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The purpose of the study was to conduct an in-depth examination of the stress and emotion process experienced by three sub-elite-level male cricketers over a series of five competitive performances. Using reflective diaries and follow-up semistructured interviews, the findings highlighted the impact of appraisal, coping, and emotion on performance, with perceptions of control and self-confidence emerging as variables that can influence the emotive and behavioral outcomes of a stressful transaction. Postperformance, guided athlete reflection was advanced as a valuable tool in the production and application of idiographic coping behaviors that could enhance perceptions of control and self-confidence and influence stress and emotion processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While interdisciplinary knowledge is critical to moving beyond categorical ways of knowing, this comes with its own set of pedagogical challenges. We contend that acknowledging existing knowledge hierarchies and epistemological differences, recognizing the ideological baggage that students’ bring to the classroom in terms of their understandings of health, embracing intellectual uncertainty, and encouraging learning-as-witnessing, are fundamental to fostering an interdisciplinary pedagogy that opens up a space for dialogue between psychology and sociology. We draw on the case of obesity and physical inactivity in the Canadian context as an exemplar of a kinesiology dilemma in which both psychology and sociology have important, albeit different, roles to play. We suggest that the anxiety provoked by such an approach is not only necessary but productive to forge an intellectual space where psychologists and sociologists may better hear one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rising globalization and professionalization within sports, athletes are increasingly migrating across national borders to take up work, and their athletic and nonathletic development is thereby shaped and lived in different countries. Through the analysis of interviews with female professional transnational athletes, this article contextualizes and discusses arguments for developing an interdisciplinary framework to account for lived experiences of the close intertwining between transnational migration and career development in professional sports. By combining our psychological and sociological perspectives, we identify three normative career transitions for transnational athletes. First of all, transnational recruitment that draws on social networks as well as individual agency. Secondly, establishment as a transnational athlete that is connected to cultural and psychological adaptation as well as development of transnational belonging, and thirdly, professional athletic career termination that for transnational athletes is connected to a (re)constitution of one’s transnational network and sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the sociology of sport and its related disciplines, martial arts have become increasingly popular sites for research on embodiment, gender and society. While much previous work in this area has focused upon the embodied experiences of either male or female practitioners, relatively few studies have directly addressed the social significance of mixed-sex practice. In this empirically-focused paper, we draw on qualitative, semistructured interviews with both male and female long-term exponents of various different martial arts disciplines in England, exploring experiences of intersex touch within training. Within a social-constructionist, feminist framework, we suggest that heteronormative, patriarchal and paternalistic gender structures can potentially be challenged through sustained mixed-sex practice. As such, this article contributes to work on transformative sporting bodies, martial arts and gender subversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to further existing research on fieldwork practices and experiences by focusing on issues of reflexivity (Pillow, 2003) and research ethics (Guillemin & Gillam, 2004) within "openly ideological research" (Lather, 1986) that actively renounces the objective observer in favor of the praxis-driven embodied research actor (Giardina & Newman, 2011a). This paper examines incidents from our fieldwork on the Baltimore Grand Prix and the city's 2011 mayoral election as, at a public forum, we were accused, not only of malicious intent but also of nefarious origin. As a result, this paper focuses upon the many dilemmas--moral, ethical, personal--inherent in ethnographic research (Springwood & King, 2001), with a deliberate focus upon the researcher's (in)ability to "blend in" to a research setting (Woodward, 2008). More specifically this paper examines research in public spaces conducted with the aim of stimulating potentially divisive discourse. Through our experiences, we attempt to reveal the complex layers of power and space, created by and through our presence as academic researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent emergence of "skurban" (the fusion of skateboarding and urban) reflects the racially diverse history and culture of skateboarding within urban areas in the United States. Skurban follows on from skateboarding's integral link with the urban since the 1980s. We aver that urban skateboarding is now underpinned by proliferating racial formations that reproduce a version of masculine authenticity that is highly marketable. Through our interrogation of two mainstream media skate videos featuring Stevie Williams and Paul Rodriguez, we propose that