The Importance and Role of Sport for Society - Research Paper Example

Sport and the Society A society consists of a group of people that live together and share common practices and beliefs. Most of the time, activities that are carried out by the members of a society are geared towards the development of the whole society. This is the extent to which the society is connected. Some of the activities that a society may engage in include celebration of events such as birth, marriage and death. Some societies involve in activities that may generate income for the whole community. Businesses and other cultural practices are also a common phenomenon in the society. Buying and selling of products within people in the society helps in the creation of social cohesion. This and many other activities bring people together and lead to the general development of the society. However, there is one function of the society whose significance is rather overlooked yet it is of equal, if not, more importance than other areas that are emphasized. This is sports. Almost every society has a sporting activity or program that brings together members of the society as well as different societies together. Sport helps people to maintain physical fitness in addition to engaging their minds, hence reducing the level of idleness. This will be discussed in detail in this paper, which will examine factors related to sport and the society. A sport is an activity which people engage in either as a career or a part time activity. It has been a popular form of recreation since time immemorial (Jezek). It also helps people to rise above cultural differences, in the process bringing them together. Various types of sport that are common include football, rugby, netball, swimming, athletics or even volleyball. Some of these sports are synonymous with some cultures, for example, while football is mostly associated with Brazil; athletics is common in the African countries. In the process of participation in any kind of sport, one gets braced with proper leadership skills; (U.S Department of State 1) this development arises when one has responsibilities in the sport team such as being a captain. The leadership skills that one gains when participating in sporting activities end up being utilized in the society thus an advantage of all members of the society. For instance, proper leadership skills will be translated to the family, in case a participant in a certain sport is the head of the family. Good leadership skills in the family lead to better understanding and solving of any problems that may occur thus a peaceful coexistence in the family. This translates to a happier society. Other virtues gained through participation in sporting activities and lead to the general wellbeing of the whole society include the aspects of teamwork, respect for rules as well as respect for one another (U.S Department of State 1). If more people engage in sports, these virtues will be gained and as a result, the rate of occurrence of moral decadent behavior in the society will reduce since people will be having more respect for rules as well as respect for one another. In addition to this, success in sports requires discipline and determination. If these attributes are adopted by young people in the society, they will be in a position to achieve their goals and objectives leading to the general improvement of lifestyle in the whole society (U.S. Department of State 1). Another factor related to sport and the society is physical health. According to St. Luke’s Rehab in Idaho, physical therapy is a special practice that is bent on prevention, evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation and performance enhancement of physically active individuals. With such services in place, health of individuals in the society will be improved courtesy of involvement in sports (1). Healthier individuals lead to a successful society because this people are capable of working on projects that lead to the development of the society. Lifestyle diseases are claiming the lives of many energetic people in the society. With participation in sports, the instances of such occurrences will reduce. Sporting activities help the body to burn a lot of calories, this will help overweight people to be fit and instances of occurrences such as heart attacks will reduce (Jarvie 7). The society is always together in the event of death, therefore, this is a factor related to sport and the society. Sporting has also been of much help to women who are trying to lose weight and keep fit (Oliver 7). There has been a significant growth of interest in commerce and politics in the modern world, and their relationship to sports. This has resulted in academics writing increasing numbers of literature related to sports and various disciplines in the society. As a result of this, sport in society has become a multidisciplinary forum and academics discuss the growing relationship between sports and other significant areas of modern life (Antonio, Kreider & Kalman 27). There has been diversification in the scope of literature that people were used to reading. Those who had any interest in a sporting activity could now get access to it, this is due to the fact that various sporting activity have literature written on them. Manuals on the technique behind various sports are now available, hence people that do not have an idea about a certain sport yet they are interested in it can simply read the manuals and be in a position to participate in the desired sport (Antonio, Kreider & Kalman 29). Diplomacy between nations has been enhanced through the involvement of sports. An example of this is the relationship between the United States and Russia. President Obama together with the Russian president