Sport In South Africa Research Articles

Incipient special interest tourism: Sea angling as recreational sport in South Africa

Literature on special interest tourism has been expanding over the past 25 years. Although the growth of research interest and scholarship is relatively recent, the phenomenon of special interest tourism is not new and many of its forms enjoy a long history. Nevertheless, most existing international scholarship concentrates on contemporary issues. Against this background the aim is provide an alternative historical perspective on special interest tourism. Archival sources are used to analyse the evolution of sea angling as a recreational sport and incipient form of special interest tourism in South Africa. Arguably, sea fishing was a tourism asset and contributed to coastal resort development. In addition, as far back as the 1920s and 1930s tourism promotion in South Africa related to potential opportunities linked to special interests such as coastal recreational fishing.

Origins of non-racial school sport in South Africa

This article explored the political-organisational origins of non-racial school sport in South Africa. The focus was on identifying key role players and events of this particular history. It begins with a presentation of political-historical themes of resistance and accomodationism in South African education during the 1950s and 1960s. Next, it proceeds with a historical layout of the formation of the South African School Sports Board. This was an ineffective organisation steeped in conservative politics and was accused by its detractors of collaboration with the Apartheid state. After its demise, the South African Senior Schools’ Sports Association and South African Primary Schools Sports Association emerged. These two organisations proved much more effective than their predecessor. The article concludes by showing how school sport organisations provided learners and teachers national participation opportunity, despite limitations on participation imposed by the Apartheid regime.

Editorial

Editorial

Non-Racial Sport in South Africa: A Documentary Analysis of the Struggle for International Recognition, 1946–1971

This paper traces a historical trajectory of non-racial sport development in South Africa from 1946 to 1971. The year 1946 has been selected because of a letter that was sent by a South African black weightlifting federation to its international counterpart, thus kick-starting a post-Second World War sport resistance movement. Official minutes of South African sport federations, from across the political spectrum, are used to extract voices about an evolving non-racial movement. In addition, these minutes are supplemented by newspaper accounts and secondary source materials. A terminating date of 1971 concludes the study, as it marks one year from the formation of the Conference of National Non-Racial Sports Organisations. This paper thus provides a descriptive recovery of significant voices between 1946 and 1971 that were involved in the creation of a South African non-racial sport movement, a movement that would be recognized internationally.

Implications of COVID-19 for resumption of sport in South Africa: A South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA) position statement - Part 2.

The lockdown regulations due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) that broke out towards the end of 2019 and continued to spread throughout most countries in the world had a negative effect on the sporting community. The South African government eased the lockdown rules to Level 1 from 21 September 2020. In Part 2 of this Position Statement of the South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA), the authors address the position regarding the safe return to sports for athletes who were infected by the virus. An update on clinical manifestations and multi-organ involvement, testing for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), prolonged positive real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the role of quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in informing return to sports, grading of disease severity, individualised management of infected athletes and graduated return to play guidelines (GRTP) is provided. The authors also share thoughts on athletes with disabilities, immunisation, the using of masks during exercise and utilising biologically safe environments (BSE). Finally the SASMA Guidelines for Safe RTP in Level 1 lockdown during SARS-Cov-2 are introduced.

Implications of COVID-19 for resumption of sport in South Africa: A South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA) position statement - Part 1.

The significant impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has extended to sport with the cessation of nearly all professional and non-professional events globally. Recreational parks and fitness centres have also closed. A challenge remains to get athletes back to participation in the safest way, balancing the protection of their health while curbing the societal transmission of the virus. With this Position Statement, the South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA) aims to guide return-to-sport as safely as possible, in an evidence-based manner, given that COVID-19 is a new illness and new information from experts in various fields continues to emerge. Clinical considerations are briefly described, focusing on a return-to-sport strategy, including education, preparation of the environment, risk stratification of sports and participants, and the practical implementation of these guidelines. The management of the potentially exposed or infected athlete is further highlighted. It is important that persons charged with managing athletes' return-to-sport in any environment must be up-to-date with local and international trends, transmission rates, regulations and sport-specific rule changes that might develop as sport resumes. Additionally, such information should be applied in a sports-specific manner, considering individual athlete's and team needs and be consistent with national legislation.

Framing a 21st century case for the social value of sport in South Africa

Following recent global stakeholder configurations, policy frameworks and strife for multi-levelled and agency policy coherence within the Sport for Development and Peace sector, the Kazan Action Plan (2017) calls for evidence-informed decision-making though building a case for sport in playing a part in sustainable development as envisaged by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As Sport and Recreation South Africa is in the process of updating the 2009 Case for Sport and Recreation document it is deemed timely that academic discourse of evidence production should be addressed. This paper provides a synopsis of robust evidence around the social impact of sport relating to global strategic imperatives emanating for UN agencies (particularly UNICEF and UNESCO), regional and national public sport structures. Contextual realities further present a filter for relevant data and arguments to capture a meaningful body of knowledge from which decision-makers can draw significant insights. The social role of sport within national government priorities in South Africa features phenomena related to nation-building, cohesion and social transformation with relevance to the ‘panacea proposition’ of sport. The methodological rigor, critical scrutiny, programme theories and the complexity of layering realities should drive the profiling of an evidence base that would also serve a decolonised approach towards theory-building.