skurban reflects the ascendancy of highly valued urban racial masculinities. These masculinities enhance youth and action sport brand marketing strategies. Simultaneously, these diverse racial masculinities gain currency in alignment with discourses of individual entrepreneurialism, "free market" capitalism, and multicultural notions of diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working at the intersection of sociology and psychology, the purpose of this paper was to examine people's experiences during rehabilitation of being and having an impaired body as a result of suffering a spinal cord injury (SCI) while playing sport. Interview data with men (n = 20) and observational data were collected. All data were analyzed using narrative analyses. To communicate findings in a way that can incorporate the complexity of results and reach wide audiences, the genre of ethnographic creative nonfiction was used. The ethnographic creative nonfiction extends research into issues related to disability, rehabilitation and sporting injury by 1) producing original empirical knowledge, 2) generating a theoretical account of human thought, affect and action as emerging not inside the individual but within social relations and the narratives that circulate between actors, and 3) capturing the impact of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores issues surrounding the inclusion of impaired bodies within the Paralympic Games. To achieve this aim we use empirical data gathered from semistructured interviews held with a range of Paralympic stakeholders. The background upon which this data are analyzed is a critical analysis of the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC's) current vision and mission. Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and capital (Bourdieu, 1997, 1984) provide the theoretical foundation upon which the analysis takes place. Discussion centers on Paralympic stakeholders' articulations of issues surrounding individuals with cerebral palsy and/or severe physical impairments, emanating, in part, from a desire for aesthetically pleasing sporting performances. This paper gives Paralympic stakeholders a voice, upon which the IPC and broader sporting community may choose to reflect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of sport spectatorship has an increasing focus on the importance of fandom beyond fan violence. Fundamental to understanding fan behavior are the meaningful rituals and emotions experienced by fans. In this paper, I use the theoretical work of Randall Collins to examine the ritualistic outcomes of collective effervescence, emotional energy, and group symbols and solidarity among sport fans. I illustrate these concepts using case study data from participant observation of fans of a U.S. football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and content analysis of news articles. I extend Collins' interaction ritual (IR) theory by taking the group as the unit of analysis and analyzing group solidarity beyond situational interactions and typical sport settings, including the significant life events of weddings and funerals. While critiquing Collins' (2004) a priori portrayal of sports fans, the analysis advances IR theory, improving its utility for understanding sports fan behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational commitment of volunteers has been recognized as essential for the effective management of community-based sport. Despite this, little is known about the nature of sport volunteer commitment and, more specifically, its dimensionality and targets. This study developed measures of sport volunteer commitment within a framework of multiple dimensions of commitment and multiple targets of commitment to three organizational targets in the sport volunteering setting: the organization (in this context, the athletic center), the volunteer work team, and the volunteer role. Drawing on Meyer and Herscovitch's (2001) general commitment model, we adapted measures from previous work of Engelberg, Skinner, and Zakus (2006) of commitment to each of these targets and tested the proposed model using partial least squares regression (PLS) modeling. Results provided support for a two-dimensional model within and across each of the targets, and also showed that the measures had adequate discriminant validity and reliability. Implications for research on volunteer commitment in sport organizations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the working experience of women sports journalists. Women sports journalists for French language newspapers in Switzerland are examined to determine how the power structures of their organization affect their work. It is found that the work experience of the women was dependent upon the relationship between their status in journalism and their personalities. Three strategies are identified through which the women journalists coped with their situations, either by conforming to the male-dominated concept of sports journalism, by resisting it actively, or by resisting it through adaptations of the male role.

The article presents information on Shape Your Life, an action research program in which women and transgendered survivors of violence were trained in boxing. The program's engagement of the anger felt by participants is considered, particularly in how anger is a meaningful response to all forms of social injustice, not merely crime. A correlation between the physical activity of the program, the social space of the participants and their emotions is discussed, with special attention paid to how boxing allowed participants to express their anger and release it.

