History Of Sport Research Articles

Nature Sport and Environmental History: Adulation or Alteration of Nature?

Nature Sport and Environmental History: Adulation or Alteration of Nature?

Symptoms of Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome are Common in Community-Dwelling Adults.

The consensus criteria for traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES), the possible in vivo clinical syndrome associated with significant repetitive head impacts, have only been minimally studied to date. This study examined the prevalence of the proposed core clinical features of TES in a sample of healthy adults. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted through ResearchMatch, a national health volunteer registry. Participants were assessed for symptoms of TES based on the 2021 consensus criteria, including prior repetitive head impacts and core clinical features. Additional health information (e.g., concussion history, psychological health, sleep, chronic pain) was also evaluated. The consensus proposed research criteria for TES (i.e., reporting at least one progressive core clinical feature of TES, as in progressive difficulties with episodic memory, executive functioning, or neurobehavioral dysregulation) were applied to the sample. Out of 1100 participants (average age = 53.6 ± 17.7 years, 55% women), 34.6% endorsed one or more progressive core clinical features of TES. Participants with a significant history of contact sports (i.e., ≥ 5 years total, with ≥ 2 years in high school or beyond) had similar rates of endorsing a progressive core clinical feature of TES compared to those without significant histories of repetitive head impacts (36.4% vs 32.8%, respectively, χ2 = 0.52, p = 0.47). A significant history of repetitive head impacts in sports was not associated with endorsing a core clinical feature of TES in univariable or multivariable models (p > 0.47), whereas current depression/anxiety (odds ratio [OR] = 6.94), a history of psychiatric disorders (OR = 2.57), current sleep problems (OR = 1.56), and younger age (OR = 0.99) were significant predictors of TES status in a multivariable model. In a subsample of 541 participants who denied a lifetime history of contact sports, other forms of repetitive head impacts, and concussions, approximately 31.0% endorsed one or more progressive core clinical features of TES. Additionally, 73.5% of neurotrauma-naïve participants with current anxiety or depression reported at least one core progressive feature of TES, compared with 20.2% of those without clinically significant depression/anxiety symptoms. A considerable proportion of adults without a significant history of repetitive head impacts from sports endorsed core TES features, particularly those experiencing mental health symptoms. Having a significant history of contact sports was not associated with endorsing a core progressive clinical feature of TES, whereas other health factors were. These findings underscore the need for validating and refining TES criteria in samples with and without substantial neurotrauma histories.

The first Ukrainian-American Olympic in 1936 in Philadelphia: memories of the organizers and participants

In the scientific study, an analysis and an attempt to make up for the historically lost time and at least partially return to us the real Ukrainian history of sports and the Olympic movement are carried out. Currently, many pages of the history of Ukrainian sports remain little known. One of them is sports competitions of the Ukrainian diaspora. Their organization required significant efforts, the involvement of specialists, well-known sports and public figures, representatives of state authorities, etc. The symbolic combination of the Olympics of the Ukrainian diaspora with the Olympic Games contributed to the development of the Ukrainian sports and Olympic movement abroad. In September 1936, a grand event in the life of the Ukrainian and American community took place in Philadelphia (USA) - the First Ukrainian-American Olympics or the «First Ukrainian National Games» under the patronage of Ukrainian-American organizations of the city of Philadelphia together with the Ukrainian Catholic League and the American Athletic Union.

Hungarian coaches in Cold War Cuba

ABSTRACT This essay will examine Cold War sport links between two relatively small-sized, satellite countries: Hungary and Cuba, via the activities of Hungarian coaches on the island. These started in the 1960s after the establishment of diplomatic relations and show a concentration in the first half of and the middle of the 1970s. The investigation aims to find out the main reasons and objectives for the presence of Hungarian sport professionals on the island as well as to evaluate the impact of their work. The study begins with providing a brief overview of the evolution of the foreign relations of the Socialist bloc in the 1950s and 1960s and within this context, of Hungarian-Cuban bilateral links, finally narrowing down the analysis on sport relations. In this context, two case studies are presented: one on football and the other on water polo, traditional fields of success for Hungarians, but little known / not popular on the island. The investigation – based on documents of the Hungarian National Archive and contemporary press articles – aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of international (sport) relations in the 1960s and 1970s, adding both to Sport History and New Cold War Studies.

