Sport System Research Articles

Validation of the Sport Motivation Scale-II: Implications for the Portuguese Youth Sport System

Based on the tenets of self-determination theory, the Sport Motivation Scale-II is an 18-item instrument that consists of six subscales. Despite the numerous studies that have been conducted using self-determination theory in organized youth sport contexts, measures available to assess self-determined forms of motivation across socio-cultural contexts are scarce. This is particularly important because there are socio-cultural contexts that have diverse reward systems, competitive structures, and convey different social norms, values, and cultural nuances. The existence of measures available to assess self-determined forms of motivation across socio-cultural contexts may enable the development of a robust knowledge base that informs research-to-practice partnerships and potential changes across a complex youth sport landscape. The present study aimed to validate the factor structure of the Sport Motivation Scale-II with a sample of 239 Portuguese adolescent athletes. The participants’ ages ranged between 12 and 17 years old ( M = 14.39; SD = 1.35). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to achieve the aim of this study. Findings showed that the six-factor model used by the authors presents a good adjustment concerning sports participants’ level of motivation toward sports practice. Moving forward, the Sport Motivation Scale-II may be used in future studies to help provide an understanding about athletes’ self-determination. Several practical and theoretical implications are provided.

A Study on the Ethnic Games of the Dimasas in Assam

Games and sports are an essential part of human life. It can be considered as an intangible cultural heritage of a community. The field of sport and culture refers to the values, ceremonies and way of life characteristics of a given group and the place of sport within that way of life. Like the concept of society, the notion of culture is widely used in the sociological, anthropological and historical study of sport. It encourages the researcher and student to consider the meanings, symbols, rituals and power relations at play within any particular cultural setting. Traditional sports and games as a specific part of the global sport system may engender the notion of old, exotic and endangered cultural manifestations, but to some extent that is only the outsider´s view on an extremely widespread and interesting sub-group of sports, which can be analyzed from different perspectives relating to sociological, anthropological or cultural sciences. Different tribal groups of India also have some of their own traditional games and sports, which reflect their cultural identity and means of recreation and entertainment in leisure time. In Assam the cultural heritage of the Dimasa Tribe has its own resemblance. They are primarily dwelling in the Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao district of Assam. They are autochthones of the region and they have multiple traditional cultures of their own and some unique ethnic games and sports as well. In this paper an attempt has been made to focus on the various ethnic games of the Dimasas. The studied people of these villages are very much aware of their folk cultural traditions, particularly of their ethnic games and sports. This paper is an attempt to discuss about their different ethnic games; as well as the significance of such ethnic games among the concerned people, with a special reference to their emerging problems and prospects.

Embedded, Embodied, Enculturated, and Enabling Processes: The Identification and Evaluation of Sporting Talent by Ice Hockey Coaches in Norwegian Youth National Teams

Elite sports systems are characterized by structured attempts to identify, select, and develop talented athletes and to increase the likelihood that athletes will achieve future international success. Studies of such systems have focused mostly on the procedures and measures that are intended to improve talent identification, but less attention has been given to the crucial role of coaches. The aim of this case study is therefore to explore how coaches of Norwegian youth ice hockey national teams identify and evaluate sporting talent within these structured settings. The data were generated using nine semistructured interviews. These interviews included questions about how coaches identify talent and discussions about four hypothetical examples of ice hockey players, each with specific histories and skill sets. Building on recent developments in motor learning research, we contend that coaches identify and select talent using embodied (rather than entirely rational or cognitive) processes. These approaches are embedded in the ebb and flow of situated sports performances, and shaped by the broader and unique cultural settings in which they are situated. The results of this study show that talent identification and evaluation of sporting talent cannot, and should not, be separated from the subjectivities of the coaches themselves or from their individual preferences. The implications of this study for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

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.

