Sports Associations Research Articles

Early Dropout of Children and Youth from Sports – International Perspective and Societal Backgrounds

Sport and physical activities of children are essential in forming their health, personality, society and other factors which affect their future life either directly or indirectly. Their life attitudes are shaped by experience, and one of domains that can be affected in them for ever based on positive or negative experience is physical activity and relation thereto. Significance and awareness of this societal problem currently lead to activities which are to support sports and physical movement of children and youth. Efforts focused on the prevention of early dropout of children from sports are in the interest of kinanthropological research studies, national children’s sports support programmes where the issue often becomes part of political and programme statements of governments, civic and non-profit organizations and sports associations. In spite of all these efforts, however, we still face a massive dropout of children from sports, which is not replaced with an adequate alternative physical activity. Consequences of the negative, and sometimes even toxic experience with physical activity at early age lasts until adulthood, which brings a range of personal, health and social problems. Possibilities for reducing the phenomenon consist in systematic work dealing with the support and improvement of coaching procedures which will be focused more on the needs of children and diverted from the traditional perception of coaching education focused primarily on the needs of coaches, on the building of positive relationship with parents as partners in the process of physical education of children, and on extending the range of physical activities for children also in the environment of non-competitive sports.

Perceived Threats through COVID-19 and the Role of Organizational Capacity: Findings from Non-Profit Sports Clubs

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced non-profit sports clubs to shut their doors. As a consequence, neither sports activities nor social gatherings could take place for an indefinite period. This situation poses potential risks to sports clubs as clubs could lose members, volunteers, and revenue. The purpose of this study is to investigate how strong clubs have been affected so far by COVID-19 and which capacities help or hinder clubs in dealing with the crisis. (2) Methods: The study is based on large-scale primary data (n = 4295) collected among German sports clubs in autumn 2020. Three fractional regression models are applied to examine which organizational capacities are related to potential threats caused by COVID-19. (3) Results: Clubs perceive the risk of losing members as most threatening, followed by the challenge of retaining volunteers. Potential financial threats are perceived as smaller by clubs without their own sports facilities and paid employees. (4) Conclusions: Overall, sports clubs with a strong solidarity culture seem to be affected less by potential threats through COVID-19. To become more resilient to unexpected external influences, capacity building in specific areas of sports clubs should be considered. Support from public institutions and sports associations is needed.

A descriptive prospective study of sports medicine practices for athletes in Uganda.

Many international sporting organizations have recommended practices to reduce the risk of injury. These practices include screening for injury, having appropriate emergency medical care, and protocols for managing injury before return-to-play. The extent of the uptake of these practices in a developing country such as Uganda, is unknown. Using a descriptive case study approach, this investigation focused on a sample of injured athletes (n = 75) in Uganda from four main sports associations (football, athletics, basketball and rugby). The data were collected through observations and interviews after the injury. Using a best medical practice framework the phases of emergency, intermediate, rehabilitative, and return-to-sports participation were described. Nine conditions/types of injury were included. The results revealed a lack of specific pre-season screening or return-to-play readiness for all the injured athletes. Further, there was a lack of application of best practice principles for most of the injury types. For athletes who received medical care, the results show inconsistencies and inadequacies from the acute stage of the injury to return-to-sports participation. This study identified barriers such as up-to-date knowledge among the sports resource providers; the gaps for appropriate and adequate specific facilities for managing injured athletes, and policies to mandate care of injured athletes. These barriers detract from applying best medical practices.

Dog bites and attacks on athletes: lack of effective prevention mechanisms.

Athletes who train in public places in urban and rural areas are just as attacked and injured by dogs of known owners as they are by dogs with no owners, in a relatively equal proportion. The largest number of bites occurs in the summer, what makes up half of all bites, just when sports activity is most pronounced. Athletes who are most often exposed to potential attacks and bites are cyclists, long-distance athletes, marathon runners, recreational athletes, etc. both during training and competitions. Off-road cyclists are at a significantly higher risk of dog attacks because cycling takes place off-road, that is, away from urban areas. Dog attacks can adversely affect the psycho-physical readiness of athletes. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there have been no cases of injuries to athletes recorded by competent medical institutions or umbrella sports associations. It is necessary to work on more efficient administration (registration and recording of attacks and bites of dogs). It is of utmost importance to educate athletes on dog behaviour, the reasons for their aggressive behaviour and causal mechanisms of dog attacks as well as the first aid education, what can have a great impact on reducing further complications.