Physical Activity Levels of Individuals Employed in the Sports Directorate

The aim of this study is to examine the physical activity levels of civil servants employed in a sports-related state institution, with a focus on individual factors and their attitudes toward physical exercise. The research cohort comprised 160 individuals, randomly selected from employees working in the sports directorate, consisting of 79 women and 81 men. Data collection was conducted through an online questionnaire encompassing a personal information form and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square analyses were employed for data analysis, supplemented by calculations of Cohen's d effect sizes to assess the relationship between variables. Results from the analysis revealed that 19.40% of sports directorate employees were categorized as inactive, 20.60% as minimally active, and 60.0% as sufficiently active. Furthermore, significant disparities in physical activity levels were observed concerning gender, age, marital status, and sports history (p

Collegiate Athletes With Diabetes: Baseline Medical Comorbidities and Preseason Concussion Testing Performance.

People with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at increased risk for adverse health events and complications throughout their lifetime. Whether DM significantly affects collegiate athletes' concussion baseline testing performance remains unclear. To (1) describe the prevalence of DM and associated comorbidities and (2) compare concussion baseline testing performance between student-athletes with DM and student-athletes without DM (NoDM). Retrospective, cross-sectional study. University. Using the Concussion, Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium research database, we matched athletes with self-reported DM (N = 229) by institution, sex, age, sport, position, testing year, and concussion history to athletes with NoDM (N = 229; total sample mean age = 19.6 ± 1.4 years, women = 42%). Descriptive statistics and χ2 tests of independence with subsequent odds ratios were calculated. Independent-samples t tests compared baseline symptoms, neurocognitive testing, and balance performance between athletes with DM and athletes with NoDM. Effect sizes were determined for significant group differences. At baseline, athletes with DM had higher rates of self-reported pre-existing balance disorders, sleep disorders, seizure disorders, motion sickness, learning disorders, vision and hearing problems, psychiatric disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, nonmigraine headaches, and meningitis than athletes with NoDM (P values < .05). We found balance differences between groups (P = .032, Cohen d = 0.17) such that, on average, athletes with DM had 1 additional error on the Balance Error Scoring System (DM = 13.4 ± 6.5; NoDM = 12.1 ± 5.9). No other comparisons yielded significant results. Although athletes with DM had high rates of self-reported balance disorders, sleep disorders, seizures, and meningitis, their baseline neurocognitive testing results were largely identical to those of athletes with NoDM. Our findings suggested that nonclinically meaningful differences were present in concussion baseline balance testing but no significant differences were noted in cognitive testing; however, the effect of DM on concussion recovery remains unknown.

Normal bone marrow signal characteristics in whole-body diffusion-weighted images of amateur marathon runners.

Marathon training can reverse bone marrow conversion; however, little is known about the normal bone marrow whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging (WB-DWI) signal characteristics of amateur marathon runners. If marathon training can cause diffuse hyperintensity of bone marrow on WB-DWI is essential for correctly interpreting the diffusion-weighted (DW) images. This study sought to evaluate the WB-DWI signal characteristics of normal bone marrow in amateur marathon runners. In this prospective cross-sectional study, 30 amateur marathon runners who had trained for over 3 years for regular or half-marathon races and had a running frequency of more than 20 days a month at a distance of more than 100 km per month from the Chengde Marathon Outdoor Sports Association in Hebei, China, and 30 age- and gender-matched, healthy volunteers (the control group) who had no long-term heavy-load sports history were recruited between April 2021 to September 2021. All the subjects underwent WB-DWI (b-value: 0, 800 s/mm2) and lumbar vertebral transverse relaxation time (T2) mapping. The bone marrow WB-DWI signal characteristics were analyzed visually and statistically by chi-square (χ2) tests. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), DWI signal intensity, and T2 values of the bone marrow were quantitatively and statistically analyzed by the independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. No subjects were excluded from the study. The bone marrow of 30 of the 60 subjects (aged 30-50 years) showed diffuse hyperintensity in the DW images. However, in all 60 subjects, the humeral heads, femoral heads, and great trochanters had low signals. The frequency of diffuse bone marrow DWI hyperintensity was significantly higher in the male amateur marathon runners (50%) than the male controls (5%, P=0.003), but no such significant difference was found between the female amateur marathon runners (100%) and female controls (90%, P>0.99). The DW signal intensity ratios of bone marrow to muscle (SIRBM-muscle) were significantly higher in the male amateur marathon runners than the male controls in the thoracic vertebrae (4.68 vs. 3.57, P=0.021), lumbar vertebrae (4.49 vs. 3.01, P<0.001), sacrum (3.67 vs. 2.62, P=0.002), and hip (3.45 vs. 2.50, P=0.002), but were only significantly higher in the female amateur marathon runners than the female controls in the thoracic vertebrae (7.69 vs. 5.87, P=0.029) and hip (4.76 vs. 3.92, P=0.004). The mean T2 values of the lumbar vertebrae were significantly higher in the male amateur marathon runners than the male controls (116.76 vs. 97.63 ms, P=0.001), but no such significant difference was observed between the female amateur marathon runners and the corresponding controls (118.58 vs. 124.10 ms, P=0.386). Marathon training resulted in diffuse hyperintensity in the bone marrow based on WB-DWI in 50% of the male amateur marathon runners aged 30-50 years. Thus, when WB-DWI is used for bone marrow disease screening, marathon training history should be considered to avoid false-positive diagnoses.