Study on the Development Path of Cultural, Sports, Tourism and Education Integration in West Sichuan in the Context of High Quality Development of Regional Economy Supported by Big Data

Abstract West Sichuan has long been affected by factors such as geographic location, transportation conditions, economic base and political and economic marginalization, resulting in a general lag in economic development. Based on the mechanism of coordinated development of culture-sports-tourism-education, this paper constructs the evaluation index system of coordinated development of the four systems. Using the TOPSIS entropy weight comprehensive evaluation method can measure the development index of each system of culture, sports, tourism and education in western Sichuan, and using the coupled coordination degree model GWR spatial analysis method, the spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics of the integrated and coordinated development of culture-sports-tourism-education in the four regions of western Sichuan, namely, Ya’an City, Aba Prefecture, Ganzi Prefecture, and Liangshan Prefecture, are studied. The results show that the education subsystem in western Sichuan has the largest increase from 0.258 in 2008 to 0.573 in 2022, indicating that western Sichuan has continued to strongly support education in recent years. However, it is also found that the region with the largest change is Aba Prefecture, with an increase of 0.287, and the smallest is only 0.112, which shows that there is a certain degree of variability in the development of the regions in western Sichuan. This study analyzes the development status and characteristics of the regions in western Sichuan, which is of guiding significance for the construction and development of these regions.

The ongoing struggle for legitimacy: the case of an unsanctioned community sport organization

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore how one unsanctioned community sport organization (CSO), AM Hockey, sought to acquire legitimacy in a highly institutionalized minor hockey marketplace at various points in its organizational life cycle.Design/methodology/approachThis study was guided by instrumental case study methodology. Twenty (20) AM Hockey stakeholders from a variety of roles (e.g. executives, program directors and coaches) were interviewed. Document analysis was also utilized to supplement the interviewees. Internal and public documents reflective of the CSO's creation and growth were obtained.FindingsFindings revealed that the CSO had to navigate distinct phases of evolution including the Building, Growth, Competition and Stabilization phases. Although the four life cycle phases identified in this study share similarities with the phases identified by Lester et al. (2003), findings indicated that institutional work mechanisms must be understood in their context as they can vary over the life cycle of an organization. Therefore, start-up sports organizations must approach the pursuit of legitimacy as a continual process rather than something acquired and defended through maintenance work.Originality/valueDeveloping legitimacy remains a central challenge for CSOs that seek to deliver alternative sport programming, yet it continues to be understudied. Ultimately, the long-term viability of an unsanctioned CSO in a federated sports system relies, in part, on its ability to continually determine the actions needed to achieve legitimacy within its environment.

Research on Youth Physical Education Management System Oriented by Big Data Technology

Abstract Based on the SQL Server2000 database, this paper integrates the advantages of C/S and B/S structure to develop a sports management system oriented to big data. The system includes three parts: teaching resource management, operation management information and quality and evaluation management. Which focuses on the design of the resource management system based on the recommendation algorithm, combined with the linear regression model as well as the user rating to construct a waterfall combination recommendation model to realize the recommendation of sports teaching resources. After the system was configured, the performance of the system, as well as the application, was tested and its usability investigated. Faculty members’ opinions on the system and student usage results were included in the tests. The tests showed that 88.75% of the faculty members were satisfied with the functionality and usability of the system, and only 9 of the 80 faculty members who participated in the tests expressed dissatisfaction. Two people expressed dissatisfaction with functional testing, and 11.25% of the faculty members expressed dissatisfaction with the interface design. Students who selected courses according to the recommendations improved their evaluated performance by 3.1 points in the step test, 39.30% in the standing long jump, and 7.36% in the forward bend. Based on the test results it was proved that the system functionality meets the needs of faculty and youth.

Dis(abling) conceptions of disability sport: An analysis of institutional change in the Paralympic movement through the lens of boundary and practice work

Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to 1989, this paper advances our understanding of how new organisational forms emerge. Our historical narrative identifies a shift from the Games born out of a medically based and rehabilitative cultural ethos to a sport-performance centred, corporate model embodied in the establishment of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989. We show how the interactions between boundary and practice work enabled and, at times, ‘dis-abled’ the creation of the IPC. Heeding calls to refocus on how institutional change affects, or is affected by, power and inequality, we contribute to business history mainly by unveiling the collective struggle that led to the demise of a normative system of disability sport built upon the legitimacy of medical values and knowledge, and how evolving norms underpinning the way disabled people are viewed within society have influenced this process of change.

