Sport and Australian Culture - Essay Example

Sports in Australia Name Instructor Datte Sports in Australia Introduction In the Australian culture, sports are regarded as a crucial part of it, more so, for the ordinary Australians. Among the earliest sports to be played in Australia are horse racing, rugby union, football, and cricket (Coutts and Duffield, 2010). Additionally, the sports in Australia has played a central role in shaping the national identity of that country through some of the sporting events like America’s Cup, as well as the Melbourne Cup (Tiedemann et al., 2011). Some of the Australian sports leagues are the same as those leagues in Canada and the United States. As a country, the Australian country has been able to compete in several major international events like the Paralympics and the Olympics. The ordinary Australians have been having a growing interest in sports for various reasons (Selig et al., 2010). The sports in Australia are also governed by different codes of conduct which spells out some of the rules to enable sportsmen and women embrace sports in the correct and professional way. The paper will, therefore, seek to evaluate why sports is considered to be important to the ordinary Australians. Typically, the Australian citizens have widely recognized the importance of sports in developing the national pride as well as in enhancing the health of the community. Recreation and sports are considered as a significant part of the Australian life primarily because of these reasons although there are several other reasons why sports have been recognized as being significant (Desbrow et al., 2014) When one observes the Australian nation, there are various spectacular sports grounds, reserves, parks, waterways, and beaches, which is evident that sports are a passion in that country. The ordinary Australian citizens consider sports to be an essential element which builds and binds communities, building their national pride, tend to shape their individual national character, as well as to motivate and to inspire them (Desbrow et al., 2014). This has, therefore, led to most of the Australian citizens to be passionate about sports and make sports a crucial element of the lives. Among the reasons why sports is important to the ordinary Australians is the fact that it encourages social inclusion among them. The Australian citizens consider sports as a primary medium for developing new and lasting relationships with the various people in disparate social groups (Pearson, Naughton and Torode, 2006). Individuals who come from the linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, as well as the indigenous Australians, become highly vulnerable to structural and social disconnection. Following this, sports have increasingly offered them with endless opportunities to connect with the wider Australian community. For example, some of the sports organizations usually develop specific bonds with different groups of indigenous Australians where they expose the some of these people to sporting activities and in turn reduces social isolation (Pearson, Naughton and Torode, 2006). In the same light, the Australian sports code of conduct also encourages sporting activities which oversee that there is social inclusion among the ordinary Australian citizens. For example, the Athletics Code of Conduct encourages sports people to respect every person and to treat them with courtesy regardless of their backgrounds (Wilson and Pomfret, 2009). In turn, the ordinary Australians become attached to sports because it encourages social inclusion amongst them. Sports are also regarded important for the Australian citizens because it plays a crucial role in both the psychological and physical wellbeing of the ordinary Australians in the community in general. Many of the ordinary Australians usually participate in sports because it significantly contributes to high levels of self-worth, motivation, and self-esteem (Tassiopoulos and Haydam, 2008). Sports have also led to the prevention of risks of arthritis, and obesity while at the same time contributing to enhancing the immune system of these people. Sports have, over time, assisted the ordinary Australians to maintain and improve their cognitive abilities when they enter old age and has also helped them to avoid the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as well (Tassiopoulos and Haydam, 2008). Aside from these personal reasons, the ordinary Australians have become attached to sports because of the social benefits of the same through its enhancement of social integration and interaction. The aspect of this social integration is emphasized in the sports anti-discrimination policy where it prohibits people from being treated in an unfair manner or harassed in any form (Edmans, Garcia and Norli, 2007). This makes sports a central part of the Australian culture. Sports have been highly considered by the ordinary Australians as a way of preventing the at-risk behaviors. Some of the community safety issues like anti-social behavior and youth offending can be addressed by engaging in the various sporting activities (Williams and Kendall, 2007). Precisely, the Australians have witnessed some of the sporting intervention programs target the young people who are at risks of participating in some offensive behaviors and turn have enhanced positive community behavior and security. Sports have continuously diverted the young individuals from