Does Reduction Mammaplasty for Treatment of Macromastia Play a Role in the Functionality and Performance of Female Athletes?

Women’s sports are on the rise, with an increase in enthusiasts, viewers, and, most importantly, participants. Female athletics has made remarkable strides, gaining traction with media coverage and with professional sports associations implementing increased salaries to their athletes. With the women’s sports world ascending, the number of female athletes finding a passion in sport is swiftly growing. From 2017 to 2018, a total of 216,378 female athletes competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), making up 44 percent of the student-athlete body nationwide. Women’s teams tallied 54 percent of NCAA teams in the country 1. However, with an increase in female participants in athletics, this indubitably opens the discussion of macromastia and its consequences within this population. Macromastia is an issue for many women and is associated with a variety of complaints, such as musculoskeletal pain,2 as well as psychosocial effects, including depression and decreased self-esteem.3 Macromastia and its effects are well known to female athletes. This may subsequently discourage women from participating in sports. For those who decide to pursue sports regardless of their symptomatology due to macromastia, important questions arise. Do female athletes with macromastia experience a reduction in functionality and performance compared with female athletes without macromastia? If so, what role can reduction mammoplasty play in this population? Reduction mammaplasty has been shown to ameliorate symptoms related to macromastia.2,4 Studies have evaluated the relief of symptoms in macromastia patients following reduction mammaplasty. Many studies report improvement in discomfort and pain postoperatively.2 One study focused on pulmonary function before and after reduction mammaplasty. Maximum voluntary ventilation, peak expiratory flow rate, and inspiratory capacity were significantly improved postoperatively. In addition, per analysis of preoperative and postoperative patient questionnaires, subjective findings, such as shortness of breath, were noted to improve.4 With this, it is important to evaluate whether reduction mammaplasty in female athletes would result in improved objective performance within distinct sports. Specific training tests could be administered before and after reduction mammaplasty, such as sprint, jump, agility, and endurance tests, to assess for statistically significant differences in the functionality and performance of the athlete. Macromastia can affect an athlete at any level of sport; however, it is worth noting its effects on elite-level female athletes. A 2018 study reported that elite-level female athletes encounter contact breast injuries appreciably more often in those athletes with larger breasts or greater body mass index, as well as in contact sports. It found that 21 percent of participants who sustained an injury to the breast perceived that it had a negative impact on their athletic performance. Many of these athletes reported altering their physical movements to avoid breast injury, subsequently limiting their physical activity during performance.5 In summary, macromastia is an issue for many women and reduction mammaplasty has proven benefits.2,4 Female athletes are a group that deserves further research to assess whether reduction mammaplasty for treatment of macromastia plays a role in functionality and performance in athletics. If studies were to support this hypothesis, we could see a significant change in the landscape of women’s sports and competition. DISCLOSURE The authors have no financial interest or conflicts of interest to declare in relation to the content of this article. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was supported in part by the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and the Plastic Surgery Foundation.

The exclusion of sports clubs from the junior hockey league: the case of the Czech Republic from the perspective of EU competition law

In February 2019, the Executive Committee of the Czech Ice Hockey Association (CIHA) decided to create a new junior hockey competition, the Junior League of Academies, beginning in September 2019. As a result, a few clubs were administratively excluded from the highest junior competition. Three of the five excluded clubs decided to initiate arbitration proceedings. After the failure of arbitration, the clubs filed a lawsuit in the Czech civil court seeking the annulment of the decision of the CIHA to expel them from the competition. This article analyses the actions of CIHA from the perspective of EU competition law. It assesses whether the CIHA’s exclusion of clubs from the new league may violate Articles 101 or 102 TFEU. For this purpose, the article uses the methodological approach adopted by the Court in Meca-Medina. Although in general, in accordance with EU law and EU law policy, the organization of competitions and the setting of sporting rules fall within the competence of sports associations, these competences are not unlimited. Sports rules have to be set up in advance based on the transparent process of sports governing body in accordance with good governance principles. If the procedure of adopting sporting rules is not in accordance with the principles of good governance, it cannot be considered inherent and proportionate and as such it may be found contrary to the Article 101 or 102 TFEU.