Student–Athletes’ Academic and Athletic Motivation Scale (SAAMS) for adolescents in secondary school: development, evaluation, and psychometric properties

Previous dual-career (DC) research focused on measuring student–athletes’ motivation in the academic and athletic contexts. Existing measurement instruments are insufficient for adolescent student–athletes and countries with independent education and sport systems. The Student–Athletes’ Academic and Athletic Motivation Scale (SAAMS) was developed based on the expectancy–value framework (EVF) with its dimensions ability beliefs, expectations, importance, interest, usefulness, and cost. The development of the SAAMS followed three phases: (1) item development, (2) scale development, and (3) scale evaluation. The initial version was tested with 346 student–athletes (mean age = 17.3 years; females = 47.7%). A revision phase resulted in a final SAAMS tested with 497 student–athletes (mean age = 17.0 years; females = 42.9%). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for the evaluation. Several models were tested with the best results for a six-factor model as assumed by the EVF. The SAAMS is suitable for an extensive range of research and practical applications.

The underrepresentation of women in sport leadership in South Africa.

The lack of representation of women in sport leadership, despite global movements and policies that have found some traction, is a persistent, unremitting challenge globally, and especially in South Africa. This study aimed to explore the intersections of gender and sports ideology and its impact on gender (in) equity in the South African context. The study draws on African feminist theories and perspectives as a conceptual framework. Twenty-eight interviews with prominent administrators, gender activists in sport, and practitioners from the sport-for-development sector and thematic document analysis provided qualitative data for the generation of three main themes relating to: (i) norms and values; (ii) male resistance; and (iii) agency. The results of the study show minimal traction on changing patriarchally informed cultural beliefs towards women with men as gatekeepers and masculinity framed for leadership attributes in most sports. Within an African feminist viewpoint, gender justice is multilayered and the inclusion of women within a holistic environment of shared decision-making and equitable resource mobilisation and distribution cannot be achieved through advocacy alone but necessitate the mainstreaming of a gender agenda to meaningfully address transformative change of sport systems and practices.

EFEITOS DA REDUÇÃO DA POBREZA NO COMPORTAMENTO ESPORTIVO E NA CONSCIÊNCIA COGNITIVA

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the factors that cause poverty and the impact of rural sports facilities on the level of public education in eight poverty-stricken municipalities. Method: Literature review and field research methods were used. Results: An in-depth analysis of the relationship between poverty, behavior, and consciousness was also performed. The study concluded that there was a certain relationship between the change in sports behavior and the occurrence of poverty. Poverty will cause a lack of people’s ideology, but the positive attributes of sports can give people a sense of competition in life, which can help to change poverty. The change in sports consciousness can lead to the change in sports behavior. . Poverty can affect people’s sports behavior and sports consciousness. Conclusion: In the future, poverty alleviation should be taken as the breakthrough point to arouse new and higher social attention through changing behavior and consciousness, improving the service value system of sports from multiple levels, and establishing a quantifiable sports model. Level of Evidence II; Systematic Review.

The polarizing politics of breaking’s inclusion in the Olympics

As nations across the world incorporate breaking into their national sports systems in anticipation of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the new dancesport classification has resulted in a number of tensions and possibilities among dancers. The increased support from state governments and commercial sponsors in recent years has noticeably impacted dancers and their prospective careers. While this development has been promising in some countries, a range of disparities has become apparent across the globe, particularly in relation to funding, stipends, salaries, and contracts from state agencies or local DanceSport organizations. This disparity between the global north and south is becoming more pronounced in the lead-up to the Olympics. This creates a contradiction our issue explores: on the one hand, the Olympic opportunity is a sign that breaking is thriving around the world, while on the other, the resources required to participate successfully will, as ever, favour the globally powerful. Furthermore, the articles and statements in this issue seek to situate the Olympic project’s impacts on the dance, particularly in terms of colonizing mindsets, misogyny and unequal power relations more generally.

Beyond Reconciliation: Calling for Land-Based Analyses in the Sociology of Sport

This article examines the possibilities engendered by land-based analyses within the sociology of sport. We examine how “Canada’s” Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action on sport reproduce a logic of social inclusion, one which assimilates Indigenous athletes and Peoples into settler models of sport. To consider epistemological tools for unsettling settler sport systems, we turn to critical Indigenous scholarship on land-based analyses and pedagogies. To illustrate the possibilities of land-based analyses, we examine lacrosse, an Indigenous sporting practice with roots embedded in relational interconnectedness with the land. A land-based approach to sport offers opportunities for revising the assumptions, values, and ethics underpinning settler models of sport through, for example, emphasizing the importance of community, healing, and land stewardship.

