The Development and Growth in Sports and Physical Activities in Britain - Research Paper Example

Introduction Sports play a vital role in promoting a culture of social equality and fair play. In the past three decades, there has been a considerable growth in physical and sporting activities all around the world as the nature and the principle of these actions have diversified. However, the mass awareness on sports activities has not been able to be coordinated by the actual democratization. There have been disparities and inequalities that are continuously affecting the physical and sporting activities on various bases including gender, social status, race, religion and ethnicity among others. It is worth mentioning that sports make significant contributions in making society healthy and improving the position of women. Unfortunately, the tension in the United Kingdom sports and physical activities has arisen with respect to defining sports equity beyond the claims of equality of access and equality of opportunity. Many of the vital social issues related with sports equity for development and enhancing performance have been left unsolved. Nonetheless, sports society not only in the UK but around the world as well is still struggling to promote the gender equality in sports and physical activities. Women’s and men’s position in sports has been discriminated for various reasons (NCDO, 2008). Another major social inequality that pervades in the UK society incorporates the racial and ethnic discrimination between colour and white people within the country. Despite the initiatives of the concerned authorities, most of the efforts towards promoting racial equality have been hampered due to the lack of understanding of sports and the dominance of white population in the country’s most of the affairs (Long & et. al., 2005). The paper intends to critically assess the changing stances that have been taken by British sport to promote social equality in the context of sports. A. Theoretical Approaches to Social Equality and Their Relevance to British Sports Equality stresses on the prohibition of any unlawful discrimination. Discrimination in its core meaning incorporates treating a person unfairly or in a certain way that limits an individual opportunities without justification. Over the last few decades, British sports have witnessed considerable improvements in its policies and practices in the areas of equality and human rights. These policies and their effective practice have brought noticeable differences by removing barriers and offering opportunities to all those individuals and groups who have been usually under-represented. The success of London Olympic 2012 and the British athletes can be termed as one of the best examples of British sports towards promoting social equality and justice (Kang, 2012). At the same time, the football supporters and individuals within the football governing authority in the past decades have launched certain anti-racial discrimination campaigns such as Kick It Out and Show Racism the Red Card that have provided a consolidated evidence of British sport and its initiatives towards removing disparity and promoting equality and justice in the British society. During the year 1998, England’s Racial Advisory Group had also taken initiatives for the establishment of sports equity to promote social equality primarily the racial equality. However, the success of British sports in promoting justice can be credited to John Raws. Contextually, the concept of social justice in Britain reached at its height with the publication of ‘A Theory of Justice’ narrated by John Rawls. In his book, he argued on the complexity of traditional theory of justice and proposed his own principles. The principles postulated by him stated that each person should have equal rights to the most extensive basic liberties which should comprise compatible similar liberty for all irrespective of any race, ethnic origin, religion and colour. Furthermore, he added that social and economic equalities should be drawn in such a way that yields greatest benefits to every individual or group (Wolff, 2012). Spracklen & et. al. (2006) stated that despite the considerable efforts and attention to racial equality over the last few years, the progress towards creating equality has not been much fruitful in the UK (Long & et. al., 2005). The principles stated by John Rawls do not seem to be in practice in modern day sports context. At the same time, it is also being argued that approaches initiated in the UK for promoting social equality failed to acknowledge views related with gender equality and social consequences which ultimately discouraged the support of sport opportunities for women and girls (Right to Play, 2010). Formal, radical and liberal equality all has been placed for promoting equality in the society. The broad three aspects of the equality vary in certain ways. In relation to this, formal equality is based on rule of laws that advocates the equality without making any discrimination. Contextually, the various rules and laws are enacted to promote equality in the context of sports in the UK. The Employment Equality Regulation 2006, which prohibits the unlawful age discrimination and protects against all forms of ageism. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 protects both men and women from unfair treatment on the basis of gender. The Race Relation Act 1976 intends to remove discrimination based on colour and ensures equal provisions of facilities and services irrespective of race and colour of an individual. There are various other approaches or strategies initiated in the UK such as Human Rights Act 1998 intended ensuring social equality as a part of formal equality modes. An example of basic/formal rights is reflected in FA rules which intend to protect the rights of every individual by removing the barriers of racism which ensures that every individual has the right to participate and enjoy the game of football irrespective of their ethnic origin and race (The Football Association, 2012). While radical equality proclaims the assimilation of under–represented to standards set by and for the dominant segments. As a part of the radical equality many campaigns such as Kick It Out and Show Racism the Red Card has been launched to promote equality. Example of radical outcome can be illustrated with New Zealand’s achievement to gender equity (Shaw, 2011). On the other hand, liberal model assumes that equality needs to be achieved by strengthening the views of every individual (under-represented). In this context a lot of efforts have been made in the UK. Women athletes are now given more facilities and empowerment of women and girls with respect in the sport context has highly been considered (United Nations, 2007) An example of liberal opportunity in the modern day sport context can be reflected form the fact that every athlete is free to test their skills under equal condition and is liable for rewards according to prescribed