created a U.S-Russian Bilateral Presidential Commission to improve coordination between the two countries (U.S. Department of State 1). The two countries strive to address common challenges and explore new opportunities in areas where both of them have interest; sport has been a unifying factor in all these projects. Through various sporting activities that the two nations have, there has been proper dialogue and understanding between the people of the United States and Russia (U.S Department of State 1). There is more respect for the way these societies carry out their activities and this is all attributed to the togetherness that has been created through involvement in sporting activities together. The Asian society has used sport as a tool for promoting feminism. Women have always been discriminated against in most societies with some disciplines being described as men’s domain. Sports in one such activity, the number of men that are involved in sports are many compared to the women (Peking University 1). However, with the struggle for women emancipation, women and sports may become a subject of global significance. For example, even though women have made a great contribution to sports in China, there is little sport research devoted to women. This is the reason why the Peking University Research Centre for Gender, Sport and Society is trying to focus on this mandate (Peking University 1). The studies they are going to carry out will focus on women in sport. Additionally, the studies will be aimed at encouraging female participants, coaches, managers and officials at all levels of sports (Peking University 1). Sports can be used as a tool to promote gender equality, a factor that is much needed in the society. Generally, sports should be seen as cultural events within the society. As early as the 20th century, European sociologists described sports as objects of culture, culture being a very important aspect of any society (Edwards 12). Sports have been instrumental in forging a welcoming society, one that is focused on progression rather than regression. This is a factor that was evident in the last World Cup session held in South Africa (Cusack 1). Even though South Africa suffered a great deal under the Apartheid system that was extremely racial, people of different and diverse races converged in the country and co-existed peacefully. This was all as a result of sport. This factor shows that sport is instrumental as a healing agent, boundaries that were long forbidden were crossed and genuine social exchanges occurred in places where there had been little or no interaction at all (Cusack 1). Sports and society are intertwined. Sport is a social activity and this way, it is the society expressing itself through various perspectives. These are rules, relations, objects, gestures and ideologies; they signify the productive nature of sport, when it is treated as a necessary aspect in the society. Most of the time, the society is treated as an individualized system, not related to sport yet this should not be the case (DaMatta 103). When people understand a sport that is played in a particular society, they will have increased chances of a better understanding of the whole society since the values that they ascribe to are the same (DaMatta 98). Sports bring the whole society together, creating a sense of togetherness. In conclusion, sports has been instrumental in the societal developmental. Through involvement in sports, many young people have gained insightful virtues such as team work and leadership skills that have been instrumental in the development of the whole society when these virtues are applied outside the field. At the same time, sports have put people occupied diverting them from other actions that may not be instrumental in the society. Sport has also been instrumental in cementing relationships between different nations, a factor that promotes general peaceful coexistence in the whole world. With all these factors related to sport, it is evident that it is an important aspect of any society since it leads to the development of many other functions in the society. Participation in sporting activities should be encouraged and the necessary support in terms of funds from the government and morale boost from families should be availed so that sports can thrive to even greater levels, a factor that will lead to better societies. Works Cited Antonio, Jose. Kreider, Richard & Kalman, Douglas. Academics and sports in the society. Sport in Society. Vol. 14. No. 7, pp 27-35 Cusack, Michael. Heritage at Play: Speaking of Sports and Society. Retrieved on 6th April from http://heritageatplay.org/tag/sports-society/ (2010). DaMatta, Roberto. Sports in Society: An Essay on Brazilian Football. Vibrant. Vol. 6 No.2 Edwards, Harry. Social change and popular culture: seminal developments at the interface of race, sport and society. Sport in Society Vol. 13. No. 1, pp7-13 Jarvie, Grant. Sport, Culture and Society: an introduction. New York: Routledge. (2006). Jezek, Geno. History of Sports. Retrieved on 6th April from http://www.historyofsports.info/ (2006) Oliver, Jonathan. Comparative effectiveness of two popular weight loss programs in women 111: health and fitness markers. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2011, Vol.8 No.5 pp5-10 Peking University. The Peking University Research Centre for Gender, Sport, Society. Retrieved on 6th April from http://pe.pku.edu.cn/pkuped/phy/research/society.html St. Luke’s Rehab. Sports Physical Therapy Residency. Retrieved on 6th April from http://www.spts.org/about-spts/what-is-sports-physical-therapy (2012) U.S. Department of State. What is Sport Diplomacy? Retrieved on 6th April 2012 from http://exchanges.state.gov/sports/diplomacy.html (2012) Read More