan Greco-Roman wrestlers at major international competitions. Such research methods as analysis of literary sources, analysis of protocols of performances of Kazakhstan athletes at international competitions, analysis of profiles of Kazakhstan athletes in the International Wrestling Database were used. Analyzing the performances of Kazakhstan Greco-Roman wrestlers at such major international competitions as the World Cup and the Olympic Games, we can conclude that their competitive performance has decreased. In recent years, the share of gold medals in the medal standings of the national team has decreased and the share of bronze medals has increased. Kazakhstan Greco-Roman wrestlers are one of the regular participants of major international sports competitions. During the entire period of participation, Kazakhstan athletes at international competitions have won 12 medals of the European Championship, 43 medals of the World Championship and 16 medals of the Olympic Games. However, in recent years there has been a decrease in the competitive effectiveness of our athletes at major international competitions, including the Olympic Games.

Classification of athletes with disorders of mental and physical development

The article reveals the problematic issues of selecting athletes with mental and physical disabilities to participate in official all-Ukrainian and international Paralympic sports competitions. It has been established that the solution to this problem prompts the study of the peculiarities of the classification of athletes with mental and physical disabilities in order to allow them to compete. It has been proven that one of the best means of strengthening mental and physical health is physical education. For people with disabilities, this is an adaptive sport, which is aimed at the formation of athletic skills in people with mental disabilities and their achievement of high results in various types of sports. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the classification of athletes with mental and physical disabilities according to the existing international rules for specific types of sports. The minimum classification standard for admission to competitions in athletics, table tennis and swimming for athletes with mental and physical disabilities has been developed, intended for national application level during the all-Ukrainian qualifying and final competitions, All-Ukrainian Spartakiade among children with disabilities “Believe in yourself”, Ukrainian table tennis championships and cups in accordance with the Virtus guidelines. The minimum classification standard takes into account the specifics of the procedure of psychological classification of athletes with mental and physical disabilities which is carried out on the basis of current documents and Virtus recommendations. The minimum classification standard allows to algorithmize the classification procedure of athletes with mental and physical disabilities taking into account its crucial importance for determining the right to participate in competitions.

How Countries Compete for Success in Elite Sport: A Systematic Review

The ‘Global Sporting Arms Race’ is the term that describes the competition among different countries to succeed in international sports competitions. The development of that peaceful competition determines two outputs: an increase in soft power at the international level and a promotion of the national identity and social impact. It means increasing the level of influence that the countries obtain internationally as a cornerstone of the concept of a sporting nation with a proud and healthy population. In order to explain the factors involved in the success of a sports system at the elite level, a systematic review was carried out based on the PRISMA protocol in the databases Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. The findings of the study show that the factors that determine success at the international level have received increased attention, as shown by the number of publications since 2010. The results indicate the following research factors: (1) it was observed that most researchers tend to carry out comprehensive analyses with a holistic perspective, while the UK, Australia, Canada, and Spain carry out segmented analyses; (2) Olympic sports—especially athletics—were the most analysed; while in non-Olympic sports, those with social influence predominate in countries, such as netball; (3) the analysis of meso and micro factors is preferred over macro factors; (4) quantitative studies are preferred through the analysis of primary sources, such as official reports; and (5) the economic variable is the most common input, with medals reached at the elite level being the most used output to check the correlation or significativity of the results.

THE PHENOMENON OF AFRICAN RUNNERS

The advantage of athletes representing the "black" continent is obvious in track and field running competitions, especially in middle-distance, long-distance and marathon running. A quarter of a century has passed since African runners created an "atmosphere of invincibility" at international sports competitions. In many scientific studies, attempts to identify the phenomenon of the results of African runners in running competitions at various distances have been made. The purpose of the study is to identify the dominance of the strongest middle-distance and long-distance runners and marathon runners from African countries over runners from other regions of the world. The research results have reveal that the participation of runners of both sexes in all endurance competitions in all regions over the world has the following picture in percentages: a) men: Africa - 55.16, Europe - 19.66, North America - 13.38, Asia - 6.8, Central and South America - 1.44, Australia and Oceania - 3.56; b) Women: Africa - 35.2, Europe - 25.3, North America - 21.48, Asia - 12.92, Central and South America - 1.58, Australia and Oceania - 3.52.