I analyze women's flat-track amateur roller derby by asking: how do derby skaters negotiate the requirements associated with emphasized femininity? By drawing on Hebdige's (1979) analysis of punk, I develop the term female signifiant to argue that roller derby is an aggressive contact sport with a theatrical edge. It provides a rich, adventurous space to satirize athletic and feminine norms. Specifically, skaters' sport participation is characterized by an interrogation of emphasized femininity without necessarily undermining the masculine/feminine gender binary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charity sport events have emerged as widespread and integral fundraising mechanisms for charitable organizations. This article explores the meaning that charity sport events hold in participants' lives. Using the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) as the theoretical framework, the authors examine participant attachment to charity sport events. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in a charity sport event (N = 32) to discuss their perceptions of the event and their overall event experiences. Results revealed that camaraderie, cause, and competency reflect the enhanced meaning of the event and provide further explanation of attachment. Suggestions are made for charitable organizations and host communities to leverage these factors effectively and develop long-term sustainable events, and to assist in recruiting volunteers and facilitating social change in host communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay identifies an emerging form of pleasure offered to fans of elite football. I name this mode of engagement "vicarious management" and focus on its emergence in National Football League (NFL) related products of fantasy football, media coverage of the NFL draft, and the video game Madden NFL. Through an analysis of sports marketing literature and promotional materials provided for consumers by ESPN and EA Sports, the article posits that the emergence of vicarious management is overdetermined by emerging financial opportunities in media culture and ideological instabilities within race and masculinity. I identify how vicarious management offers new opportunities for integrating and expanding corporate reach while constructing masculine athletic subjectivity in ways that addresses deeply felt anxieties in White masculinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The examination of an Afro-Brazilian martial art, capoeira, offers a sport-tourism nexus in which to study authenticity discourses. This article, based on an ethnography of a capoeira group in Canada, exposes teachers' representations of "authentic capoeira" as logical paradoxes. Teachers market what they know is neither original nor pure as "authentic" to take advantage of the expectations, desires, and economic resources of their Canadian students. In turn, students negotiate and accept sometimes-contradictory descriptions of real capoeira, fueled by their desire for fun, fitness, and proximity to a culture that is of another time and place. I suggest that authenticity discourses are critical to notions of multiculturalism in Canada, and are necessary components of the commoditization of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to examine issues relating to desirable hockey masculinity and how they are played out within the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). My aim is to explore how the presentation/representation of hegemonic Canadian hockey masculinity within the CHL works to marginalize non-North American hockey players. I examine how gender is performed by the players, how the CHL as an institution supports dominant notions of gender, and how ideas about gender are taken up by the media. I draw from ten semistructured narrative interviews conducted with non-North American hockey players who competed in the CHL, as well as the scholarly literature, media representations and commentary on the game, supplemental interviews, and an examination of North American and international hockey policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the role of stability in team members' relations as a determinant of performance in the Italian 'Serie A' Soccer League. The dataset includes all the players in the 35 teams that have competed in the 'Serie A' from the 1994-95 up to the 2002-03 season. The results show that team stability and longevity of team relationships have a positive impact on performance. Moreover, there is weak evidence that team stability is beneficial up to a critical point, after which it might be detrimental. The article discusses these and other findings, and also how these results contribute to the literature on teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory sport events have emerged as viable fundraising mechanisms for charitable organizations. This article examines the impact that motives for charitable giving and sport event participation have on charity sport events. The authors examine the factors that attract participants to a charity sport event, while the role of charity in fostering attachment to the event is explored. Focus groups were conducted with charity sport event participants to discuss what motivated their participation. Results revealed that intellectual, social, and competency motives along with the motives of reciprocity, self-esteem, need to help others, and desire to improve the charity contribute to attraction. In addition, the results suggest that the charitable component influences social and competency motives and contributes to the development of attachment to the event. The authors recommend event managers work to foster and leverage the sense of community created through these events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explores Norwegian female and male elite wrestlers' perceptions of media coverage of wrestling and of themselves as athletes. In-depth interviews were conducted with four female and four male elite wrestlers. Data analysis revealed that the wrestlers experienced media attention as limited and gender stereotyped, with a dominant focus on hegemonic masculinity. In addition, the