Sport in Society: Participation, Trends, and Impact
Sport: A Social Phenomenon
Sport is a social phenomenon. Everybody plays sports; it’s fashionable, and we can see it in the media, in advertisements, and so on. Sport encompasses various aspects:
- Driving situation: There are teammates and opponents who try to cooperate or make our actions more difficult.
- Game: Free participation to have fun.
- Competition: A desire for self-improvement.
- Rules: They must exist to define the characteristics of the activity.
- Institutionalization: An institution must state the development and regulations of the game.
Sport can be defined as any kind of physical activity that, by means of organized participation or not, aims to express or improve mental or physical condition, develop social relationships, or obtain scores in any competition.
Sport as a Mass Spectacle and Social Reality
On the one hand, we consider sport a mass spectacle where great amounts of money are involved. On the other hand, another social reality is developed, and this is also sport: a large percentage of the world’s population practices it anonymously. This includes people who work in a club or for a sports association, millions of students who play at school, people with disabilities, older adults, and more.
Sports Participation Trends in Spain
Nearly 16 million people over 14 do sports in Spain. Among the population between 15 and 65, the practice has increased in recent years, going from 25% to 45%. There is a 31% participation rate for women, and the percentage of men is 49%. Nowadays, the reasons for participating in sports have changed; we have the desire for adventure, the need for fun, physical appearance, and human interaction.
Physical Education in Schools
After many years, physical education has appeared as a subject in schools at all levels, with more qualified teachers, more facilities, and more materials. Students are constantly in contact with physical education.
Moreover, sports outside of schools have been fostered, but we must continue growing to get a society with physical education habits to prevent cardiovascular illnesses, improve our minds, and make us feel like members of a group, thanks to sports practice. In this way, we will consider the importance of our bodies in motion.
Accessibility and Inclusivity in Sport
For a long time, tracksuits and doing sports have been associated with children and young people from higher social classes or with a high cultural level, as well as with the male sex.
Nowadays, sport is within everybody’s reach: children, older adults, and women. The economic or cultural level is not a problem for carrying out physical activities; everybody can do sports, and they can be practiced everywhere.
New Sports and Activities
Many activities and new sports have appeared, widening the possibilities for sports practice. Together with this, we find new conceptions such as sports in nature, adventure sports, and sports as a meeting point. Currently, we should analyze the advantages and disadvantages of sports:
- Sport as physical and mental health
- Popular sport or entertainment sport
- Professional sport as spectacle sport
- Sport at a high competitive level
- Educational sport
Key Institutions in Sport
International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Federations, and Associations of Professional Sportsmen
These are the institutions that regulate the greatest competitions in our society, such as the Olympic Games, the World Cups of every sport, and club competitions. This would be professional sports devoted to earning millions of euros. All the international federations of the Olympic Games are included in the International Committee. In mass sports, there are associations of professional sportsmen in golf or tennis, such as the PGA in golf or the WTA in tennis for women.
Sports Council, National Federations, and Professional Leagues
This type of sport depends directly on the government of each country, and its development depends on this council, which, in turn, depends on the Ministry of Education and Culture. Each national federation regulates the competitions in every sport, as well as its organization and promotion. The sports with the highest number of licenses in Spain are football, basketball, hunting, golf, climbing, tennis, judo, handball, athletics, fishing, karate, Olympic shooting, cycling, volleyball, and swimming. There are a total of 3,520,192 licenses. In mass sports, there are professional leagues where clubs gather to organize their own competitions. In Spain, the professional football league is the most important club competition in our country. In other sports, these competitions depend directly on the national federations: FEB (Spanish Federation of Basketball), RFEA (Spanish Federation of Athletics), or RFET (Spanish Federation of Tennis).
Sports Boards, Sports Clubs, and Popular Sport
Finally, town halls promote popular sports as a means of favoring the health of citizens.
Reflecting on Sport in Society
How is sport nowadays? What are its values? Is our society truly a sports society? Is sport good for society? What factors can harm sport as a social good? These are important questions to consider as we continue to embrace and promote sports in our communities.