Although the study of sport coaching as the body of knowledge and praxis is well established, very few studies have unpacked sport coaching through a sociological work and/or labour lens. Drawing on ...the findings from a larger institutional ethnographic study exploring gender, work, and professionalization in sport coaching within the Canadian university sport system, this article highlights the ways in which the Canadian university sport coaching environment constructs and normalizes overwork, such that sport coaches often experience worker precarity. Given the emphasis within the university sport environment on performance, and/or the need for sport coaches to win in order to keep their jobs, this article highlights how coaches have internalized their constant work efforts as ‘just part of the job’. Key findings demonstrate the deleterious effects of nonstop work on sport coaches both within and outside of their working environments. This article concludes by emphasizing how in the contemporary political-economic context of Canadian university sport, where meritocracy is a powerful and prominent player and where winning matters most, sport coaches are often always overworked and undersupported.
Universities provide various services supporting athletes pursuing a dual career. This paper focuses on the preconditions of being simultaneously included in elite sport and educational system, ...aiming to analyse the assessment of such services from the student-athletes' perspective.
The data originate from an online survey of 1055 international student-athletes, who participated in the 2019 Winter and Summer Universiades. Based on exploratory factor analysis, support services were grouped into categories. Implementing probit models, the respondents' perceptions were regressed with their sporting and academic background by controlling for socio-demographic factors.
The study identifies three factors of dual career support services in the context of higher education and reveals statistically significant associations between socio-demographic, academic, and sporting career-related factors and the perceived relevance of support services.
To get the university context functionalised in favour of student-athletes' dual careers, tailor-made support should particularly address differences regarding gender, university levels, and types of sport.
The study enhances the understanding of dual career challenges, related to the student-athletes' conflicting roles. It provides evidence that adequate dual career support services at the interfaces of elite sport and higher education need to be individualised according to the athletes' needs.
The research aimed at identifying the results of strategic analyses for evaluating sports activities as well as identifying the differences between scientific and humanity colleges and their role in ...sports activities. The subjects were (54) faculty members in students activity/ sport activities in (17) colleges affiliated with the University of Baghdad. The results showed a lack of interest in sports activities as well as administrative obstacles that hinder students’ participation in sports events. Finally, the researcher recommended the necessity of encouraging students to participate in sports activities and increasing the university’s financial support.
In recent years, the role of coaches in fostering Positive Development (PD) has been explored within the context of university sport. However, research in non-English speaking countries such as ...Brazil, which is highly representative of university sport in Latin America, is still scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze Brazilian coaches' perceptions of their role in facilitating PD within university sport. In total, 16 university coaches from all regions of Brazil were interviewed (14 male and 2 female). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that coaches perceived university sport as a conducive platform for fostering both performance and PD outcomes. However, the coaches found it difficult to articulate PD strategies and identified challenges such as lack of time and organizational support. The present study suggests that PD is not well integrated within the current model of university sport in Brazil and highlights a potential need for PD-focused coach education programs.
Resumen. En los últimos años, se ha explorado el papel de los entrenadores en el fomento del desarrollo positivo (DP) en el contexto del deporte universitario. Sin embargo, la investigación en países que no hablan inglés como Brasil, que es altamente representativo del deporte universitario en América Latina, aún es escasa. El propósito de este estudio fue analizar las percepciones de los entrenadores brasileños sobre su papel en la facilitación del DP dentro del deporte universitario. En total, fueran entrevistados16 entrenadores universitarios (14 hombres y 2 mujeres) de todas las regiones de Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas. Los resultados mostraron que los entrenadores percibían el deporte universitario como una plataforma propicia para fomentar tanto el rendimiento como el DP. Sin embargo, a los entrenadores les resultó difícil articular estrategias de DP e identificaron desafíos como la falta de tiempo y el apoyo organizacional. El presente estudio sugiere que lo DP no está bien integrada en el modelo actual del deporte universitario en Brasil y destaca la necesidad potencial de programas de educación para el entrenador centrados en DP.