wrestlers perceived that media coverage distorted their sport performance by focusing on sensational aspects and scandals rather than on actual performances and results. Some of the athletes' descriptions of representations in the sports media and commercial television illustrated that, in their perception, they were viewed more as media clowns than as serious athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Football hooliganism has a wide appeal within popular culture. Numerous books, films, documentaries, digital games, and even stage plays have featured representations of the phenomenon. All are presentations of what could be termed "fantasy football hooliganism" in that they are attempts by the entertainment industry to represent, reproduce, or simulate football-related disorder for our leisure consumption. This article offers a conceptual framework (underpinned by the work of Blackshaw & Crabbe) for the sociological analysis of the consumption and production of these fantasy football hooliganism texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has demonstrated that the difference between a group's potential and its actual productivity is, in part, a function of individuals exerting less effort when working as a team. This phenomenon has been labeled social loafing. Harkins and Petty (1982) have suggested that the way in which teammates think their outputs are combined to make up the team score and teammate competence may influence the social loafing effect. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of additive, disjunctive, and conjunctive task structures on individual effort expended by rowers and nonrowers. In Experiment 1, 30 male nonrowers were assigned to dyads and performed two (alone, team) 45-sec trials on Concept II rowing ergometers. Ten subjects performed under additive, 10 under disjunctive, and 10 under conjunctive task conditions. Results demonstrated no significant effects. In Experiment 2, 30 subjects were assigned to 15 dyads with the restriction that 1 member of each dyad be a collegiate rower and 1 be a nonrower. The results revealed (a) that rowers expended more effort than nonrowers and (b) a social loafing effect for the least proficient teammate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the sources of stress in elite figure skaters. Twenty-six former national-championship competitors were interviewed to identify their stressors during the most competitive phase of their athletic careers. The interviews consisted of open-ended and follow-up questions that provided an in-depth understanding of the athletes' sources of stress. Inductive content analysis procedures established stress categories derived from the athletes' perspective. Five major sources of stress emerged from the data, negative aspects of competition, negative significant-other relationships, demands or costs of skating, personal struggles, and traumatic experiences. The results demonstrate that (a) elite athletes experience stress from both competition and noncompetition sources, (b) individual differences exist among elite athletes' sources of stress, and (c) elite and youth sport athletes have similar competition-related stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the effects of season game number, series game number, length of home stand, length of visitor's road trip, home travel, and visitor travel on the home advantage in minor league Double A baseball (N= 1812 games). Initial analysis indicated that the home team won 55.1% of the games (p<.001). Forced-entry multiple regression analyses determined that the combined main and interaction effects of the predictor variables explained less than 1.2% of the variance in win/loss outcome (p>.49). Chi-square analyses revealed that the variable of length of visitor's road trip produced the greatest change in the magnitude of home advantage. When the length of visitor's road trip was cross-tabulated with the length of home stand, the change in home advantage was statistically significant for the home team's later series (p<.05). The implications of these results for the various home advantage explanations are discussed, and future directions for home advantage research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines various philosophical positions in the debate concerning the ethical ramifications of sport hunting. The author presents an overview of sport hunting in general, then summarizes the philosophical positions of both animal liberationists and ecocentrists. Liberationists are portrayed as being focused on the immorality of sport hunting as an inherent affront to the whole spectrum of living beings, of which humans are a part. However, ecocentrists propose a belief system that portrays the environment and non-human creatures, devoid of moral character, to be valuable insofar as they can serve humans' needs.

This article discusses the various aspects of aggression and violence in competitive sports. The author suggests that violence and aggression in sports stems from alienation, a direct contrast to the nature of competitive play. He offers examples of professional athletes who have performed at high levels of excellence, have competed with aggressiveness, but have still remained part of a team or comrades with those they are competing against. He believes that the alienation of players who are violent and aggressive in their respective sports is connected to a failure in the perception of athletic competition and its goals.

This article presents a response to an article examining the political and sociological reflection inherent in American football. The author replies to arguments that misrepresent his original thesis on the subject. He explains that the logic of scoring in football does not promote an even distribution of scoring advantages between two teams, but rather supports teams that aggressively use the other team's supposed advantage against them. He compares scoring in football to monetary acquisitions in the business world, allowing for maximum gains on one side and minimum on the other. He also presents football, in its heightened physical and logical requirements, as a glorified example of social order.