Troubling stereotypes: South African elite disability athletes and the paradox of (self-)representation.

Despite the increasing prominence of competitive disability sport, the literature on the experiences of disabled athletes, particularly in low- and middle- income countries, is sparse. We aimed to describe the participation experiences of a group of athletes in competitive disability sport in South Africa, as well as exploring the ways they talk about issues of identity and self-representation in the context of elite disability sport. Data were collected via in-depth, semistructured interviews with a purposefully sampled group of 22 athletes competing at a national level. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants reported that disability sport is personally transformative and that sport allows them to experience their bodies as capable and to feel a sense of pride. Participant narratives reinforced supercrip discourses and both reproduced stereotypes and challenged them. Participants experienced pride and social inclusion by reproducing aspects of supercrip discourse. The findings imply that participating in competitive disability sport can reinforce stereotypes about disability by strengthening supercrip discourses while simultaneously providing a context for internal personal transformation and private political struggles.

Country profile: sport in South Africa

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to provide a complete understanding of the sport policies in South Africa (SA) with regard to mass sport for recreation involvement and the elite sporting system created to develop high performance athletes. In the subsequent sections, various specific contextual factors which may influence the sport policy implementation in SA will first be defined.. Furthermore, a synopsis will be presented on the post-Apartheid sport policies and the imperative emphases outlined in each. A description of the organisation of the stakeholders in both mass and elite sport will be provided, and the sport-funding stream allocations to both portfolios will be illustrated. Lastly, the article ends with a discussion on the emerging issues and concerns of sport policy and sport in SA.

Hetero-sexing the athlete: public and popular discourses on sexuality and women’s sport in South Africa

Hetero-sexing the athlete: public and popular discourses on sexuality and women’s sport in South Africa

The relationship between sports sponsorships and corporate financial returns in South Africa

The relationship between sports sponsorships and corporate financial returns in South Africa

Trends in time-loss injuries during the 2011-2016 South African Rugby Youth Weeks.

Youth rugby is a popular sport in South Africa (SA) with a high injury incidence. The annual SA Rugby Youth Week tournaments attract the top age-group players in the country providing a sample of players for reliable injury surveillance. The aim of the study was to analyze the changes in time-loss injury rates at the SA Rugby Youth Week tournaments between 2011 and 2016, differences between age-groups, and to investigate associated injury risk factors. All confirmed time-loss injuries at the 4 age-group tournaments (under-13, under-16, and 2 under-18) from 2011 to 2016 were recorded. Injury incidence densities (IID) for years, tournaments, and injury risk factors were calculated and Poisson regression analyses were performed to determine differences. Time-loss injuries (n=494) were reported over 24240 exposure hours, with an overall IID of 20.4 (18.6-22.2) injuries per 1000 player hours. The year 2013 had a significantly lower IID compared to 2011. Injury risk decreased with increasing age; under-13 and under-16 had significantly higher IID compared to under-18 Craven Week. Tackling was the phase of play at highest risk, with an IID of 7.4 (6.3-8.5) injuries per 1000 player hours. Central/peripheral nervous system (CNS/PNS) and, therefore, the head/neck were the most commonly occurring injuries/location injured. In conclusion, within the SA Rugby tournament structure, the older players had a decreased rate of injury. The tackle event was still the phase of play with the highest injury incidence regardless of age. This increase in incidence is largely due to an increase in CNS/PNS injuries.

Power, Ideology and Sport in South Africa: A Narrative of Racial Hegemony

In the Gramscian notion of hegemony, the ideological and cultural domination of one class over another in society is achieved by engineering consensus through the control of all cultural forms. Regulatory control in society is an important socio-political mechanism to establish hegemony. In South Africa during the apartheid era, the state and civil society very effectively controlled all cultural forms, including sport, to establish a system of informal and formal separateness (apartheid). From 1948, the National Party had dominated all sources of power that would allow the apartheid regime to exert their racial policies on the broader society. The governing party ability to exert ideology and power was determined by its control of the available sources of power. In this regard, the apartheid regime had control over and access to most power resources in the country, which enabled them to dominate and subject the racial majority in the country. This allowed the state the opportunity to impose the system of apartheid on the broader society and to control sport as a cultural outlet. The aim of this article is to explore the various development patterns of athletics, within the broader ambit of the establishment of a racial hegemony in South Africa.