committing any form of crimes through focusing on their individual development and rehabilitation (Williams and Kendall, 2007). In doing this, the fear of security among the residents has reduced because of the reduced levels of crime by the youth following engaging in sports which are what has led to the Australians supporting sports the way they do. Many ordinary Australians support sports because it enhances their productivity in the activities that they engage in. According to studies, there is a direct relationship which exists between the level of an individual’s productivity and their health (Thiel and Mayer, 2009). When one engages in sports, it is evident that their health will be enhanced in many ways as have been discussed above. Therefore, the Australians, especially those who are working and those that are in school, usually participate in various sporting activities because their output is usually enhanced while at the same time enhancing their motivation, attitude, and their general quality of life (Kirk, 2005). Sporting activities enable them to be equipped to handle with some of the physical demands that their jobs or daily activities present them with through helping them to have positive health outcomes (Kirk, 2005). Additionally, according to the Athletics Code of Conduct of 2005, sports are supposed to be used for health and other positive reasons and not for malicious reasons. Following this, the ordinary Australians have chosen to make use of sport for health and various other reasons as have been discussed which have made most of the ordinary Australians much attached to sports and sporting activities. The shape of the urban living spaces in Australia is constantly changing. This has led the relevant governmental bodies in Australia to develop some particular areas which are aimed at encouraging people to participate in physical activities (Hallmann et al., 2012). The increased will of the ordinary Australians to participate in sports has contributed to the preservation of the natural landscapes, open spaces, as well as streetscapes which are being utilized for various sporting activities. On the other hand, when Australians get to see that there are efforts which have been channeled towards the preservation of these places for sports, their interests in participating in the activities increase as well (Hallmann et al., 2012). This increased support from the relevant Australian stakeholders makes the ordinary Australians more interested in sports as they realize the benefits that it brings not only to them but also to the society at large. Additionally, there is a particular body of government that deals with sports only which provides them with the avenue and platform that they need when they feel like engaging in any sporting activities (Poulos, Donaldson and Finch, 2010). This has increased the desire for the ordinary Australians to participate more in sports as they know there is a specific governmental body which will handle their sporting issues as and when they arise. Another importance that has led to the Australians loving to engage in sports in the way that they do is because, through sporting activities, families have been bound together through shared achievements and experiences (Green and Collins, 2008). Sports have over time enabled the Australians to shun anti-social behaviors and in turn support education. In the same light, as discussed earlier, sports have enhanced their sense of national pride as well. When the Australian sports competitors get to triumph on the world stage in events such as the Olympics, the business leaders, governments, as well as the entire community tend to bask in that glory (Green and Collins, 2008). Having such celebrations tend to unite the entire Australian people where it draws together individuals from various culture, religion, and race which in turn develops elevated levels of national identity and community cohesion. Sports in Australia are regarded as a means of curing the different societal issues that are commonly experienced beginning from discrimination to any form of harassment (Green and Collins, 2008). For example, in addressing such issues, Athletics Australia, in its code of conduct of 2005, recognizes the fact that it is difficult for individuals to perform effectively and enjoy themselves fully in sports if they are treated in an unfair manner or face any discrimination per se (Green and Collins, 2008). Following this, the Athletics body, as well as other sporting organizations, has provided an amicable sporting environment where every Australian citizen who participates in sports are treated with utmost respect and dignity. Thus, this has increased the desire and interest of many Australian citizens to keep on engaging in sports as it tends to promote that unity and fairness in the community something that is considered a priority for Australians (Green and Collins, 2008). The other paramount reason as to why sports are important to the ordinary Australians is because of its economic value. The economic effect of sports evidently reaches more people and goes even further than one would expect. One way that this economic value is felt is through the numerous championships that are usually organized all around Australia, which attracts thousands of competitors across the country (Gratton, Dobson and Shibli, 2000). Most if not all of these competitors are the ordinary Australians. In the same light, sport is