Evaluation of Lower Extremity and Core Strength in Young Female and Male Volleyball Players

Volleyball is an anaerobic team sport that involves various complex movements and requires adequate body position sense. Therefore, volleyball players' most important physical characteristics are balance, agility, endurance, reaction speed, explosive strength, and quick strength. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between core strength and functional performance of lower extremities in male and female volleyball players. A total of 19 (11 female, eight male) volleyball players aged 16-20 years (11 female, eight male) who were students of Ondokuz Mayıs University Yaşar Doğu Faculty of Sports Sciences participated in the study voluntarily. The inclusion criteria were determined as athletes with at least three years of active sports history and regular training. Height, weight, and Body Mass Index measurements were taken at the first visit. Then, shuttle test, plank test, push-up, single hop for distance (SH), triple hop for distance (TH), crossover triple hop for distance (CH), medial side triple hop for distance (MSTH), and medial rotation ( ) with hop for distance (MRH) and Y Balance Test were performed with randomized practice cards. When the push-up, sit-up, and plank tests were compared between men and women, a significant difference was found in the shuttle parameter (p 0.05). When the athletes' Single Leg Hop test parameters were evaluated, there was no significant difference, only in SH between the sides in men. At the same time, there was no significant difference only in medial rotation ( ) with hop in women (p 0.05). While there was a significant difference in triple hop for distance, crossover triple hop for distance, medial side triple hop for distance (MSTH) and medial rotation ( ) with hop between the parties in men, a statistically significant difference was found in single hop for distance, triple hop for distance, crossover triple hop for distance, medial side triple hop for distance parameters in women (p 0.05). When single-leg hop Tests LSIs were compared between male and female groups, no statistically significant difference was found in all parameters (p 0.05). When the findings of our study were examined, it was determined that although there was a significant difference in Single Leg Hop test parameters between dominant and non-dominant sides in the groups, the LSI values seen in male and female groups were between normal values, and there was no limb asymmetry. However, there was no difference between genders in LSIs, and similar results were found for men and women. In the core strength tests, while similar results were seen between genders in push-up and plank parameters, the significant difference in the shuttle test revealed that men had better core strength than women.

Biofeedback Endurance Training for Gait Rehabilitation in Parkinson’s Disease: a Non-Randomized Controlled Study