State of sport in South Africa: Questions that need answers

Editorial - No Abstract

Influence of Outlook towards Work on Entrepreneurial Potential of Professional Sport Coaches in South Africa

Abstract One of the ways to effectively address unemployment and revitalise the economy is through the rediscovery of the entrepreneur who takes risks, breaks new ground and innovates. Entrepreneurship therefore needs to be embedded into the basic fabric of society. Sport in South Africa has moved from being amateur-focused to being professional-focused, resulting in an increase in the number of professional sport coaches in the sport industry. Furthermore, heightened competition for coaching positions has intensified the volatility of coaches’ jobs as well as their job security. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to explore the influence of outlook towards work on the entrepreneurial potential of professional sport coaches in South Africa. A quantitative research approach was adopted for the study. This involved the administration of questionnaires to 200 professional sport coaches. Frequencies and percentages were used to report on the data. In addition, a one-way between-groups analysis of variance was conducted to investigate the impact of level of outlook towards work on entrepreneurial potential. The results indicated that sport coaches with high levels of motivation, aptitude and attitudes towards work have higher levels of entrepreneurial potential. Sport coaches who possess a positive attitude towards work, are knowledgeable about entrepreneurship and are motivated to excel may be more likely to achieve long term success than those who do not possess these qualities. Therefore, sport coaches who have these qualities should take advantage of this and embark on entrepreneurial ventures to escape the uncertainty associated with sport coaching.

Examining the Relationship Between Selected Human Resources Practices in Professional Sport Coaching

Sport in South Africa has grown into an attractive mega-industry that employs many people. Among the different human resources in a sport organisation is the professional sport coach whose job is multi-faceted. The coach plays an important role in helping the sport organisation in achieving its goals and objectives. The management of professional sport coaches requires human resource managers to implement a range of human resources management functions. Among these are recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation, job security and labour relations. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the afore-mentioned functions in sport coaching. The study utilised a quantitative research approach. Four hundred questionnaires were administered to professional sport coaches drawn across from all nine provinces of South Africa. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version-22). Frequencies and percentages were used to report on the demographic variables and Pearson correlations were used to examine the relationship between the selected human resources management functions. A positive practical relationship with a large effect was found between recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation, labour relations and with a medium effect with job security. A positive practical relationship with a medium effect was found between training and development, compensation and a large effect between training and development, job security and labour relations. A positive statistical significant relationship was found between compensation, job security and labour relations. The results indicated that all functions need to be considered in the management of professional sport coaches. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n13p54

Aids Pandemic: Traditional Practices Increasing Risk of HIV Infections in South Africa

Traditional bare-knuckle fist (boxing without protective gloves and mouth guards) fighting practices in South Africa may constitute a subtle route of HIV/AIDS spread. The fighters without protective barriers are exposed to the blood products and body fluids of each other during such tournaments. Little or no study exists about the knowledge and perceptions of the bare-knuckle fighters on the risk of acquiring HIV infection during such sport in South Africa. Methods: Focus group discussion with participants and interviews with organizers were conducted to determine the knowledge and perceptions on risk for HIV infection and the motivating factors among the fighters. Results: It was found that the fighters have inadequate knowledge about possible HIV transmission during such bouts. Apart from fun and entertainment, upholding ancestral tradition was a strong factor for participation in bareknuckle fighting. Conclusion: The knowledge and perceptions on HIV infections among the fighters appear inadequate. They rely on protective power of” muti” (magical wands, powder and herbs) against injury and HIV infections. There is a need for multifaceted approach to prevent possible spread of HIV and other blood-borne infections among the fighters and its ripples effect on the community.

Changing the world: sport, racism and law in South Africa and Malaysia

An important function of a nation’s sport is to provide means of health and social cohesion. The objective is to be inclusive (internal function). This worthy objective causes tension, however, when juxtaposed with international sports competition (external function), because competitive sport at all levels is inherently elitist. In Malaysia, the development of the law indicates that sport was not acknowledged to serve any significant internal or external function. National policy to redress social inequities had a largely consequential effect on sport. Sport was deemed to be little more than another social institution subject to affirmative action policies. As a result, sport was a weak driver for social change. Sport in South Africa has had a significant internal and external impact on the development of the nation. It has a vital function in social cohesion and played significant part to play in the development of political policy and law. Internally the dismantling of apartheid in sport was a catalyst for the dismantling of apartheid generally. This article maps the development and interaction among sport, racism and law within these two countries. It reveals how international sports status is a product of law and a complex interrelationship between history and politics.

Evaluation of Alpha Theta training on neurophysiology, mood, mindfulness, health and spirituality

The aim of this small scale study was to evaluate changes in consciousness, with special reference to neurophysiology, mood, mindfulness, health and spirituality, related to an alpha theta training programme of five sessions. There were 6 participants, 4 men and 2 women with mean age of 43 years and age range of 26 to 63 years. The training programme was associated with significant improvements in energy, mindfulness and spirituality and related trends in neurophysiology and health. Integrated qualitative and quantitative findings provided partial support for the alpha theta intervention as a training tool in clinical, health and sport psychological contexts, especially with regard to participants’ psychometric data. Results are discussed with special reference to health and sport in South Africa. Keywords : Alpha Theta training, meditation, neurophysiology, mindfulness, mood, health, spirituality, sport.

State of sport in South Africa: Questions that need answers

Editorial - No Abstract