Beyond the Concept of Sport challenges tired assumptions about athletics to unveil sports’ underestimated yet far-reaching social impact and philosophical significance. While governments downplay its influence, author Robert Griffiths recognizes that sports – especially cricket – deeply channels the human spirit for participants and fans alike. He eschews cliches to deliver fresh insight into sports’ resonance. This is no dry academic tome, but rather a lively examination blending scholarship with accessibility. Griffiths brings iconoclastic yet sage opinions to unpacking how athletic pursuits shape culture and consciousness. He illuminates the under-appreciated role sports play in forging identity, purpose, inspiration, escapism and more for millions globally. Grappling with issues often overlooked when discussing athletics, Griffiths’ unconventional analysis explores fandom, nationalism, arts, business, and the very meaning woven through sports’ rituals. Written with passionate intellect, wry wit, and a distaste for the dull, Beyond the Concept of Sport cries out to be read by both die-hard fans and curious sceptics. After all, few human realms spark such fervour and unity across the world’s divides like that of sports. This book captures that emotional impact while elevating sports as a subject worthy of serious yet spirited consideration.

Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines is not about the variations of usage of the term “sport.” It is about the concept, the range of activities in the world that we unite into one idea—sport. It is through the project of defining sport that we can come to understand these activities better, how they are similar or different, and how they relate to other human endeavors. This definitional inquiry, and the deeper appreciation and apprehension of sport that follows, is the core of this volume. Part I examines several of the standard and influential approaches to defining sport. Part II uses these approaches to examine various challenging borderline cases. These chapters examine the interplay of the borderline cases with the definition and provide a more thorough and clearer understanding of both the definition and the given cases. This work is not meant to be the definitive or exhaustive account of sport. It is meant to inspire further thought and debate on just what sport is; how it relates to other activities and human endeavors; and what we can learn about ourselves through the study of sport. This book will be of interest to scholars in philosophy of sport, history, communications, sociology, psychology, sports management, cultural studies, and physical education.

This new edition of Complete Guide to Sport Education contains everything your students need to get—and keep—children active. Regardless of skill or confidence level, your students will learn how to get children to work together, support each other, and gain competence in sport and fitness skills so that they can stay moving now and throughout their lifetime. The Sport Education model is appropriate for various dance forms and recreational activities such as swimming, weightlifting, and other fitness programs such as aerobic routines and hiking. The text for this groundbreaking Sport Education curricular model has expanded to 12 chapters, is updated throughout, and offers even more practical examples and real-world applications from both elementary and secondary levels: • A new emphasis on using the Sport Education model to help students reach national goals for physical activity, including outside of class time • Review of the findings from more than 50 research studies that examine the efficacies of the Sport Education model • More online teacher resources—including ready-to-use forms, plans, assessments, charts, and handouts A few examples of new resources include a series of team practice cards that teachers and team coaches can use to plan practices, and templates that allow teachers to choose among several game-play performance indicators (techniques and tactics, rules and strategies, fair play, and so on). The resources make it easy for professors to use this text in college methods and curriculum courses. Authors Daryl Siedentop, Peter Hastie, and Hans van der Mars provide a perfect blend of rock-solid theory and practical application for a wealth of games, sports, and fitness activities. Through their Sport Education model, children quickly become involved in all aspects of a sport or activity, learning skills, sportsmanship, and responsibility. The curriculum helps students develop as leaders and as team players. And as they learn to become true players and performers, they become more competent and confident—thus leading to the likelihood that they will continue being active after school, on weekends, and as they grow. This second edition of Complete Guide to Sport Education will help school programs meet national physical activity guidelines and the national physical education standards established by NASPE. It contains everything that future physical education teachers need in order to implement an effective program. With its greater emphasis on activity and fitness, its expanded resources, its relevance and freshness, and its practical approach, Complete Guide to Sport Education, Second Edition, is just what your students need to point children in the direction of healthy, active lifestyles.