Training Africa: mass displays and coaches in the service of Israel’s Foreign Policy in the 1960s

ABSTRACT In the 1960s, hundreds of Israeli advisors, agricultural experts, engineers, and instructors were sent to Africa to promote Israel’s foreign policy, garner international support, win allies, and sidestep the ring of Arab hostility that surrounded Israel. The Histadrut, Israel’s largest labour union, sent many of these experts, while Hapoel, the sports association affiliated with the Histadrut, sent sports instructors who organised mass gymnastics performances in national ceremonies. Their assistance was highly appreciated by the African host governments. The paper discusses the instrumental role of sport in foreign policy, and the circumstances that led to Israel’s withdrawal of its involvement in Africa.

고등부 학생선수들의 스포츠심리기술과 회복탄력성의 관계

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship and impact of sports psychology skills and resilience among high school student athletes.<BR> Method: For this study, sports psychological skills and resilience were measured for 290 soccer, baseball, and volleyball high school student athletes registered with the Korea Sports Association. A total of 290 questionnaires were distributed and except for 15 copies which were judged to be incompatible with the objectives of this study due to missing or unsuccessful responses, 275 copies were used. Using the SPSS 26.0 statistical program, frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability verification, correlation analysis, simple regression analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted. The significant level of hypothesis verification is set-up as α=.05.<BR> Results: The results of this study are as follows. 1) As the level of sports psychology skills of high school student athletes increased, the level of resilience increased (p<.01). 2) Improving the level of sports psychological skills in high school students improved resilience (p<.001). 3) Among the sub-factor of sports psychological skills, improvements in goal setting, concentration, team cohesion, confidence, and anxiety control levels increased resilience (p<.05~p<.001). 4) The entire sub-factor of sports psychology skills for high school student athletes improved the entire sub-factor of resilience (p<.05~p<.001).<BR> Conclusion: Therefore, it has been proven that improving sports psychological skills through continuous sports psychological training by high school student athletes can help them grow into happy student athletes because they can also improve resilience.

The History and Evolution of the Fantasy Sport Voice: An Oral Account of the Major Aspects Forming the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association

The growth of the fantasy sport industry has been nothing short of extraordinary. With estimates of 500,000 in the mid-1990s, to a current North American consumer estimate of 59.3 million, the industry has evolved quickly and with quite a force. Historical roots date fantasy activity back to the 1950s and 1960s. Since then, this industry has seen many phases of growth, expansion, trials, and tribulations. For many years, the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) has served as ‘the voice’ for the industry in many matters, as its members and professional associations strived for legitimacy, legality, and longevity in creating professional careers. The FSTA has invited major (and minor) players to join as one association and attend semi-annual conferences to collaborate, learn, share, and grow the industry as a whole. Fighting off player strikes, gambling law, and incredible growth of daily fantasy sport operation, this organization has guided industry professionals throughout. This article provides an historical account of the formation of the organization responsible for holding this flourishing industry together and growing as one. Data were gathered from oral accounts of key events in the life of this organization.

Sports and Youth Movements in Indochina during the First World War

As everywhere in the French Empire, the French colonial administration in Indochina wished to train its soldiers by promoting sports in school. Many sport associations appeared very quickly and the founding members were almost entirely Annamites. Indochina can be seen to stand out from the other French territories in a way that has not previously been studied: because of the War, the Governor General decided to promote sports and also welcome the Indochinese elite as equals in the Scout troops. He thus introduced a new way to manage the colonized people. This was an exceptional example of the drive towards colonization in agreement with some local elites, leading to the creation of a new westernized social group through leisure activities. This paper argues that the Great War played a key role in the development of sports in Indochina, through the rapid adherence of the local elite, for both personal and political reasons.

The Origin of Football in Poland’s Lublin Province, 1903–1922

The origins of football in the Lublin region in Poland have not been examined in much detail. Two documents authored by Lieutenant General Kazimierz Sosnkowsk, Polish Minister of Military Affairs 1920–1924, were used to uncover the course of the development of football in this region – the ‘Game rules of football according to the French method’, written in 1903, and ‘Instructions in conducting a sports discipline in the army’ written in 1921. These documents were analyzed to determine the emergence of the first football clubs (e.g. WKS Lublin, WKS Chelm, and ZGKS Makabi) during a particularly complex historical period, until the development of the Lublin Regional Sports Association in 1922.