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of former college football players upon exiting intercollegiate careers. The qualitative methodology of in-depth, dialogic interviewing was employed. Participants were 7 former NCAA Division I-A collegiate football players who completed their eligibility within the last 3 years and who were at least 8 months removed from collegiate competition. These participants were not under contract with any professional teams at the time of their interviews. Findings centered around the following themes: (a) the transition from high school to elite-level college football, and the change in the relationships participants had with their coaches; (b) the learning of behavior not positively transferable to the "real world"; (c) the power and control issues surrounding the major college football setting, and the manner in which participants perceived, and responded to, being controlled; and (d) the ways participants were experiencing posteligibility life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Psychological Skills Inventory for Sport (PSIS; Mahoney, 1988) identifies certain psychological skills or characteristics possessed by successful athletes. However, little has been done to connect the PSIS with other variables that may have an impact on the athletes' psychological skills. Therefore the purpose of this study was twofold. First, the psychometric properties of the PSIS for all subjects and by gender were determined. Second, the relationship between the PSIS, experience, practice commitment, and gender of collegiate skiers was examined. A random sample of 131 male and female collegiate skiers responded to the 45-item PSIS. Overall, the six PSIS subscales (anxiety, concentration, confidence, mental preparation, motivation, and team emphasis) demonstrated acceptable internal reliability (coeff. alpha = .69-.84). Results of a 4 X 3 X 2 (Experience x Practice Commitment x Gender) MANOVA and follow-up univariate F tests revealed a significant gender effect on the team emphasis subscale. Female collegiate skiers were more team oriented than male collegiate skiers and placed more importance on the social and affiliative aspects of being on a team than did their male counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments examined Smoll and Smith's (1989) model of leadership behaviors in sport. The coaching behaviors of a male head coach of a collegiate women's basketball team (n=11 players) were examined. The data supported competitive trait anxiety as an individual-difference variable that mediates athletes' perception and evaluation of coaching behaviors. There also was support for adding athletes' state cognitive anxiety, state self-confidence, and perception of the coach's cognitive anxiety to the model as individual-difference variables. Athletes who scored high in trait anxiety (p<.001) and state cognitive anxiety (p<.05) and low in state self-confidence (p<.05), and athletes who perceived the coach as high in state cognitive anxiety (p<.001), evaluated coaching behavior more negatively. Game outcome may influence the effect of self-confidence in mediating athletes' perception and evaluation of coaching behaviors. Additionally, athletes perceived several specific coaching behaviors more negatively than did the coach, and athletes drastically overestimated their coach's self-reported pregame cognitive and somatic anxiety and underestimated his self-confidence. Overall, the results suggest that coaches should be more supportive and less negative with high anxious and low self-confident athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While college women in general are at risk for anorexia nervosa and bulimia, these disorders may present more of a problem for the student-athlete due to her weight/body consciousness and the pressure associated with athletic competition at the college or university level. This paper discusses the physical and psychological characteristics of each disorder, their etiology, and how each affects the life and performance of the athlete. Recommendations are offered regarding the role of the sport management team (i.e., sport psychologist, team physician, coach, athletic trainer, exercise physiologist) in assisting the eating-disordered athlete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines psychological stress in children's sports by presenting results from a panel discussion held with four young athletes ranging in age from 11 to 16 years. The discussion focused on stress and its sources, consequences, and how to cope. Results validated existing research on youth sports stress by showing that most young athletes are not placed under excessive stress. Rather, certain children in specific situations experience high levels of competitive state anxiety. Consistent with previous research, the stress of sports competition was also found to be no more anxiety provoking than other childhood evaluative activities. Future research directions identified from the panel's responses included the need to identify strategies for coping with stress and ways of teaching these to young athletes, as well as ways to educate parents and coaches on how to improve communication skills. Finally, based on the panel's remarks, practical implications for facilitating the youth sport experience are discussed. INSET: Interview questions and follow-up probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined perceived competence, individual importance (what is important to the individual), and group importance (what is perceived to be important to the group) as determinants of self-esteem. The sample consisted of 100 male football players ranging in age from 11 to 14 years. A questionnaire containing items that assessed the central constructs was administered to the players during a team practice near the end of a 7-week competitive season. Self-esteem was the dependent variable, with perceived competence, individual importance, and group importance entered as the set of predictor variables in a non-stepwise multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that the set of predictor variables accounted for 47% of the variance in self-esteem. Both perceived competence and individual importance contributed significantly to explaining self-esteem, although perceived competence was the strongest predictor. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of how the values of significant others might influence the development of self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the movement of human organs. The movement of human organs helps the man to perform variety of tasks. It helps a man to do any kind of action including physical and mental work. The study of man and human movements embraces multi disciplinary approaches. It involves the study of psychology, physiology, anatomy, sociology, anthropology, history, philosophy, and physical education. The human movement study also embraces subdisciplines of sociology of sport, philosophy of sport, history of dance, physiology of exercise and psychology of sport. The article author says that it is question of debate that the study of human movement should be done on the basis of existing disciplines or there should be inclusion of new disciplines. The article author emphasizes on an alternative approach to study of human movement for its unification and universal applicability. The article author describes that there are several difficulties in analyzing the theory on human movements on the basis of language system because it is based on similar concepts of arts and music which can be better demonstrated rather than the describing them.

This article provides strategies and counseling for athletic trainers in regards to their client's behavioral habits outside of athletic conditioning. Suggestions concerning the process of rehabilitation, the ways in which an athletic trainer can accomplish task requirements, and understanding the individual needs of an athlete, are all addressed. Feedback and tools are provided to help the reader facilitate this process.