Dilemma of Competitive Equality: Transgender vs Cisgender Athletes in Women's International Sports Competition

This research aims to solve the human rights issue of the participation of transgender female athletes in international sports competitions in the women's division. The existence of transgender female athletes yields two perspectives: inclusivity as a human right for transgender female athletes and unfair competition for cisgender female athletes. This issue occurs due to the physiological advantages possessed by a transgender female athlete from the high level of testosterone they have, which creates unfairness in sports competition for cisgender female athletes, and the policies of international sports organizations that exclude the participation of transgender female athletes who have experienced puberty to take part in international sports competitions. Several controversial cases have sparked debate in the international community, such as the Tiffany Newel case in the running competition and the Lia Thomas case in the swimming competition; both are female transgender athletes who won sports competitions in the women's division. Although a transgender individual already has inherent human rights regulated through international law, these rights could not be a basis that overrides the rights and freedoms of other people. In this case, the right to equal and safe competition for cisgender women. The solution to this problem is to develop an 'open category' which aims to ensure the participation of all world athletes in sports competitions regardless of gender or gender identity.

Footballing journeys: migration, citizenship and national identity

ABSTRACT Sport, in particular football, can provide a useful means through which to explore the related issues of migration and national identity. Sports stars migrate from one country to another often mirroring patterns of more widespread migration from periphery to core. Such movements are influenced by a range of factors. In an increasingly commercialised and globalised sport, the exploration of footballers’ roots and the routes they take feeds into a consideration of issues of place identity and belonging. In international sporting competition, competitors don the national colours, sing the anthem and “fly the flag”, and in doing so become the embodiment of the wider imagined community. Traditionally those who compete for countries have usually been born and raised there or have lived there for sizeable periods of their lives. In recent years, however, the selection by international sports teams of competitors born in other countries has become increasingly common. The use of these footballing examples provides insights into migration, diaspora, citizenship, globalisation, and the multi-layered and contingent nature of national identity. Sport can offer a useful means of illuminating these various geographic themes and socio-spatial processes, thereby rendering them more accessible and interesting to students.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE "UNIFEHT" UNIVERSITY STADIUM DURING THE MILITARY AGGRESSION IN THE CITY OF KHARKIV

The issue of reconstruction of the destroyed stadium "Unifecht" of Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin in the city of Kharkiv during the military aggression by Russia is the subject of research of this article. Unifekht Stadium was the training base of Olympic fencing champions, it was here that world champion Dmytro Karyuchenko, multiple champion of Ukraine Maksym Hvorost, and world champion Olena Voronina mastered the art of rapier. The article examines the proposal of a draft project for the restoration of the "Unifecht" stadium, carried out by the project organization "Institute "Kharkivproekt" on a charitable basis. "Kharkivproekt" Institute has experience in preparing Ukrainian stadiums for international sports competitions. During the Euro-2012 European Football Championship games in Ukraine and Poland, this organization carried out the reconstruction project of the "Metalist" stadium in Kharkiv. Such experience helps to introduce new functional changes and take into account modern requirements during the reconstruction of the destroyed stadium. European requirements and domestic legislation, norms of design and construction of sports facilities are taken into account, factors affecting the complex reconstruction of the stadium are considered. The article describes the work experience and proposals of Ukrainian architects regarding the restoration of a destroyed object under the conditions of martial law in Ukraine. Keywords: sports facilities, multifunctional stadium, reconstruction.