The Ethical Decision-making of Sport Athletes and Its Environmental Factors

Purpose Based on Haidt's social-intuitionist theory, this study analyzes the differences in ethical decision-making between sport athletes and the general public in order to understand the ethical judgment tendencies of athletes and examine the determining factors influencing their judgment from the perspective of their environment. In so doing, this study hopes to motivate education for enhancing ethical consciousness as well as institutional policy. Methods To this end, 200 elite athletes in their twenties registered for more than 10 years at the Korean Sports Association and 200 college students in their twenties from five universities in Seoul were selected for comparison. Response trends for each item were analyzed by percentage, and differences between groups were confirmed by the χ2 test method. Results The results are as follows. First, in general ethical situations, athletes usually showed a compulsory ethical view that emphasized principles, whereas in a sports situation, they showed a double consciousness and revealed a very strong consequential ethical view which put much emphasis on outcome. Second, athletes strongly maintained a Confucian ethical view that recognized ethics as a norm compared to the general public and, as a result, it was found that paternalism was relatively stronger than rationalism in their ethical decision making. Third, athletes regarded other people's thoughts and group interests as important criteria for ethical decision-making rather than individual thoughts and interests, and showed a group-centered mindset which emphasized group harmony and relationship. Fourth, while the general public viewed excellent athletes as those with excellent skills and good personality, and valued their morality, athletes thought relatively little of the influence and importance of morality in their success. Finally, it was found that coaches and managers were fundamental to the formation of the athlete’s moral view. Conclusion An in-depth understanding of sports participants' ethical awareness should come first in order to enhance ethical consciousness in sport. I hope this study will work as a catalyst for research which approaches athletes' ethical consciousness from a socio-cultural context.

How Can Social Branding Mitigate Racism Among Fans in Sports? A Q-sort Analysis on the Value of Social Branding Campaigns as Vehicles for Reducing Racism Among Soccer Fans

Social branding is a new governance strategy in the field of sport. National governments and sport associations, for instance, use branding to reach out to fans and alter their perceptions of racism in sport. But how do fans, as a target group, actually value this governance strategy? This article zooms in on the purpose of social branding, as perceived by fans as a target group in a social branding campaign on racism in soccer in the Netherlands. The Q-sort methodology was used to study the subjective viewpoints of 29 soccer fans of different professional sport clubs. The analysis reveals that soccer fans prefer a transparent branding process in which they are recognized as coproducers of the brand and can add their story to the brand message that is conveyed to target audiences.

Gymnastikhøjskolen i Ollerup, das vivências iniciais a grande performance: um relato de experiência

Este estudo teve como objetivo descrever a vivência em um programa de mobilidade acadêmica viabilizado pela International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA). Trata-se de um relato de experiência na escola dinamarquesa de ginástica Gymnastikhøjskolen i Ollerup, em Ollerup, Dinamarca. O intercâmbio teve duração de seis meses no primeiro semestre de 2018, cuja programação incluiu a prática e a realização de performances de ginástica. Dentre aspectos do ensino holístico da escola e a importância da internacionalização para o método ginástico Dinamarquês de Niels Bukh, a vivência agregou na minha formação pessoal e profissional.

Relationship between Sex, Age, Body Mass Index, and Physical Fitness with Elderly Participation

The purpose of this study was to reveal the relationship between sex, age, body mass index and physical fitness with the level of active participation of the elderly in development. The research method used is descriptive correlational. Samples were taken from the sports association of the elderly who live in the Pasir Layung Village of Bandung City as many as 30 people. The results showed that there was a sex relationship to TPA with a percentage of 58.5% for male and 41.5% for female, the relationship between age and TPA with a Sig. 0.000 &lt;Sig a with r = -0.637, the relationship between BMI and TPA is the Sig. 0,000 &lt;Sig. a with a value of r = -0.826, and the relationship between physical fitness and TPA with the Sig. 0,000 &lt;Sig. a with a value of r = 0.857. The conclusion of this study is that there is a relationship between sex, age, body mass index and physical fitness with the level of active participation of the elderly in development.