considered to be among the largest businesses in Australia which generated an income of about 8.8 billion dollars in the financial year 2003/2004 (Gratton, Dobson and Shibli, 2000). In these businesses, more than about 5000 ordinary Australians get employed full time where they get to benefit financially as well. In the same financial year, the Australian households spent more than about 6.3 billion dollars on sports alone (Gratton, Dobson and Shibli, 2000). Additionally, if the government earns more from sports regarding revenues and taxes, it invests more on the same and in the long run offer the Australians better sporting infrastructure which in turn encourages them to take part even more on the sporting activities (Horne, 2007). These are just among the other numerous economic benefits that sports have brought to the ordinary Australians. Through the economic analysis of the benefits that sports have on the Australians, it is evident that it is a big business which cuts across numerous sectors which means that it is a crucial medium in sustaining and developing the society in which they are a part of (Horne, 2007). This realization has resulted in more and more ordinary Australians recognizing sport as an important part of their lives. Conclusion Sport is evidently important to the ordinary Australians and is a central part of their culture. The Australian citizens regard sports as being an essential element of their lives for various reasons which have been discussed in the paper. Some of the reasons why the sport is important to the ordinary Australians include the fact that it promotes a healthy society, social inclusion, individual wellbeing, has economic benefits, instills national pride, and enable them to shun anti-social behavior among other reasons. In Australia, there is a different sporting code of conducts and precisely in the individual sports that are being played in that country. This paper has used the Athletics sporting code to represent the other sporting codes concerning the topic. Some of the aspects that the Australian sporting codes emphasize that make sports important to the ordinary Australians become important to include issues to do with discrimination and harassment and the call for integrity at all times. References Coutts, A.J and Duffield, R 2010, Validity and reliability of GPS devices for measuring movement demands of team sports. Journal of science and Medicine in Sport, vol. 13, no. 1, pp.133-135. Desbrow, B., McCormack, J., Burke, L.M., Cox, G.R., Fallon, K., Hislop, M., Logan, R., Marino, N., Sawyer, S.M., Shaw, G. and Star, A 2014, Sports Dietitians Australia position statement: sports nutrition for the adolescent athlete. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, vol. 24, no. 5, pp.570-584. Edmans, A., Garcia, D. and Norli, Ø 2007, Sports sentiment and stock returns. The Journal of Finance, vol. 62, no. 4, pp.1967-1998. Gratton, C., Dobson, N and Shibli, S 2000, The economic importance of major sports events: a case-study of six events. Managing leisure, vol. 5, no. 1, pp.17-28. Green, M. and Collins, S 2008, Policy, politics and path dependency: Sport development in Australia and Finland. Sport management review, vol. 11, no. 3, pp.225-251. Hallmann, K., Wicker, P., Breuer, C. and Schönherr, L 2012, Understanding the importance of sport infrastructure for participation in different sports–findings from multi-level modeling. European Sport Management Quarterly, vol. 12, no. 5, pp.525-544. Horne, J 2007, The four ‘knowns’ of sports mega‐events. Leisure studies, vol. 26, no. 1, pp.81-96. Kirk, D 2005, Physical education, youth sport and lifelong participation: the importance of early learning experiences. European Physical Education Review, vol. 11, no. 3, pp.239-255. Pearson, D.T., Naughton, G.A. and Torode, M 2006, Predictability of physiological testing and the role of maturation in talent identification for adolescent team sports. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, vol. 9, no. 4, pp.277-287. Poulos, R., Donaldson, A. and Finch, C 2010, Towards evidence-informed sports safety policy for New South Wales, Australia: assessing the readiness of the sector. Injury Prevention, vol. 16, no. 2, pp.127-131. Selig, S.E., Levinger, I., Williams, A.D., Smart, N., Holland, D.J., Maiorana, A., Green, D.J. and Hare, D.L 2010, Exercise & Sports Science Australia Position Statement on exercise training and chronic heart failure. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, vol. 13, no. 3, pp.288-294. Tassiopoulos, D and Haydam, N 2008, Golf tourists in South Africa: A demand-side study of a niche market in sports tourism. Tourism Management, vol. 29, no. 5, pp.870-882. Thiel, A. and Mayer, J 2009, Characteristics of voluntary sports clubs management: A sociological perspective. European Sport Management Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 1, pp.81-98. Tiedemann, A., Sherrington, C., Close, J.C. and Lord, S.R 2011, Exercise and Sports Science Australia position statement on exercise and falls prevention in older people. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, vol. 14, no. 6, pp.489-495. Williams, S.J. and Kendall, L.R 2007, A profile of sports science research (1983–2003). Journal of science and medicine in sport, vol. 10, no. 4, pp.193-200. Wilson, J.K. and Pomfret, R 2009, Government subsidies for professional team sports in Australia. Australian Economic Review, vol. 42, no. 3, pp.264-275. Read More