Study on the Optimization Path of Community Sports Operation and Service in China under the Background of Continuous Population Aging

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to serve the national strategy of significantly increasing per capita healthy life expectancy, reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality, and improving health literacy by constructing an integrated community-based middle-aged and old-aged physical education and sport service system in the context of China’s aging population.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - Based on the theory of structural functionalism and through literature references, expert interviews, questionnaire surveys, mathematical statistics and other methods, a comprehensive service system for middle-aged and old-aged sports is fully demonstrated and constructed with the in-depth integration of the government, community, sports, and recreation and health care to cope with the status quo of a continuously aging population.
 Findings - This paper concludes that the construction of community sports comprehensive service system for the middle-aged and the elderly fits the development concepts and practical needs of “treatment of the future disease” and “integration of sports and recreation”, and realizes the value co-creation of community sports and recreation in four functional needs. On this basis, the optimization path of community sports operation and service is proposed.
 Research Implications - In the process of building and operating a comprehensive community sports service system for the middle-aged and the elderly, it is necessary to give full play to the positive roles of government-led, community-based and social participation, and to absorb and integrate favorable resources from all walks of life, so as to effectively build a community of integrated development of comprehensive sports services.

新时代背景下大学生素质教育发展性评价体系构建研究

This article focuses on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important exposition on education and the spirit of the National Education Conference, based on “simultaneous development of five educations”, fully exploring the elements of the “Three Complete Education” and “Ten Education” systems, and building a “six-dimensional integration” developmental evaluation system of quality education for college students. The development evaluation system of college students can comprehensively evaluate the quality of college students from six dimensions: moral education, intellectual education, physical education, aesthetic education, labor education, and ability. It enables educators, students, parents, and society to pay more attention to the all-round development of students, and provides a way to improve the comprehensive development of college students, providing support for improving quality and cultivating innovative talents. Among them, the indicator system of moral education includes three indicators: values, moral quality and psychological quality; the evaluation of intellectual education is usually carried out through students’ academic achievements; the indicator system of sports includes body shape indicators, physical quality indicators, sports skill indicators and health-related indicators; aesthetic education It includes four dimensions: aesthetic understanding, artistic skills, artistic creation and participation level; labor education includes labor attitude, labor skills, labor habits and social responsibility; the construction of college student ability index system includes academic ability, practical ability and communication and cooperation ability.

К вопросу о развитии научно-исследовательской деятельности в студенческом спорте: обзор научных публикаций за период с 2000 по 2022 год

In accordance with the Concept of Student Sport Development in the Russian Federation until 2025, one of the priority directions is the improvement of scientific and methodological support of the subjects of the student sports system. In the context of scientific and methodological support of student sport it is significant not only to intensify research in this area, but also to match the direction of the research with the key tasks of student sport development. In order to form approaches for the development of the research studies taking into account priority directions of student sports development, the authors have carried out and systematized 8083 papers on student sport and physical education of students. The papers were published in scientific journals and materials of research conferences for the period from 2000 to 2022 and placed in scientific electronic library. Based on the results of the study, the authors identified key trends in the development of scientific research activities in the field of student sports. The authors formed a model of interaction between the department of physical education and other structural units and organizations to expand the directions of scientific research.

Public management of sport: a description and comparative analysis of the organizational structure in Brazil and Portugal

This article delves into the public management of sports policies in Brazil and Portugal, relying on a descriptive and comparative analysis of the organizational structures adopted by the two countries. The study takes the form of descriptive-analytical research employing a qualitative approach with an exploratory scope. The employed methodologies encompass bibliographic review and documentary analysis. The primary objective was to describe and conduct a comparative analysis of the public management of the national sports policies in Brazil and Portugal, using the organizational structures in the sector as a benchmark, up until 2022. The findings reveal that both countries share a history of tethering or subordinating sports to various realms of state activities. This aspect could be interpreted as indicative of institutional fragility, highlighting a diminished political legitimacy of the sector and a lesser integration into the governmental agenda. Distinguishing between them, a noteworthy discourse revolves around the establishment of a national sports system. This system delineates competencies, responsibilities, and modes of interaction. In this regard, the Portuguese context appears to make more significant strides compared to the Brazilian scenario. Keywords: public management; sport; comparative analysis; organizational structure; public policy