Strength and Conditioning Practices and Perspectives of Volleyball Coaches and Players.

To the authors’ knowledge this is the first study to describe the strength and conditioning (S&C) practices and perspectives of volleyball coaches and players. In total, 30 volleyball coaches (mean age 34.47 ± 7.83 years and coaching experience 19.57 ± 8.28 years), and 30 volleyball players (mean age 22.03 ± 4.43 years and playing experience 10.43 ± 8.98 years) completed an online survey with six sections: (a) informed consent; (b) background information; (c) education, qualifications, and prescription; (d) views on S&C; (e) exercise selection and preferences; and (f) issues and improvements. Frequency analysis was used to report responses to fixed-response questions and thematic-analysis for open-ended questions. While only one participant possessed an S&C certification, S&C was deemed ‘important’ to ‘very important’ for volleyball skills, physical fitness, and injury parameters. However, due to a reported lack of expertise, there appeared to be a theoretical understanding to practice gap. Furthermore, the implementation of S&C was considerably hindered by a lack of time, facilities, and equipment. National sports associations, coaches, and players can use the information within this study to provide an understanding of the current practices and perspectives of S&C in volleyball. While also promoting future developments in volleyball related S&C research and practice.

지방체육회 통합 이후의 조직 갈등해결 방안

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze a study on resolving organizational conflicts after Integration of Regional Sports Associations.<BR> Method: Eight relevant persons who had practically resolved the conflicts and problems at the time of integration were selected and analyzed in depth through interviews.<BR> Results: First, in order to form an amicable human relationship, great efforts had been put into the unification especially for the employees at the working level rather than their bosses. This provided an opportunity for employees to converge. Second, it is necessary to make efforts to increase the pride and trust of employees in the profession by adjusting the job grade, promotion of ranks and positions through the coordination of the reorganization, making them realize fairness in personnel policies or promotion through transparent personnel management. Third, due to the change in the business structure by the election of the private president, the relevant department is created. A strategy to invest in local sports associations or promote services in connection with companies in the local community is being prepared. Fourth, in order to prevent the fight on privileged rights through stabilization of event groups, an objective method is adopted in the election of executives for fair elections. Also, efforts are being made to distribute professional & daily sports evenly in various budget areas.<BR> Conclusion: In summary, through the results of this study, the real integration of regional sports associations is being made, and it is expected that they can be used as academic basic data to form advanced national sports organization in Korea.

Does size matter? Entrepreneurial orientation and performance in Spanish sports clubs

Despite its importance, entrepreneurship in organizations has not been widely addressed in the sports association sector (sports clubs). In this context, this study analyses the relationships of entrepreneurial orientation and club size with the economic and sporting performances of Spanish non-profit sports clubs. To this end, a total of 300 sports clubs were analyzed through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The results show that risk-taking and innovation are causal conditions for high levels of economic and sporting performance, and large club size is both a core and a causal condition. Practical implications and intervention proposals are addressed, and their derivation considered the results obtained and the existing literature.

Importance of the Mental Preparation for Competition Among Young Athletes

The mental preparation of athletes for competition has become more appreciated. In this paper, we asked young athletes in Hungarian team sports about their experiences and expectations in mental preparation. In the research, we used an online questionnaire where 165 valuable responses were received. Most of the respondents were women, between 15-24 years of age, high school and college graduates, with urban background. Almost 90% of respondents have been confronted an obstacle with a negative impact on performance in sports before. Most athletes know well the activities of sports psychologists, however, only 10% of them have been mentally trained so far, while 70% of them would need it. Those sports associations achieve more successful results in the talent management, where sports psychologist was involved in the assessment of young children. Based on these, sports organizations should use a sports psychologist, because it could help achieve better sports performance for players and teams.

Finansowanie organizacji sportowych przez państwo (wniosek ECPRD 4725)

The paper presents the Polish legislation concerning sports organisations. The author begins with an overview of the legal framework, including the main legal acts and their stipulations, sports governance (particularly sports clubs and sports associations) and key stakeholders engaged in sports. Next, he discusses selected issues concerning distribution of the state funds in sports.