Textbook for graduate and upper-undergraduate courses in organizational theory and organizational behavior as it relates to sport and sport/recreation management degree programs; reference for practicing sport managers around the world

Timely, accessible, and focused on practical application, Ethics of Sport & Athletics: Theory, Issues, and Applications, Second Edition, details the theories and mechanics of moral reasoning, ethical and unethical behavior in sport, and the development of moral education through sport. This well-organized, case-based approach to sport-related dilemmas teaches readers how to successfully apply moral reasoning skills in good decision making to ensure confidence in sports management. Extensively updated with real-world examples drawn from the latest sports headlines, this Second Edition is designed to help readers grapple with the many complicated ethical challenges they’ll encounter in today’s sports professions, including performance enhancement, violence in sports, and racial and gender discrimination. An expanded emphasis on applying knowledge and concepts in sport management further equips readers to confront specific scenarios, ultimately improving the overall moral integrity of sport without diminishing its competitive element.

"An accessible and different guide for students and practitioners alike... I′m sure that it will become a standard reference text for sports management" - Peter Taylor, Sport Industry Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University "A must have introductory reference guide for graduate and undergraduate sport management students" - Paul M. Pedersen, Indiana University "Provides students, practitioners and researchers in the field of sport management with a valuable compilation of sensitizing concepts, definitions and interesting references" - Michel van Slobbe, European Sport Management Quarterly Sharp, clear and relevant this book meets the needs of those studying and researching within the growing discipline of sport management. The intelligently cross-referenced entries provide a concise overview of the key concepts in the field guiding you through the important debates, sources and research methods in the management and delivery of sport. The book introduces readers to the concepts at the centre of their studies; it suggests relevant further reading and thoughts for future research and applies academic theory to business and organizational problems in a real-world context. Written for students, academics and practitioners the entries are designed to meet study needs and include: Clear definitions Comprehensive examples Practical applications Effective research methods.

Sports are as varied as the people who play them. We run, jump, and swim. We kick, hit, and shoot balls. We ride sleds in the snow and surf in the sea. From the Olympians of ancient Greece to today's professional athletes, from adult pickup soccer games to children's gymnastics classes, people at all levels of ability at all times and in all places have engaged in sport. What drives this phenomenon? In Sport, the neuroscientist Jay Schulkin argues that biology and culture do more than coexist when we play sports—they blend together seamlessly, propelling each other toward greater physical and intellectual achievement. To support this claim, Schulkin discusses history, literature, and art—and engages philosophical inquiry and recent behavioral research. He connects sport's basic neural requirements, including spatial and temporal awareness, inference, memory, agency, direction, competitive spirit, and endurance, to the demands of other human activities. He affirms sport's natural role as a creative evolutionary catalyst, turning the external play of sports inward and bringing insight to the diversion that defines our species. Sport, we learn, is a fundamental part of human life.

Sports, and the fans that follow them, are everywhere. Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Fandom examines the affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions of fans to better comprehend how sport impacts individual fans and society as a whole. Using up-to-date research and theory from multiple disciplines including psychology, sociology, marketing, history, and religious studies, this textbook provides a deeper understanding of topics such as: the pervasiveness of sport fandom in society common demographic and personality characteristics of fans how fandom can provide a sense of belonging, of uniqueness, and of meaning in life the process of becoming a sport fan sport fan consumption and the future of sport and the fan experience. The text also provides a detailed investigation of the darker side of sport fandom, including fan aggression, as well as a critical look at the positive value of fandom for individuals and society. Sport Fans expertly combines a rigorous level of empirical research and theory in an engaging, accessible format, making this text the essential resource on sport fan behavior.

Written by one of the leading international authorities on the sociology of race and sport, this is the first book to address sport′s role in ′the making of race′, the place of sport within black diasporic struggles for freedom and equality, and the contested location of sport in relation to the politics of recognition within contemporary multicultural societies. Race, Sport and Politics shows how, during the first decades of the twentieth century, the idea of ′the natural black athlete′ was invented in order to make sense of and curtail the political impact and cultural achievements of black sportswomen and men. More recently, ′the black athlete′ as sign has become a highly commodified object within contemporary hyper-commercialized sports-media culture thus limiting the transformative potential of critically conscious black athleticism to re-imagine what it means to be both black and human in the twenty-first century. Race, Sport and Politics will be of interest to students and scholars in sociology of culture and sport, the sociology of race and diaspora studies, postcolonial theory, cultural theory and cultural studies.

This text looks at the sociology of sport. Narrative case studies of sports sociology from all over the world provide examples of how to interpret issues in professional and elite sports from a sociological perspective.