The purpose of the study was to explore interuniversity student-athletes' experiences with bullying victimisation. Eleven female athletes from a range of individual and team sports volunteered to be ...interviewed about their personal experiences as targets and witnesses of bullying behaviours from their teammates. The interviews elicited stories that were analysed using narrative thematic analysis. The athletes discussed a range of negative repercussions associated with bullying victimisation including reduced enjoyment of sport, isolation from their teams, reduced self-esteem, negative emotions including sadness, embarrassment, and fear, and detriments to sport and academic performance. Interpretation of the athletes' stories led us to conclude that bullying represents a form of peer-to-peer interpersonal conflict in the sport context that has serious negative effects on athlete mental health and well-being. Bullying between teammates should be included in the broader conversation regarding identifying and preventing harassment and abuse to foster safe and inclusive sport environments. Future research should explore roles beyond that of the victim to inform effective strategies to intervene and prevent bullying in interuniversity sport contexts.
When sport participation reaches competitive levels, it can become entangled with stressors such as injury, performance pressures, high internal and external expectations, and difficult retirement ...transitions. Retirement can leave individuals vulnerable to experiencing mental health challenges, particularly when an athlete has developed a strong athletic identity. In this study, narrative inquiry philosophy informed an exploration of the experiences of Bryn. Bryn is an elite, female university athlete who developed an adjustment disorder with mixed moods of depression and anxiety after retiring from sport and graduating from university. Seven life history interviews were conducted and a dialogical narrative analysis was used to examine the influence of the structure of the sport context on Bryn's experience of a challenging retirement transition. While she was an athlete, the success and recognition Bryn experienced in her sport community represented a powerful platform for developing self-confidence and a strong athletic identity. When this platform was removed upon retirement, and access to resource and support networks contingent on her star-athlete status were no longer available, Bryn had significant difficulty coping with threats to her mental health. The findings from this study lead us to question whether the significant support and special access to services provided to university sports stars may potentially leave such individuals vulnerable to feelings of isolation and helplessness once outside the university-athlete role.
Combining results from four separate studies of gender equality in Canadian interuniversity sport, which were conducted biennially across four academic years (2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, and 2016-17), ...this paper analyses gender inequality in both athletic participation opportunities and leadership positions (coaching and administrative) across the 56 universities that comprise U SPORTS, the pan-Canadian governing body for Canadian interuniversity sport. Our findings indicate that Canadian interuniversity sport is characterised by persistent and ongoing gender inequality in both the opportunity to participate as an athlete and employment in leadership positions. We analyse these results in light of the historical struggle for women's opportunity in Canadian interuniversity sport and the development, but apparent lack of implementation, of U SPORTS' gender equity policies. We also critique the failure of U SPORTS and its member universities to act on the persistent gender inequality identified in our data, despite policy impetus to do so, and provide policy recommendations to address these inequalities.
BACKGROUND: This article investigates sport within the student assistance policy of a recent Brazilian public university, observing the particularities inherent to its process of institutional ...development and consolidation within the framework of national university expansion.OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the research is to analyze the configuration of sport in the student assistance policy of the Federal University of Western Bahia (UFOB) between the years 2013 to 2019, using management and financing as analysis indicators.METHODS: This article is characterized as a qualitative, descriptive-analytical research of exploratory scope. The definition of the methodology in the technical-instrumental scope employed the procedures of literature or bibliographic review, documentary research, and semi-structured interviews with university administrators.RESULTS: Despite the lack of data and information, the presence of a dual management model is observed, shared between student representations and an organizational structure still in the implementation phase. Funding sources are restricted to scarce own resources destined for participation in sports competitions and the National Student Assistance Plan (PNAES).CONCLUSION: Finally, we identified within the scope of the student assistance policy sports actions that are not characterized as a systematized policy, the characteristics present in the management and financing demonstrate the in conclusion of this institutionality and the competition with basic needs for the permanence of students in social vulnerability.