rules and their performance. Furthermore, introduction of Rooney Rule in order to attract and increase black coaches in National Football league provides an opportunity for those colour coaches to prove their talents under equal condition (Ashton, 2012). B. Sports Promotes Equality British sports aim to promote highest sports standards. Furthermore, British sports is performing a leading role in promoting social equality in sports in order to ensure that there exists no barrier to participation and involvement in sports in terms of social obstacles. Contextually, one of the key values of British society has been promoting gender equality. For more than a decade, the promotion of gender quality has formed an integral part of British sports policy. Women and men’s position in sports has often reflected current social developments to a great extent. Equality in sports as well as promoting gender equalities along with reducing racial and ethnic discriminations through the means of sports concept have continuously been redefined (UK Sport, 2012). The means for promoting equality in sports in Britain include various programs, mentoring, seminars, networking and training. Alongside of these measures, considerable efforts for gender main streaming has been rigorously adopted for ensuring that gender perspective is observed almost in all the areas of social activities and decision making. In addition to this, the Council of Europe has also drafted guidelines for its member states related to gender mainstreaming in sports. On the other hand, European Commission’s strategy has actively involved in encouraging the promotion of social equality in sports and also advocates the improvements of gender imbalances in decision making (Turpeinen & et. al., 2012). The contemporary aim of the British sports has always been to support the development of fair, ethical, equitable and world class sporting system in Britain. British sports through its equality initiatives have always been related with recognising and removing the barriers witnessed by people either involved in sports or those who are willing to participate in sports. The British sports have been striving to promote a sports system that is athlete-centred and people focussed. Additionally, the British sports intend to bring changes in the culture of sports as one that values the diversity and also enables the full involvement of those groups of society that have not been able to involve in such activities so far. British sports stringently follow the spirit of all equalities legislation which has been committed towards eradicating any form of social discrimination. It strictly follows the policy which incorporates that any form of unfair discrimination either directly or indirectly will not be tolerated on the bases of race, ethnic-origin, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, pregnancy and social background among others (Turpeinen & et. al., 2012). The modern sport that had been originated in Britain is the result of cultural product of modernity, emphasizing equality and competition. Contextually, fair play occupies a significant role that acts as a morale doctrine of the new and emerging sporting ethos. The concept of fair play is often associated with respect for rules and respect for others. Many people have considered fair play as chivalric ethos that has been created by the upper and middle class English people (Renson, 2009). The concept of fair play and equality was actually initiated with evolution of the concept amateurism. In relation to the statement, the term amateur is associated with anyone who does not play for pay but associate him/herself with sports as leisure and pleasure activities. The emergence of amateurism has led to many controversies between the working professionals and amateur elites. The amateur elites argued that if sports were commercialized then the focus would be more on winning rather than participating (Renson, 2009; Green, 2006). Contextually, the amateur elite also advocate that such activities will ultimately distort the sportsmen spirits and further, they have argued that the game will be no longer a friendly encounter but will tend to become a series of struggles. The intention behind the arguments made by the amateur elites was to exclude the working class players from high level competition. However, the amateurist ideology that claims to be depicting inherent fairness of British sport can be regarded as narrow and biased in favour of amateur elite. The overwhelming focus on ‘fair play’ and equal treatment for all was just a tactic of amateur elite (Hepple, 2010). The amateurism was nothing but merely a violation of basic equal rights and formal equality. The amateurist ideology rather gave rise to inequality between the amateur elite and the working class players (Loland, 2002). The amateurist ideology in the context of British sports has offered a contradictory understanding of the formal equality. Presently, sports in Britain as well as in around the world are taken more as professional activities. Contextually, the ideology of amateurism has least or no impact on the present day sports ethos (The Equal Rights Trust, 2012). It is worth mentioning that the publication of Wolfenden Report in 1960 have the significant impact on the development of sports policy in the UK. It was Wolfenden Report that immensely helped to raise the political profile in the UK (Thomas & Smith, 2009). The report incorporated the problem which was referred as ‘The Gap.’ Accordingly, ‘the gap’ “stands for the manifest break between, on the other hand, the participation in re-creative physical activities which is normal for boys and girls at school, and on the other hand, their participation in similar (though not necessarily identical) activities some later years when they are more adult” (Central Council for Physical Recreation, 2009, pp. 23). In relation to this, the report emphasized on promoting sports, games and outdoor activities rather than focussing exclusively on youth section only. C. Development in the Recent Sport Equity The term sport equity has gained substantial attention in the last few decades. It is worth mentioning that sport equity and equal opportunity are often used interchangeably. However, the sport equity is related with fairness in sports promoting equality and identifying inequalities. On the other hand, equal opportunity deals with unemployment related with recruitment and selection procedures. In the recent times, the politics of equality have dramatically changed with the initiation of crucial theoretical and practical developments. There has been significant shift in equality thinking as it was conceived in earlier days. Over the last there decades, many sport equity movements have been undertaken to promote gender equality and remove discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, ethnic origin and social class and status among others (Sport England, 2000). For addressing these problematic areas, many clear and