Features of the legal status of sports federations in Ukraine

Introduction. Sport is an autonomous system that includes a huge array of various public sports organizations connected by complex relationships, the central place among which is occupied by sports federations. The purpose of the paper is to determine the specifics of the legal status and areas of activity of sports federations in Ukraine. Results. Results. The Law of Ukraine "On Physical Culture and Sports" provides for the delegation of powers for the development of the relevant sport, organization and holding of official international and all-Ukrainian sports competitions on the territory of Ukraine, etc. to public associations of physical culture and sports orientation. At the same time, it is difficult to talk about the complete autonomy of sports federations, since the sports federation, among other things, ensures cooperation with the structural units of local state administrations and local self-government bodies regarding the development of the respective sport; agrees with the Ministry, relevant local bodies of executive power and local self-government bodies on the issue of holding international sports competitions on the territory of Ukraine; implements and demands the same implementation from its members of the decisions of the Ministry, relevant contracts with local executive bodies in the field of physical culture and sports; submits a report on the use of budget funds in case of financial support from the state budget to a sports federation for the development of a sport, organization and holding of sports events; is obliged to submit a report to the Ministry on the state of implementation of the cooperation agreement, etc. every year. The peculiarity of the legal status of sports federations in various sports is that they can be created only as non-commercial organizations. At the same time, sports federations can independently or through legal entities created by them carry out entrepreneurial activities, if such activities are not their main activity and correspond to the purpose for which they were created and contribute to its achievement. Conclusion. The legal status of sports federations is hybrid. On the one hand, they are accountable to the central body of executive power - the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and on the other hand, they are autonomous and independently determine the directions of their activities, including: organization and holding of competitions; approval of internal documents and their implementation; implementation of the system of certification of clubs, coaches and other specialists in the field of sports; establishment of institutions, enterprises and organizations to achieve their statutory goals and objectives, participation in civil-law relations, acquisition of property and non-property rights; determination of the mechanism for resolving sports disputes.

NATIONAL ANTHEM SINGING AT INTERNATIONAL SPORT COMPETITIONS: DOES THE DISCOURSE AGAINST KIMI GA YO AFFECT THE JAPANESE YOUTHS?

This paper aims to discuss the view of Japanese youths on the discourse against Kimi ga Yo, especially in the setting of international sport competitions. It is a qualitative-research that uses the open model survey technique to obtain the primary data from the Japanese youths aged 20 to 22. The result of this paper shows that the discourse against Kimi ga Yo does not implicate towards the youths’ view in the present days of Japan. It also highlights the youths’ ignorance on the literal meaning of the lyrics and their emphasis on the function of Kimi ga Yo as a national anthem.
 Keywords: Kimi ga Yo, critical discourse analysis, Japanese youths

REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL SPORTS COMPETITIONS AND SIGNIFICANT SPORTS BUILDINGS IN UKRAINE

The article is devoted to the review of international sports competitions. The article is devoted the research of the peculiarities of the formation and functioning of sports facilities in Ukraine. The conceptual apparatus of the research has been studied. It was determined that modern sports complexes are a set of sports facilities of universal purpose, the construction of which is carried out according to a single project documentation. It has been established that they are large-scale structures, which are distinguished by originality and non-standard constructions and forms, in which complex design, technical and engineering solutions are implemented. The complex also includes outdoor playgrounds, athletics playgrounds, and outdoor water sports objects. Such buildings and complexes are intended for holding various sports events. An analysis of the domestic experience of the formation of sports buildings and complexes in the urban environment was carried out. The main international sports competitions are considered. The coverage of the main sports events and the analysis of the formation of significant sports facilities in Ukraine made it possible to determine that the modern stage is characterized by the active implementation of multi-functionality and transformation methods, universality and saturation of sports facilities with engineering infrastructure and high-tech elements. The peculiarities and directions of the formation of sports objects in Ukraine are revealed. Specificity, methods of formation of modern sports complexes are determined. Based on the analysis of the formation of domestic sports objects, the main modern requirements for their improvement have been determined. A number of modern requirements for improving the methods of operating sports facilities and complexes and increasing the efficiency of their use have been determined. The algorithm of the conceptual approach to the improvement of sports facilities and complexes in the structure of the urban environment is revealed. Keywords: architecture, sports competitions, sports objects, urban environment.