INTRODUCTION. Parkinson’s disease is a disease with the highest rates of disability growth in the neurodegenerative pathology group, with the leading motor symptom — impaired walking and an increased risk of falling. There is evidence that Parkinson’s disease preserves stability for cycling. The issue of extending the effects of cycling training to daily activity, including walking, remains unclear.&#x0D; AIM. To evaluate the effect of a course of endurance training on a cycle ergometer with biofeedback (BFB) on a walking ability of a patient with Parkinson’s disease.&#x0D; MATERIALS AND METHODS. A total of 69 patients with stages 2–3 Parkinson’s disease according to the Hoehn and Yahr Rating Scale were included in the study, group 1: 34 people (60.05 ± 7.07 years) and group 2: 35 patients (61.75 ± 7.53 years). The patients were examined — anamnesis collection: duration of Parkinson disease, presence of arterial hypertension (AH), sports history, medication, assessment of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), body mass index (BMI), “6-minute walk” test (6MWT), motor function according to the MDS UPDRS scale — part III. The patients of group 1 had daily exercises on a digital bicycle ergometer with BOS for 10 days, the patients of group 2 — therapeutic gymnastics. The therapy was assessed by repeated 6MWT.&#x0D; RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The Parkinson’s disease duration was longer in the patients of group 1. Concomitant hypertension was in 20 (57 %) patients of group 1 and 16 (47 %) patients of group 2 (p 0.05). 11 people of group 1 and 5 of group 2 had a sports history (p = 0.07). The indicators of SBP and DBP of groups 1 and 2 had normal values during the examination. BMI in both groups corresponded to excess body weight. Patients had risk factors of the modern world: hypertension and overweight. Motor disorders according to the MDS UPDRS — Part III scale were greater in group 1. Despite having serious motor impairments in group 1, after the therapy, the patients demonstrated an increase in the distance traveled in 6 minutes (392.18 ± 96.3 m vs. 476.43 ± 108.08 m; p 0.05), while no changes were found in group 2.&#x0D; CONCLUSION. BOS endurance training on a cycle ergometer is effective for walking rehabilitation of Parkinson’s disease patients.

Bollspelen i Johannes Schefferus Lappland. Fragment av nordiskt tidigmodernt idrottsliv med utblickar mot Island och de brittiska öarna

Sports historians have argued that the type of ball games commonin the British Isles, which were practiced by two teams andin which the ball was driven with sticks towards predeterminedgoals – i.e., hurling, shinty, bandy and hockey – were never playedin early modern Sweden. By highlighting descriptions of ballgames in Johannes Schefferus’s The History of Lapland (1674), asource previously ignored by sports historians, this article challengessuch a claim. One of the games described by Schefferus hassome similarities with the violent stick-and-ball game known inIcelandic sagas as knattleikr. Even greater similarities (such as thestart of the game with a face-off and the goals consisting of lineson the short edges) emerge when the game is compared with theScottish game of shinty. Thus, pre-modern Scandinavia does notappear to have been as isolated in terms of sports and games ashas been suggested by Swedish sports historians.

“There is only one motive … fun.” Perspectives of participants and providers of physical exercise for people with Parkinson’s disease

Purpose To explore the perspectives of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and exercise providers regarding facilitating factors, barriers, needs, and demands relating to physical exercise for people with PD. Materials and Methods Focus group discussions or telephone interviews of 30 people with PD (with or without an active sports history) and 13 providers were conducted and analyzed using structuring content analysis. Results Factors facilitating participation in physical exercise included motivation-enhancing elements (enjoyment, group training environment) and providers with sufficient qualifications in PD-specific training demands. Identified barriers were lack of motivation, physical limitations, poor service accessibility, and inadequate matching of intervention groups based on capability or age. Providers found it difficult to design and conduct group trainings for people with PD with varying physical limitations. Having an active sports history before PD-onset was described as generally beneficial, though a competitive mindset could lead to frustration. People with PD reported needing their physicians to provide better education regarding physical exercise. Conclusion Enjoyment of physical exercise is a key aspect of maintaining physical activity engagement, which should be considered more in research and clinical practice. Developing qualifications for providers could help to broaden and enhance the dissemination of PD-specific exercise approaches. Physicians should be trained to encourage physical exercise. Implications for rehabilitation Physicians should highlight the benefits and be knowledgeable regarding the availability of physical exercise interventions for people with PD. Additional physical exercise providers should become qualified to work with people with PD. The joyfulness of physical exercise interventions is a key aspect of maintaining physical activity engagement for people with PD.

Whither (or Wither) the Humanities in Kinesiology?

This article assesses the state of the humanities in kinesiology. Programs variously referred to as sport history, sport philosophy, physical culture studies, and physical cultural studies have become endangered species within the field. In response, I highlight several scholars who are, in their own ways, stewards of a humanities-centered, interdisciplinary approach to understanding human movement. In learning from their work, humanists must do more to save themselves from extinction.

