Sport Participation Patterns Research Articles

A Niche-Based Evaluation of Sport Participation Patterns

This research examines the competitive niche positions of 36 sports and fitness activities reported in an American Sports Activities 1993 tracking study. The article discusses the advantages of viewing competition from an ecological niche perspective and presents a measure of competitive resource overlap (CRO) used in marketing for measuring niche breadth and niche overlap. The empirical study presents an intuitive mapping of the sports market and calculates the niche breadth and niche overlap for each sport. Managerial implications for sporting goods manufacturers, advertising agencies, corporate sponsors, fitness consultants, and other professionals interested in participant sports markets are given.

Early and Later Life Sport Participation Patterns among the Active Elderly in Japan

To better understand the historical pattern of sport participation in Japan, two active elderly groups—Masters athletes and senior university students—were compared. Research findings suggest that Masters athletes perceive sport as serious and competitive, and their previous sport participation leads directly to their sport participation in later life. On the other hand, senior university students are more likely to perceive sport as a playful leisure pursuit. For them, leaving and reentering sport is not uncommon. This paper presents eight possible patterns of lifelong sport and exercise participation that should be considered when designing marketing programs to recruit elderly participants, and when developing programs to meet the needs of a heterogeneous older population with a variety of beliefs, attitudes, and experiences in sport and exercise.

Whose game is it anyway? The cultural analysis of sport and media consumption

Abstract This article presents work towards a critical sociology and a cultural analysis of sport, developing as the fullest example an interpretation of shifting patterns of power in English professional football, in the context of wider patterns of sports development and participation. The impact of selected work of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (at the University of Birmingham, England) is reviewed, and located with regard to some of its major formative influences and more recent critical responses to the work of the Centre. The application of a critical cultural analysis to a phenomenon such as the Olympic Games is outlined, and the methodological strengths of a critical sociology of consumption as a variant of cultural analysis are used to illuminate recent changes in sports and professional football in England

Sporting Lives: A Case Study of Leisure Careers

Abstract This article analyses the sport biographies, and current levels and patterns of participation among a sample of 1679 adults from six United Kingdom cities, of whom 1387 were initially contacted through user surveys at sports facilities, plus a more representative sample of 606 residents in inner-Belfast. The authors argue that lifetime patterns of sport participation and non-participation are shaped by much the same influences, and exhibit similar features to careers in other leisure activities. Moreover, the processes that lock-in long-term sport participants and exclude others are similar to those that operate in occupational careers. The findings show that sport participation declines with age, but so does the give-up rate, so loyalty among those who continue to be sports active actually increases. There is evidence in the United Kingdom of an increase in sport activity in the 50-plus age group among individuals who remain sports-active into this life-phase. Social class inequalities in sport ...

Evolution of the Concept of Sport and the Participation/Nonparticipation Phenomenon

This paper deals with the evolution of the concept of sport and the changing sport participation patterns in Europe. The concept of sport has evolved under the influence of the “Sports for All” philosophy. The entire Sports for All campaign has helped open up the definition of sport. Its borders have been shifted, both for participants and scientists. There are now more sports than ever, and more physical activities are considered sports. Sport participation is a result of a complex set of factors: facilities and organizations, patterns of sport socialization, personal motivations, and also the current changes taking place in society. In this discussion, special attention is paid to the relationship between sport socialization and sport participation patterns.

Survey of wheelchair athletic injuries: common patterns and prevention.

Twelve hundred wheelchair athletes were surveyed to determine commonly experienced athletic injuries, sports participation and training patterns associated with injuries. Soft tissue trauma, blisters, lacerations, decubiti and joint disorders were the most commonly reported injuries of the 128 respondents. Over 70 per cent of all reported injuries occurred during wheelchair track, road racing and basketball. Common mechanisms of injury were also identified. A significantly higher number of reported injuries were associated with increased sports participation (p less than 001), with the 21-30 year-old age group (p less than .01), and with a high number of training hours per week (p less than .05). There was no significant relationship between number of reported injuries and disability type, National Wheelchair Athletic Association classification, or sex. Decubitus ulcers and temperature regulation disorders were identified as particular risks for the spinal cord injury population. Educating the athlete and coach in means to prevent injury is necessary to promote optimal performance and safe participation.

Sport Participation across the Life Cycle: A Review of the Literature and Suggestions for Future Research

To provide baseline information for future studies pertaining to sport participation and aging, this paper summarizes the literature on sport participation patterns across the life cycle, briefly describes the importance of analyzing aging as a social process, and argues that alternative theoretical frameworks including a life-span developmental perspective should be utilized in future studies. The paper also introduces a number of theoretical and methodological issues that should be addressed concerning research in this area, and raises a variety of research questions that must be pursued in order to better understand sport phenomena from a life cycle perspective, especially during the middle and later years of life.