Gender and socioecological level differences in stakeholders' perceptions of athlete attrition factors in an Australian high-performance pathway system

ObjectivesThis study aimed to build on previous work by the authors. It examines how socioecological level and gender influence high-performance sport system (HPSS) stakeholders' perspectives of the relative importance and feasibility to address athlete attrition factors within an Australian high-performance pathway system (HPPS). DesignMixed methods. MethodsSub-analysis was conducted of rating data from 30 participants who had contributed to identifying 83 statements in 13 clusters in a previous Concept Mapping study. The 13 clusters were statistically analysed in ‘R’ using cumulative link mixed models (CLMMs) to determine differences in perceived importance and feasibility between 1) socioecological levels, and 2) genders. ResultsMean ratings for 11 and three of the 13 clusters were statistically significantly different between at least two of the five socioecological levels, for importance and feasibility, respectively. Athletes had the largest variation in mean ratings from the most (athlete health 4.59), to least (performance potential 2.83) important cluster, when compared to the other four socioecological levels. There were statistically significant differences between the ratings between genders (Men/Women) for two clusters for each rating scale: Importance: ‘athlete health’ (M3.33:W3.84 [p 0.012]); ‘performance potential’ (M3.35:W2.57; [p 0.001]), Feasibility: ‘abuse and mismanagement of health’ (M2.97:W3.68; [p 0.000]) and ‘athlete health’ (M2.54:W3.33; [p 0.000]). ConclusionsThis study highlights the need to implement more robust athlete attrition monitoring protocols. It also highlights the importance of listening to youth athletes' voices, and enabling equal gender representation to ensure holistically tailored environments are created to retain talented athletes in high-performance pathway programmes.

Fighting the system: Psychology consultants’ experiences of working with cases of maltreatment in sport

The aim of this study was to obtain a nuanced, in-depth insight into sport psychology consultants’ (SPCs’) experiences of working with cases of maltreatment in sport, and their practice recommendations to address this behavior. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five HCPC-registered SPCs in the UK. Data were analyzed in line with the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four group experiential themes emerged, centered around the participants searching for meaning, fighting the system, ingrained acceptance, and tackling the problem of maltreatment in sport. Specifically, the participants referred to how the sporting context influenced their understanding of maltreatment. They also discussed the inherent difficulties with reporting this behavior, and a lack of support in this process, whilst also alluding to how sporting institutions normalized abusive practices in pursuit of performance outcomes. To address the issue of maltreatment in sports, the participants discussed a variety of recommendations including organizations being accountable, the need for organizations to be more representative, and for SPCs to work with contextual intelligence. The findings from the present study provide important implications for sporting organizations, SPCs, and the professional bodies who support practitioners around the need to further understand maltreatment in sport, and to tackle this issue. Lay summary: In this study, SPCs shared their experiences of how they understand maltreatment in the sporting context. They also discussed their battles with the sporting system, and how maltreatment can be inherent to sports culture. These findings provide valuable insight into how maltreatment can be tackled in sport.

Theoretical and methodological aspects of the development of speed and strength abilities in athletes at the initial stage

Relevance. The main problem lies in the fact that there is a need to raise the results of the national team and further improve athletics in the country, but the resolution of this issue is not possible without increasing the productivity of training young athletes, which should be based on improving the system of sports training.The purpose of the research presented in the article was to study the theory of methodological aspects of the development of speed and strength abilities in athletes at the initial stage.Organization and methods of research. When considering the basic properties of speed and strength abilities, one of the main places is occupied by strength. Among the many forms of development of speed and strength qualities, jumping exercises are considered the most effective.The results of the study and their discussion. Based on the scientific literature, we found out that the speed and strength qualities of athletes at the initial stage need to be developed during the maturation period and developed in conditions of high intensity of exercise. The main and more effective method for the development of speed and strength qualities is the shock method, while special physical exercises of local and global impact on muscle work are used.Conclusions. The management of the training process involves the study of various aspects of the athlete's special preparedness in order to organize training at subsequent stages in accordance with the individual characteristics of those involved. The theory and practice of athletics is multifaceted and is in constant development.