INTRODUÇÃO: Este artigo tem como objeto de investigação o esporte dentro da política de assistência estudantil de uma recente universidade pública brasileira, observando as particularidades inerentes ao seu processo de desenvolvimento institucional e consolidação no quadro de expansão universitária nacional.OBJETIVO: A pesquisa tem como objetivo principal analisar a configuração do esporte na política de assistência estudantil da Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia (UFOB) entre os anos de 2013 e 2019, tendo como indicadores de análise a gestão e o financiamento.MÉTODOS: Este artigo caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa qualitativa, descritivo-analítica de abrangência exploratória. A definição da metodologia no âmbito técnico-instrumental empregou os procedimentos de revisão de literatura ou bibliográfica, pesquisa documental e entrevistas semiestruturadas com gestores universitários.RESULTADOS: A despeito da carência de dados e informações, observa-se a presença de um modelo de gestão dual, compartilhado entre representações discentes e uma estrutura organizacional ainda em fase de implementação. As fontes de financiamento se restringem a escassos recursos próprios destinados à participação em competições esportivas e ao Plano Nacional de Assistência Estudantil (PNAES).CONCLUSÃO: Finalmente, identificamos no âmbito da política de assistência estudantil ações esportivas que não se caracterizam como uma política sistematizada, as características presentes na gestão e financiamento demonstram a inconclusão desta institucionalidade e a concorrência com carências básicas para a permanência dos estudantes em vulnerabilidade social.
The National Sport and Recreation Plan in South Africa has designated twenty-three universities as hubs for Olympic student-athletes in the advanced stages of long-term athlete development. In the ...contemporary world of sports, Olympic athletes face stringent requirements, necessitating unwavering dedication to achieve excellence. However, financial rewards for sustaining a livelihood through sports are limited, and the support systems for post-retirement financial and psychological impacts are scarce. This underscores the importance of athletes pursuing dual careers or preparing for post-athletic endeavors while actively engaging in high-level competition. This study seeks to comprehend the experiences of a cohort of South African Olympic athletes in higher education, focusing on the concurrent development of their academic and sporting pursuits. Employing a qualitative interpretive research design, the study involved the purposeful sampling of fifteen South African Olympic athletes from diverse sporting codes, including track and field, swimming, hockey, and rowing. Data were gathered through ten semi-structured interviews. The findings illuminate the multifaceted challenges Olympic athletes face in balancing academic and athletic commitments. Financial constraints pose a significant hurdle to a successful dual career, exacerbated by the demanding travel schedules inherent in elite sports. Effective time management becomes imperative as athletes navigate intense training regimens, frequent travel, and academic responsibilities. The experiences of Olympic higher education student-athletes underscore the importance of extended academic programs, financial support mechanisms, and a robust sport tutorial system. These recommendations are necessary to facilitate the successful pursuit of dual careers, ensuring that student-athletes can navigate the complexities of academic and sporting aspirations.
This paper theorises 'whiteness' in relation to systems of power, leadership, and oppression within post-secondary sport athletic departments in Ontario, Canada. Using results from the Ontario ...University Athletics (OUA) Anti-Racism Project, we position whiteness as a significant and unavoidable obstacle to productive anti-racism leadership and labour within university athletics. While many Canadian university athletic departments have publicly embraced a call to anti-racism practice and policy, progress too-often remains contingent on largely white, male, and older leadership groups making decisions surrounding instances of racism that they often have no history personally experiencing, witnessing, or most concerningly, handling professionally. Examples from the project include administrators who often have more than 20-years-experience referencing 'blindness', naiveté, or not knowing where to look as reasons for viewing racism as a cursory or circumscribed problem, or as an issue not on the same scale as other athletic departments have attempted to tackle (e.g. sexual violence and concussion). We argue that these denials of the existence of racism work to reproduce the dominant structures of power, destabilise efforts for education or policy initiatives and maintain the oppression, racial hierarchies and marginalisation of racialised people within collegiate athletics.
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