‘I can’t believe I just made history’: A temporal analysis of sports media reporting

Professional sport is a central element of our daily entertainment that contributes to shaping us individually and bonding us collectively: it provides us with shared ‘historic’ moments. This article is interested in these moments, and how the field of sports generates them, by asking the following questions: (1) has the frequency of ‘historic moments’ changed over time, and (2) is the way we make sports history consistent throughout the years? We conducted a temporal analysis of newspaper and magazine articles ( n  =  1062) published in France (Le Monde, l’Équipe) and in the United States (USA Today, Sports Illustrated) during three time periods in the 21st century (2003, 2010, 2019). Our results show that: (1) as time passes, ‘historic’ moments occur more frequently; (2) sporting history is increasingly linked to social dimensions; and (3) statistical performances continue to mark history above all else. Although performance-based achievements are consistently celebrated, sporting history cannot be separated from our collective social existence, and the currents therein. We show that the act of making sports history is also bound to the normative, social, and cultural history of a society.

The experience of pregnancy and motherhood in the career of Brazilian’s sportswomen: a qualitative study

Motherhood is a period there is a deconstruction of one identity and reconstruction of another, including changes in self-concept, commitment, and learning. For athletes who become mothers, these changes also occur and impact in their career. We aim to describe the experience of being pregnant for a group of Brazilian athletes, understanding the impact of maternity on the career and the postpartum for these women. A qualitative descriptive and exploratory study was conducted followed the guideline Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR). We are using the semi-structured interviews with nine Brazilian athletes all of whom were professional athletes at the time they became pregnant. Maximum Variation Sampling and the snowball technique were used. The analysis was done using Iramuteq software, which performed Descending Hierarchical Classification (DHC) and Similarity Analysis. The nine athletes had a mean age of 38.3 years (SD: 5.5 years), from different levels and sports, and all had at least one child. We identified 488 text segments, which resulted in two branches, divided into five classes: History in sport (class 2); Pregnancy planning and immediate postpartum (class 5); reconciling the routines of athlete and mother (class 3); Social support narrative (class 4); Childcare (class 1). The findings indicate that athletes can have emotional ga ins in reconcile motherhood with their sports careers to the extent that they have social support, relative planning to become pregnant, and reconcile their athletic routine with baby care. Keywords: Athletes; Pregnancy; Maternity, Sportswoman; Qualitative research; Career transition; Iramuteq.

“A Distinctly Busy Man” – Lieutenant Colonel (Dr) Frederick Holles Brennan, First Officer Commanding of the 1st South African Irish Regiment, 1861–1927

Abstract Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Holles Brennan, formerly the commanding officer of the 1st South African Irish Regiment, medical officer of the Transvaal Volunteers, surgeon to the Hawarden Castle hospital ship and recipient of the Volunteer Officer’s Decoration and Long Service Medal during active service, is a forgotten name in South African military history today. Canadian-born Brennan, a qualified medical doctor, emigrated to South Africa during the 1890s. After settling in Johannesburg, he established a successful medical practice and became an integral part of the Irish-Canadian diasporic community on the Witwatersrand. This was complemented by active involvement in a range of charitable causes, in addition to participating in both the Anglo-Boer War (on the side of the British) and the First World War. From 1894–1927, Brennan made a fundamental contribution to the development of the South African military and sports history, without compromising his Irish-Canadian identity.

Sports activism and the racial status quo: disentangling individuals’ conceptualization and perceptions

ABSTRACT These last few years have been marked with a new wave of sports activism with a wide array of professional athletes drawing attention to racial injustices and calling for policy reform to address racial inequalities. While extant research has made some progress in developing our understanding of professional athletes' political influence, we have limited knowledge of this new wave of sports activism. Building on research on sports history, system justification, racial order, and racial threat, we develop a Sports Activism and Racial Status Quo (SARSQ) theory asserting that sports activism is associated with racial justice topics and approval of sports activism is related to support for disrupting the racial status quo. Using survey and interview data, we find evidence that provides some support for this theory. Sports activism is associated with professional athletes making statements that raise awareness of racial injustices such as innocent Blacks dying in the hands of the police. Some favor sports activism because they approve of athletes, regardless of race, stepping out of their social arrangement, raising awareness of institutional racism, and prompting sociopolitical change. Further, members of racially minoritized groups do not provide outright approval of sports activism, speaking to the importance of continued research in the area.