Bourdieu's analytic concept ofhabitushas provided a valuable means of theorising coach development but is yet to be operationalised in empirical research. This article redresses this oversight by drawing on a larger study that inquired into how the ‘coachinghabitus’ of elite-level Australian and New Zealand rugby coaches structured their interpretation and use of theGame Senseapproach to coaching to illustrate howhabituscan be operationalised. It focuses on the identification of characteristics of the individual coachinghabitusof four elite-level Australian rugby coaches and how they shape their interpretation and use of Game Sense. Drawing on suggestions made by Lau, we identify the characteristics of four individual ‘coachinghabitus’ by examining their views on: (1) the characteristics of good coaches; (2) characteristics of great rugby players and how to develop them; and (3) their dispositions towards innovation in coaching. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Like most historians, sport historians have generally emphasized the visual and cognitive dimensions of human experience while neglecting the sensorial and the emotional This essay suggests that the rapid expansion and the growing sophistication of historical study of senses and emotions have created exciting opportunities for sport history. More systematic attention to the role of senses and emotions in shaping perceptions of and meanings derived from sport could enrich our understanding of the history of sport. The essay offers some suggestions as to how such issues might be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a quarterback and a receiver stand facing one another after an incompletion with their arms and eyebrows raised, it is clear that a key challenge for sports teams is achieving team coordination; that is, arranging team members’ actions so that, when they are combined, they are in suitable relation for effective team functioning. A prerequisite to achieving team coordination is effective communication between team members, including coaches, about game plans and the roles and responsibilities of team members. This article presents strategies for enhancing team coordination and communication during practice and competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many sociologists have observed the close connection between coordination and rhythm. In order to accomplish a communal task, participants need to develop a common rhythm if they are to coordinate their actions. Indeed, the harder the collective task, the more critical - but difficult - it is for participants to develop a common rhythm in order to synchronize their actions. Rhythm is thus an important and recurrent feature of social performance. This article explores the ways in which participants try to generate common rhythm in order to execute collective performances. To this end, the paper takes a single sporting example. It examines a decisive period in the 153rd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in 2007 to examine how a small social group, the Cambridge crew, struggled to create and maintain a rhythm in order to maximize their rowing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many sociologists have observed the close connection between coordination and rhythm. In order to accomplish a communal task, participants need to develop a common rhythm if they are to coordinate their actions. Indeed, the harder the collective task, the more critical - but difficult - it is for participants to develop a common rhythm in order to synchronize their actions. Rhythm is thus an important and recurrent feature of social performance. This article explores the ways in which participants try to generate common rhythm in order to execute collective performances. To this end, the paper takes a single sporting example. It examines a decisive period in the 153rd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in 2007 to examine how a small social group, the Cambridge crew, struggled to create and maintain a rhythm in order to maximize their rowing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of stress in sport performance and its effect on obtaining results of value in semifond-fond athletic events were required and still require specific research conduct. The growth in the expression of affective-emotional states before a goal competition of athletes who specialize in long and medium length running events may be accompanied by real changes, in biological plans, of the specific parameters of reactions to stress. These changes may be viable guidelines in designing the plan to address further the future goal competitions. This research was based on the possibility of formulating the correlation between blood tests and profile of affective-emotional states of nine professional athletes, specializing in long and medium running events, the results revealed possible correlations between the biological and the psychological component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first part of this paper, I argue that philosophers of sport have mistakenly privileged a specific psychology and purpose in their definitions of competition. The result of this mistake has been that philosophers of sport make generalisations about competition as such which in fact only hold for some competitions. In the second and third parts of the paper, I articulate an alternative approach: rather than search for a single psychology and purpose that underlies all competition, I argue that we should begin by acknowledging four distinctly different competitive formats, and only then enquire as to which psychologies and purposes are more or less appropriate to each format. This method allows us to capture the richness and diversity of competition, and helps to ensure that we do not confuse part and whole when defining it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper sought to draw together literature on the body, sport and the emotions as published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Reviewing a range of approaches the argument presented provides an overview of theories of the body and the study of sport sub cultures and offers an a more nuanced Eliasian analysis of the meaning and significance of sport. This alternative approach is captured in the