Current issues of the implementation of the right to protect state symbols in sports activities

This article is devoted to current problems of protecting the right of the state to use state symbols (anthem, flag) within the framework of international sports and other events. The subject of the research is to consider the right to perform the national anthem, display the national flag and other symbols through the prism of the state’s intellectual property. The current position of the Russian Federation on the international sports and political arena raises the question for the legal community of the need for legislative regulation of the state's intellectual property rights to state symbols. The authors analyzed the current positions of international organizations in the field of sports regarding the participation of athletes from the Russian Federation in international sports events. The subject of the study is also international legal acts related to the holding of international sporting events and regulations of international sports organizations and federations (IOC, FIFA, UEFA). The legal system, both at the national and international levels, should be structured in such a way that international sports organizations do not have the right to ban the performance of the national anthem and the using of the national flag by a country participating in international sports competitions, because such a ban is a violation of the state's right to identity. The bans imposed by foreign organizations and judicial institutions on the Russian Federation as sanctions are presented by the international community as a compromise for the admission of Russian athletes to participate in international sports competitions in a neutral status, however, from a legal point of view, this approach requires reconsideration. The authors proposed amendments to a number of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation: the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Motor racing and sports tourism in the interwar period: the case of the Romanian Royal Automobile Club

Members of the Romanian elites encouraged various leisure and sporting activities from the late nineteenth century but most notably from the turn of the twentieth century onwards and during the post-WWI period. Some even become sportsmen and sportswomen recognized both nationally and internationally. Their participation in national and international sporting competitions (e.g. equestrian sports, motorsport, tennis, bobsleigh, sledging, skiing, ice-skating, ice-hockey, boxing, rugby and football) expanded to its highest level in the interwar period. Many intriguing and compelling aspects of the history of sport in south-east Europe in this period remain to be explored, and this article aims to show how the Romanian Royal Automobile Club (R.R.A.C.) promoted motor racing and sports tourism during a period of great changes for Romanian society. Moreover, the club fulfilled a significant public service role, unusual for a sports association, assisting the Romanian state in its process of nation building, elite integration and economic advancement.

Analysis of the results of the speech of the football team "Mercury" in modern conditions

The article presents the results of the analysis of the features of the features of the competitive activity of the football team "Mercury" of the University in modern conditions. For the team, the tasks of the sports season are often solved, depending on the level of football matches: improvement of tactical structures of the game, level of physical and functional preparation, technique of specialized movements, interactions between players, tactics of conducting a competitive match, determination of the main team structure, development of a strategy for participation in the next match. The features of competitive activity depend on the amount of physical activity and the complex impact on the expression of physical skills; it is possible to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the physical preparation of football players. The effectiveness of psychological training of football players provides a good game, positive interaction in competitive activities. The team of higher education students worthily represents our country at national and international sports competitions of different levels and at sports student forums. Always focused on the team play, on the result and with their small victories they bring closer to the most significant victory of the whole Ukraine. The analysis of the peculiarities of competitive activity showed that there is a necessity always determines the main directions of the training process, which allows adjusting the management system of sports training of the football team "Mercury". The football team at the university in modern conditions is provided with all the important conditions for performing in competitions.