realistic objectives have been formulated and implemented. It is worth mentioning that sports that was customarily a male domain where women and girls in sports were challenged by multitude of gender stereotypes. However, due to the constant efforts towards promoting inequalities in terms of gender, currently sports and physical activities are no more viewed as male domain activities. The UK is committed to advancing the gender equality and removing the barriers of racial discrimination through legislation and gender equality policy as well as anti-racial policy. The government has adopted more explicit gender equality and anti racial goals (UK Sport, 2010). Working together with Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) and equity organisation, British sports have developed Equality Standard for sport. The standard primarily focuses on the success of Racial Equality Standard and also provides tools and measures for sports organisation to work effectively towards promoting equality. Furthermore, it is expected that the Equality Standard will sufficiently ensure the integration of equality into all the aspects of sports areas and bodies including operations and services to members, volunteers, staff and athletes (UK Sport, 2012). In addition to this government has also launched equality schemes such as Sport England Equality Scheme that was initiated in February 2012. The prime objective of the scheme as stated includes: Increased satisfaction by ensuring equal functions and facilities to every individual regardless of their age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, race and pregnancy; Identification of any concrete and probable negative equality influences on the established schemes and standard; Removal of any harmful impacts on the initiative of promoting equality related with established policies and standards (Sport England, 2012). Both traditional and modern approaches are directed towards reducing inequalities prevailing in the society. However, traditional approaches were directed towards specific groups such as women, sexual minorities and ethnic minorities. In other words, the European countries in the past had single dimensional equality and discrimination acts that used to concentrate only on single aspects either with gender equality, race and ethnicity. However, the modern day approaches are more comprehensive in nature. At the same time, traditional sport equity approaches would help to promote equality but at the cost of others. The modern approaches are concerned with focussing in all the aspects that need to be considered to produce wholesome equality. Similarly, traditionally, sports were viewed as male dominated activities and were taken as leisure time activities. Contradictorily, the modern approaches make no distinction between men and women. Both men and women in the modern context are free to participate in any form of sports based on their ability and calibre respectively. Essentially, existence of inequality within a society by no means benefits the population. All aspects of inequality affects are responsible for prevalence of social problems within the society. Notably, it can be stated that more unequal society has more social problems. Furthermore, in more unequal society even the elite and the middle class people having good incomes are more likely to be less healthy, more vulnerable to violence. Thus, the problem of inequality in a society needs to be urgently focused in order to address those forms that lead towards unequal society and promote more equal and healthy living within a society (Kantola & Squires, 2009). Contextually, solving the problem of inequalities based on gender inequality, racial discrimination, pregnancy, colour and ethnic origin among others cannot be tackled through economic growth only. In relation to this, the concerned authorities and the administration should rigorously focus on other ways such as promoting equality through sports also known as sport equity and other related modes for addressing the problem of social inequalities (Wilkinson, 2011). Conclusion Sport occupies a significant place in every aspect of life. Comparatively, there has been immense development and growth in sports and physical activities in the recent times. Despite the growth and progress witnessed by the sporting activities, there still exist certain problems that deter the full-fledged development of sports activities. Certain problematic factors concerning with discrimination based on the grounds of race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, colour marital status, social class/status and pregnancy among other crucial factors are seriously hampering the sporting spirit. In relation to this, British sports have been constantly working towards removing barriers and promoting sport equity. Discrimination based on any ground hampers the national integration and promotes social inequality. However, in the recent times, the British sports have made considerable achievement in promoting gender equality and removing racial discrimination. Contextually, the success of London Olympics provides an evidence of British sports efforts towards eliminating inequality in the context of sport. The administration and the sports organisations as well as supporters of the sports have together come forward to promote equality for all irrespective of their race, gender and ethnic origin. The modern approach of equality has brought significant improvements over the traditional formal approach of equality. The formal approach of equality advocates the equality based on certain characteristics while the modern approach of equality considerably believes in universal individual or the equality for all irrespective of their characteristics. The concept of fair play and equality was reflected traditionally in amateur ideology (Loland & McNamee, 2000). The amateur ideology argued against the commercialization of sports. It firmly stated that commercialization of sports will destroy the sportsmen spirit. However, the amateur ideology can be considered to be biased that was primarily focused on protecting the interests of the amateur elite. Notably, the ideology of amateurism has least influence on the modern approach of equality. Precisely stating, inequality based on any criteria by no means help society rather it is a social cause that leads towards creation of many social problems. Responsively, the factors promoting social inequalities should be resolved more stringently for promoting more equal and healthy society. References Ashton, N., 2012. A Taylor-Made Plan to Stop Breakaway Includes 'Rooney Rule' and Instant Sackings. Mail Online. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2222736/Racism-football--Six-point-plan-including-Rooney-rule.html [Accessed December 14, 2012]. Central Council of Physical Recreation, 2009. Sport & the Community. The Report of the Wolfenden Committee on sport-1960, pp. 1-104. Green, M., 2006. 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