term quest for exciting significance. Over the past two decades several studies have used the concept to explore sport and embodied emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships with peers and coaches are important predictors of motivational variables in sport settings for both male and female athletes. However, participating on same-sex (SS) and mixed-sex (MS) teams may influence the specific types of interactions athletes experience with coaches and peers during their sport participation and consequently relate to sources of social support, sources of competence information used, and levels of perceived competence. This study examined differences between athletes on SS and MS competitive sports teams on social support, perceived competence, and sources of competence information. Collegiate athletes (61 male, 46 female) from SS and MS sports (n - 63 and 44, respectively) completed questionnaires assessing social support, perceived competence, and sources of competence information. A participants' gender by team type interaction revealed that perceived support from coaches and peers differed for men and women in each environment. In addition, although level of perceived competence did not differ, sources of competence information differed by gender and by team type. Coaches, administrators, and researchers should consider the differences between MS and SS environments with regard to social interactions and social support in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience regarding the psychological, social, and autoethnographic aspects of the sport of hockey.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate social functioning quality of life and self-esteem in young people with disabilities taking part in adapted competitive sport. Method: A sample of 496 athletes (mean age 16 years 4 months, range: 9 years to 20 years 9 months) was obtained from the 540 participants (91.8%) involved in a French national champion- ship. The main outcome measurements were a social functioning inventory (PedsQL 4.0 social functioning) and a self-esteem inventory in physical areas (physical self inventory 6 PSI-6). Results: The mean PedsQL SF score was 74.6 (SD: 17.7). Comparisons of PedsQL SF according to gender, age, self mobility and training revealed no significant differences between the groups. PedsQL SF was weakly but significantly correlated with all subscales of the PSI-6 in the total population. PSI-6 scores were significantly different between boys and girls, with better self-esteem for boys on general self-esteem (7.7 vs. 6.9, p =0.018), physical condition (6.8 vs. 6.0, p =0.023) and attractive body subscores (6.5 vs. 5.1, p<0.001). Conclusion: Social functioning scores were significantly higher in this population than in the samples of young people with disabilities available in the literature. Interactions between self-concept, social functioning quality of life and participation in adapted sport activities require further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the place of Polynesians in American football has received considerable attention as the news media complex has featured stories on Hawaiians and Tongans performing Maori war dances in New Mexico and Texas, while the life stories of Samoan players appear in film and in hardcover. In this essay we argue that the performances of Polynesian warriorhood and masculinity in American football embody the larger history of islander engagements with US empire, militarism and global capitalism in the Pacific. We focus on the University of Hawai'i (UH) football team, whose 'macho makeover' as 'The Warriors'- including a rejection of its 'Rainbow' traditions - reveals the racialized and gendered nature of sports marketing and recruiting. Our history of Hawaiians and Samoans in UH football sheds light on the ways that present flows of capital, images, and bodies follow familiar patterns of settler colonialism, military occupation, islander diaspora and indigenous struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine how power is given, acquired and used by athletes in the elite sporting context. It focuses on a top-level athlete's reactions to the behaviors of his coaches and how such actions contribute to the creation of a coaching climate, which both influences and 'houses' coaching. The paper centers on Sean (a pseudonym), a top-level rower and his preparation for crew selection to the upcoming international regatta season. Specifically, it illustrates Sean's interaction with those responsible for a national rowing program following his decision not to participate in an aspect of that program. Sean's story, from both his own and the perspectives of his coaches, is presented using a variation of realist tales which draw upon excerpts from fieldnotes and interview transcripts. Bourdieu's notion of capital is primarily utilized to analyze the data. Findings demonstrate how the various aspects of capital are defined, used and negotiated by social actors within the context of elite sport. The significance of the work lies in generating a greater understanding of power dynamics within the coaching context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The scholarly attention paid to the ways in which television viewers perceive sports action as violent, how perceptions may differ across games, and how perceptions might impact enjoyment is limited. The current project extends the literature by investigating perceived violence and enjoyment across different intercollegiate (American) football contests between two heated rivals. A total of 568 individuals viewed one of four televised contests featuring the same hometown team: two against heated rivals, two against nonrivals. Results reveal that viewers clearly perceived rivalry games to be more violent than nonrivalry games. Moreover, games won by the hometeam were seen as more violent than those lost. Also, those perceiving high levels of violence reported greater enjoyment than those who perceived low levels of violence in all games. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that perceived violence contributes differently to the enjoyment of games won than to games lost. Possible explanations for and implication of the findings are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]