Legal regulation of sports in Ukraine: globalization challenges

The article is devoted to the analysis of globalization challenges in the field of legal regulation of sports in Ukr aine.Legal regulation in the field of sports has a complex nature and concerns many complex aspects, is modified and improved in accordance with the information environment and global сhallenges of today. It was established that sport is a uniquephenomenon that requires two-level legal regulation: national and global. International sports law can be applied by national bodies, federations and courts. The legal regulation of national and international sports competitions has become extremely complex and has entered a new era that creates a fertile ground for the creation and development of a broader legaljurisprudence with potentially wide impact and application. Evolving sports law has a significant impact on the development of international and domestic law, forms a body of substantive legal doctrine ripe for analysis from a comparative lawperspective, and has important implications for global dispute resolution.Physical activity and sport have been proven to be essential for improving health and well-being in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.Three key aspects of global challenges in the field of legal regulation of sports are singled out: the transformation of the legal understanding of sports law, which occurs in connection with the emergence of new types of sports activities, whichmust be regulated; the rapid commercialization of sports threatens to hinder the primary purpose of sports activities, so the sports sector develops rules that try to maintain a competitive balance between participants; the formation of human somatic rights into a complex field, which leads to a change in ideology, where the human body is an axiological property and external factors, including the legal policy of the state, must treat bodily rights with dignity.

A draw for Flemish nationalism: Institutional change and stability in the Belgian sport system

AbstractThis article combines insights from historical institutionalism with the literature on ideational policy change to explain why Belgian sport institutions like the national football team appear as outliers in the story of the country's unidirectional move towards a decentralised federal state. It shows how Flemish nationalist ideas drove the asymmetrical decentralisation of the originally unitary Belgian sport system. On one hand, mechanisms of gradual institutional change led to the complete decentralisation of public sport policy. The Flemish government consequently has the authority and means to generate symbols and policies that boost Flemish identity through sport, while no comprehensive policies can be developed at the federal level for instrumentalising sport to build Belgian identity. On the other hand, mechanisms of institutional stability including vested interests, strong veto players and Flemings' dislike of secessionism prevent the full decentralisation of the Belgian non‐governmental sport governing bodies. This implies that Belgium continues to be represented in international sport competitions as a nation and that sport can thus also be employed to create and sustain Belgian alongside Flemish identity. Sport therefore contributes to sustaining the Flemings' dual Flemish‐Belgian identity, which ultimately stands in the way of a fully autonomous Flemish state.

ПРОТИВОДЕЙСТВИЕ ПОЛИТИКЕ НАДНАЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ ИНСТИТУТОВ ПО ДИСКРИМИНАЦИИ РОССИЙСКОЙ СПОРТИВНОЙ ДИПЛОМАТИИ

The purpose of the article is to analyze the actions of external actors to discriminate against domestic sports diplomacy and to determine the priorities for countering illegal sanctions against the Russian Olympic movement. Since 2015 Russian athletes have been subject to restrictions on their right to participate in international sports competitions. After the start of a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, the number of restrictions on Russian athletes can be called unprecedented in the history of world sports and the Olympic Games. The research methodology is based on the use of resources of event analysis, content analysis, general scientific methodology. Countering the imposed restrictions and returning the fullness of international sports participation should be the main goal of the sports diplomacy of the Russian Federation in modern conditions. To achieve this goal, Russia retains a number of tools, the complex use of which can provide a solution to the problems of relations between the IOC and our country. As a result, it was found that among the tools to neutralize illegal sanctions, sports and judicial measures will be of paramount importance: turning to international sports arbitration, expanding Russia's participation in regional sports federations and organizations, and putting forward initiatives to reform the management of the IOC. The necessity of adopting conceptual documents that define the strategy of the country's sports diplomacy in the context of the escalation of international relations is substantiated.

Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), procedural justice, and athletes’ appeals in developing countries

The kinetic energy that goes into sports competition is healthy and dynamic and should promote goodwill between nations. There is a presumption that sports politics impinges on the judgments of the sports adjudicating body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), in determining appeals in their rulings on the validity of results in international sports competitions. The CAS system for arbitration has rules that follow the lex loci arbitri and its procedures conform to the Swiss Private International law in appeals to the Swiss Federal Tribunal for athletes. The jurisdiction of CAS has to conform to the principles of natural justice when appeals from athletes who have disputes with international sports federations are brought to its attention. This is of particular concern when the national federations of developing countries are involved in sanctioning or supporting athletes who have encountered discrimination. The research question in this paper is whether the CAS exercised procedural justice when the adjudication process involved athletes who had been banned from competition and if the rulings were in accordance with fairness and impartiality. The recourse to the European Court of Human Rights, Article 6.1, has been in sharp focus and the judgments of the court on public hearings and the role of quasi-tribunals need to be structured in accordance with natural justice. This paper argues that the CAS process should increase the scope of procedural justice by granting a fair hearing and by being seen as bias free.

The Role of Perceived Sports Competence and Sport Anxiety in Determining Self-Talk in Elite Athletes

The purpose of our research was to investigate the role of sport anxiety and perceived sports competence in determining the utilization of self-talk in elite athletes. Fifty six female (X̅age=24.62±3.40) and 65 male (X̅age=24.50±6.50); a total of 121 (X̅age=24.56±5.28) athletes who have at least three years of competitive experience and have previously represented Turkey with the national athlete title at international sports competitions were voluntarily participated in the study. Participants were given a personal information form along with the sports competence subscale of the physical self-description questionnaire which was developed by Marsh Richards, Johnson, Roche and Tremayne (1994) and adapted into Turkish by Marsh, Asci and Marco in 2002; the sport anxiety scale which was developed by Smith, Smoll, Cumming and Grossbard (2006) and adapted into Turkish by Akyol, Altintas, Sezer and Asci in 2016; the self-talk questionnaire which was developed by Zervas, Stavrou and Psychountaki (2007) for the purpose of determining athletes’ self-talk forms and was adapted into Turkish by Engur in 2011. After exploring a normally distributed data, the hierarchical regression analysis was used to determine the role of sports competence and sports anxiety in predicting the athletes' self-talk types. As a result of the research, statistically significant differences in both sports competence and self-talk usage levels were found between groups according to sport type and a statistically significant relationship was found in predicting motivational self-talk for both competition experience and sport type.

Militarizing politics of recognition through the Invictus Games: post-heroic exalting of the armed forces

The Invictus Games is an international sporting competition involving military veterans who have become either wounded, injured or sick during their service. Having become a prominent event in the public sphere of participating nations that are drawn from Western security alliances, this article outlines results from a thematic analysis of Australian media surrounding the 2018 Sydney Games. While reporting of the Games included the use of cultural frames that reflect traditional symbolic relationships between sport and war, the data reveal new military–civilian discourses drawn from identity politics and focused on cultural recognition. These discourses emerge through the Invictus Games by (1) disability providing a cultural basis to demand greater respect for contemporary veterans and military service; and (2) empowerment narratives of rehabilitation being symbolically connected to participants’ reengagement with their former military identity. Institutional problems central to rising political activism amongst contemporary veterans did not feature in the media coverage. It is argued that the Invictus Games illustrates the need for sociology to conceive of militarization in more multidimensional ways, appreciating both the prominence of a civilian–military gap in contemporary culture and how various social actors in Defense utilize post-heroic narratives in seeking to redress this cultural divide.

Safety of International Professional Sports Competitions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Association Football Experience

Major sporting events were suspended during the most acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Competitions are resuming with enhanced hygiene protocols and altered mechanics. While risks for players and staff have been studied, the impact of large-scale tournaments on the communities that host them remains largely unstudied. CONMEBOL Copa América is one of the first wide-scale international tournaments to be conducted in its original format since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament saw 10 national teams compete in four Brazilian cities during a period of heightened viral transmission. The analysis of over 28,000 compulsory PCR tests showed that positive cases did not lead to the uncontrolled spread of the disease among staff and players. More importantly, the data indicate that locally hired staff were not exposed to increased risk while working. The Copa América experience shows that international sporting competitions can be conducted safely even under unfavourable epidemiological situations.