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Sport and Physical Activity across the Lifespan: Critical Perspectives PDF

367 Pages·2018·3.82 MB·English
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S P O R T & P H Y S I C A L A C T I V I T Y A C R O S S T H E L I F E S P A N Critical Perspectives Edited by RYLEE A. DIONIGI & MICHAEL GARD Sport and Physical Activity across the Lifespan Rylee A. Dionigi • Michael Gard Editors Sport and Physical Activity across the Lifespan Critical Perspectives Editors Rylee A. Dionigi Michael Gard Charles Sturt University University of Queensland Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Australia ISBN 978-1-137-48561-8 ISBN 978-1-137-48562-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48562-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017956725 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans- mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Getty/freemixer Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom From Rylee: To my beautiful family; Claudio, Giordano, Lorena and Ralphie. From Michael: To Eimear Nora Enright; the past, the present, the future. Foreword It is widely acknowledged that, under specific circumstances, participa- tion in sport and physical activity may have beneficial effects for physical and mental health, and for community and individual development. Unfortunately, the complexity implied in those ‘specific circumstances’ tends to be forgotten, and for the last half century policy makers have been generalising the benefits and increasingly adding functionalist bag- gage to the idea of participation. As Michael Sam (2009) notes, ‘Governments now have high expecta- tions from their involvement with sport, including the prospects that it will generate economic growth, decrease health expenditures, promote social integration and develop national identity’ (500). In their attempts to increase sport and physical activity participation to realise those ben- efits, governments have encountered a wicked problem. Sport and physi- cal activity are difficult to define (ranging from full-time high-performance to occasional recreational play and exercise), and even more difficult to measure; reasons for non-participation are multi-causal, and the problem is relentless. As a consequence, attempts to increase participation in Canada and other countries over the last 25 years have met with little success. Public service announcements have raised awareness, but not changed any of the circumstances underlying non-participation. Giving increased funds to high-performance sport so that the success of athletes will ‘inspire’ others vii viii Foreword to participate appears to have had an opposite effect; the prescriptive and health-related physical activity guidelines for various age groups have been widely ignored, and attempts to use tax credits to increase participa- tion have been a singular failure. Dionigi and Gard have begun to address this issue directly in this important new collection of critical research on participation in sport and physical activity. They have brought together scholars from a number of countries to consider participation in sport and physical activity at various stages of the lifespan and all of the scholars have addressed the multi-causal aspects of participation by recognising that age intersects with other social categories (e.g., social class, gender, Indigeneity and sexuality) and circumstances of life (e.g., disability, parenthood and preg- nancy) to produce the conditions under which people feel able, or not, to participate in sport and physical activity. The authors also note the influ- ence of early twenty-first century structural circumstances in many soci- eties, such as growing inequality, downloading of responsibility for health to individuals and increasing privatisation/commercialisation of sport and physical activity opportunities. In these circumstances, it may be interpreted as rational to choose not to participate, especially given the ways that sport (as a highly competi- tive ranking system) and physical activity (as a morally superior form of bodily comparison) are often presented and represented. This collection of work should help to drive the debate, and to set a direction for future research, policy and practice. Toronto, Canada Peter Donnelly 31 May 2017 Reference Sam, M. (2009). The public management of sport: Wicked problems, challenges and dilemmas. Public Management Review, 11(4): 499–514. Preface Immerse yourself in an array of theoretical and methodologically diverse perspectives on Sport for All and health-related policy trajec- tories from contributors who reside in Australia, Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. We aim to stimulate and support the critical thinking needs of students in exercise or sport science, sociology, psychology, ageing, leisure stud- ies, physical activity and health promotion, and physical education- related degrees (at the upper graduate or postgraduate levels). Our book will also be of particular interest to scholars in the fields of soci- ology of sport, sociology of ageing, physical education, exercise and health psychology, and leisure studies. Other fields that would benefit from this book include public policy studies, health and physical activity promotion and governmentality studies, as well as critical public health studies. Researchers of sport and ageing across the countries listed above will find this edited collection useful because it brings the latest research and insights together, legitimising sport studies as it relates to age, life transi- tions, life extension and other intersecting factors such as class, gender, sexuality, disability, Indigeneity and family dynamics. Overall, it high- lights the important contribution that social scientists can make to knowledge on individual and cultural implications of promoting Sport ix x Preface for All across the lifespan. We encourage you to question the relevance of sport in policy, critique the potential consequences of imposing sport and physical activity participation across all age groups, and reflect on how words and actions can impact individuals and societies. Bathurst, NSW, Australia Rylee A. Dionigi Brisbane, QLD, Australia Michael Gard Acknowledgements We are grateful to everyone involved in making this idea for a book become a reality. We appreciate the ongoing understanding, patience and support from the publishers and contributors throughout this process. We would each like to offer our personal thanks. Rylee A. Dionigi: Thank you to my family, extended family, neigh- bours, colleagues and friends who have politely tolerated my obsession with completing this book. I am especially grateful to Michael—my dear mentor and friend—for his brilliance, wisdom, uniqueness, honesty, strength and calmness. Thank you for agreeing to be my co-editor, teach- ing me to think more critically, giving me the confidence to lead such a book and above all, your friendship. Without you, I would not be where I am today with my research and thinking. Thank you to Eimear as well—you are amazing! Thank you to my parents Ken and Jan Leslight, for your love, under- standing and support, regardless of which unstoppable freight train I am riding at the time, and to my sister Mardi and my brother Ian and their beautiful families, for listening to me talk too much, for your empathy, love, good times and support. Without my family to love, feed, accept, humour and play with me, there would be no book. To my incredible Lorena (Reni), even at 11-years- old your insightfulness, sense of social justice and critical mind help to keep me grounded. Not to mention, your musical, literary, artistic and xi

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This edited collection problematizes trajectories of health promotion across the lifespan. It provides a distinctive critical social science perspective of the various directions taken by dominant policies in their approach to promoting sport for all ages. It offers an array of theoretical and metho
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