On the Origins of the Young Men’s Catholic Association as a Response to the Protestant Recreation Ethic in the United States, 1854–1909

In 1854 Reverend Bernard J. McQuaid set forth the outline behind his ideals for a young men’s Catholic association. Similar to the existing Protestant-rooted Young Men’s Christian Association which had arrived in the United States three years prior, McQuaid’s ambitions could be seen as one of many concurrent attempts to embrace the idea of Muscular Christianity and general reform movements of the late nineteenth century. However, to do so, would do an injustice to the ground-breaking, innovative, and controversial, methods embraced by McQuaid. He was one of the first in the Unted States to propose that sports and games of chance were not ‘evil’. Though his association eventually faltered under the weight of his lofty ambitions, he remains an underappreciated figure in the world of sport history. The Young Men’s Catholic Association offered a legitimate challenge to the often unwelcome Protestant morality of the YMCA in urban immigrant communities in the late nineteenth century United States. This paper argues that McQuaid’s recreation aims in Rochester developed as a reaction against the YMCA. McQuaid’s association, the Young Men’s Catholic Association, presented itself to the city’s immigrant, Catholic, working-class population as an alternative to the Protestant-inspired, ‘cult of strenuosity’.

Personal reflections on the genesis, early history and activities of the British Society of Sports History

ABSTRACT It was with great interest that I read the recent special issue of Sport in History (42.4) which reflected on the past, present and future of the British Society of Sports History (BSSH). I congratulate BSSH on its many successes in helping catalyse and galvanise significant developments in sports history whilst also embracing changing social values and attitudes in wider society. It is wonderful to read just how far the field of sports history has moved forward this past 40 years with many new initiatives, personalities and engagements with the wider public. However, some aspects of the society's history as portrayed in that special issue require clarification since, as all readers of the journal will appreciate, one of the most valuable lessons from history is that it is only through better understanding of our past that we better understand our present, and it is for this reason that I thought it worth writing to help provide some additional context. I intend to offer this clarification here by elaborating on several themes: the genesis, formation, aims and activities of the society; support of and engagement with its membership; BSSH activities to engage the wider public, and BSSH's changing profile.

[Criteria of syndrome frailty in Parkinson´s disease].

To evaluate syndrome frailty by the Fried phenotype in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Seventy-three patients over 65 years of age with Hoehn and Yahr stage 2-4 PD were tested for the presence of subjective criteria of the Fried phenotype of syndrome frailty: fatigue, difficulty in performing habitual activities, weight loss and objective criteria: grip strength and walking speed. The relationships of the objective criteria of Fried with indicators of age, sex, sports history, prescription of PD, the number of medications, blood pressure and MDS UPDRS part III scores, the severity of depression on the Beck scale and cognitive disorders on the MOCA were evaluated. All patients complained of fatigue, difficulties in performing habitual activities. Four people noted a decrease in body weight of more than 5 kg per year. Objective criteria of Fried were absent in 38 (51%) patients, 23 (32%) people had one objective criterion: reduced walking speed (less than 0.8 m/s) or hand strength (less than 16 kg for women and 26 kg for men), in 12 (17%) people both objective criteria were reduced. The values of objective criteria of weakness were correlated with age, sex and MDS UPDRS part III total scores. Frailty syndrome is difficult to diagnose in patients with PD due to the coincidence of complaints of the underlying disease and the syndrome. Objective criteria of the Fried phenotype suggest the presence of syndrome frailty in patients. The increase in the age of the patient, the female sex and the severity of PD are interrelated with the presence of objective criteria for the frailty of an elderly person.

Nature Games: Traditional Indigenous Games and Environmental Stewardship in Oceania

Traditional games are often situated in counter distinction to modern sport forms and are not well understood in Western society or scholarship. However, from these games, we have the opportunity to learn much about local play and physical culture. This article focuses on traditional Indigenous games in Oceania and how they can be used as a lens for the development of environmental stewardship or ecological sensibilities. The aims of this study are twofold: (1) to lay a foundation for future research in this area and (2) to situate traditional games within the broader sport ecology conversation. By deconstructing the embodied nature of traditional games and overviewing the histories of environmentalism in Oceania, a more grounded claim can be made for the relevance of traditional games within sport and leisure studies scholarship, including sport history, sport sociology, sport anthropology, and sport ecology. The nature games of Oceania yield diverse insights into Indigenous epistemologies, ecological sensibilities, and how outdoor play can be understood as a form of climate action.