In this paper, we explore the costs and benefits of hosting the Olympic Games. On the cost side, there are three major categories: general infrastructure such as transportation and housing to ...accommodate athletes and fans; specific sports infrastructure required for competition venues; and operational costs, including general administration as well as the opening and closing ceremony and security. Three major categories of benefits also exist: the short-run benefits of tourist spending during the Games; the long-run benefits or the "Olympic legacy" which might include improvements in infrastructure and increased trade, foreign investment, or tourism after the Games; and intangible benefits such as the "feel-good effect" or civic pride. Each of these costs and benefits will be addressed in turn, but the overwhelming conclusion is that in most cases the Olympics are a money-losing proposition for host cities; they result in positive net benefits only under very specific and unusual circumstances. Furthermore, the cost-benefit proposition is worse for cities in developing countries than for those in the industrialized world. In closing, we discuss why what looks like an increasingly poor investment decision on the part of cities still receives significant bidding interest and whether changes in the bidding process of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will improve outcomes for potential hosts.
Based on a decade of research by two leading action sports scholars, this book maps the relationship between action sports and the Olympic Movement, from the inclusion of the first action sports to ...those featuring for the first time in the Tokyo Olympic Games and beyond. In an effort to remain relevant to younger audiences, four new action sports, surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, and BMX freestyle were included in the Tokyo Olympic program. Drawing upon interviews with Olympic insiders, as well as leaders, athletes, and participants in these action sports communities, the book details the impacts on the action sports industry and cultures, and offers national comparisons to show the uneven effects resulting from Olympic inclusion. It reveals the intricate workings of power and politics in contemporary sports organisations, and maps key trends in this changing sporting landscape. Action Sports and the Olympic Games is a fascinating read for anybody studying the Olympics, the sociology of sport, action sports, or sport policy.
A clear-eyed, critical examination of the social, political, and economic costs of hosting the 2016 summer Olympics The selection of Rio de Janeiro as the site of the summer 2016 Olympic Games set ...off jubilant celebrations in Brazil—and created enormous expectations for economic development and the advancement of Brazil as a major player on the world stage. Although the games were held without major incident, the economic, environmental, political, and social outcomes for Brazil ranged from disappointing to devastating. Rio 2016 assembles the views of leading experts on Brazil and the Olympics into a clear-eyed assessment of the impact of the games on Brazil in general and on the lives of Cariocas, as Rio's residents are known. Edited by sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, the other contributors include Juliana Barbassa, Jules Boykoff, Jamil Chade, Stephen Essex, Renata Latuf, and Theresa Williamson.
El objetivo del presente estudio es analizar los orígenes y evolución de un estilo de baile callejero que, ha ido surgiendo desde la segunda mitad del siglo XX hasta su conversión en el caso del ...Break Dance en deporte olímpico durante los Juegos de Paris en 2024. La aportación principal de este trabajo histórico, ha sido el emplear una metodología descriptiva mediante fuentes secundarias de gran actualidad, puesto que se ha podido disponer de la información directa de los protagonistas de estos bailes de tremenda actualidad, al tratarse de una actividad relativamente moderna en la que los protagonistas aún siguen vivos. De los resultados obtenidos se desprende que la consideración social de esos estilos de baile callejeros, ha ido evolucionando desde prácticas reivindicativas de núcleos marginales, hasta convertirse en moda basada en formas de consumo, interés mediático y beneficios comerciales, en un intento de modernización de los Juegos Olímpicos para despertar mayor interés entre la juventud y mayor atracción de patrocinadores y medios de comunicación.
Palabras clave: historia deporte, bailes callejeros, deporte urbano, Juegos Olímpicos, Paris 2024, Break Dance.
Abstract. The aim of this study is to analyse the origins and evolution of different styles of street dances that emerged from the second half of the twentieth century onwards, up until, in the case of Break Dance, it was made an Olympic sport for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The main contribution of this historical paper has been to use a descriptive methodology based on highly relevant secondary sources, gaining information directly from those involved in this contemporary dance scene since the key figures associated with this relatively modern activity are still alive. The findings indicate that the social consideration of these street dance styles has evolved from practices aimed at platforming marginal nuclei to become fashion based on forms of consumption, media interest and commercial benefits, in an attempt to modernise the Olympic Games and spark greater interest among the younger demographic and attract greater interest from sponsors and the media.
Keywords: sport history, street dancing, urban sport, Olympics, Paris 2024, Breaking.
Abstract
Introduction:
Elite athletes are at-risk for insufficient sleep, but research on sleep interventions in this population is limited. The current study utilized three different sleep ...optimization interventions with curlers and female heavyweight rowers to see if optimal sleep would affect mood states differently.
Methods:
N=15 Canadian National Team curlers (mean age 30.7 ± 4.5; 8 females) and 11 Canadian Women’s heavy-weight National Team rowers (mean age 26.0 ± 3.1) completed the Profile of Mood States at two time points during their competitive season; once before the sleep interventions (baseline; BL), and once after the 3.5-week sleep intervention (SI) phase. The sleep interventions consisted of increasing nighttime sleep, napping, and reducing the negative effects of technology use by putting away electronic devices an hour before bedtime. All interventions were the same between sports except the rowers additionally wore blue-blocking glasses in the two hours before bedtime. Data were analyzed with independent samples t-tests to compare differences in POMS sub-scales of tension-anxiety, depression, fatigue, vigor, and total scores between both sports at baseline. Paired sample t-tests by sport were used to compare changes in the sub-scales and total mood scores between baseline and post-intervention.
Results:
At BL, the rowers had higher levels of tension-anxiety (t24=2.51, p=0.019), fatigue (t24=2.90, p=0.008), depression (t24=2.18, p=0.039), and total mood symptoms (t24=2.14, p=0.043) when compared to the curlers. The rowers reduced depression symptoms after the SI phase (t10=2.84, p = 0.018). The curlers reduced fatigue (t14=2.63, p=0.020), increased vigor (t14=2.97, p=0.010), and reduced total mood symptoms (t14=2.70, p=0.017) after the SI phase.
Conclusion:
In this sample of elite athletes from two different National Team sports, the rowers had poorer mood symptoms at BL and did not improve mood states as much as the curlers after the SI phase. It is likely that stress related to the preparations for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics hindered the effectiveness of the interventions in the rowers. Further research is needed to assess the interventions across the Olympic quadrennial preparation cycle and to determine the optimal implementation strategy for different teams and athletes.
Support (If Any):
Own the Podium and Mitacs Accelerate.
Considering the significance that Esports as professional sport and entertainment has attained recently, discussion about the legitimacy of esports as part of traditional sport has risen. This issue ...becomes more pronounced because Esports will start in the Olympic Games program. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics and similarities between Brazilian Olympic athletes and esport athletes. Ten Brazilian athletes were interviewed. Dedication, discipline, and competitiveness were found as components of the narratives of the athletes. Similar to Olympic athletes, cyberathletes have workout routines to improve techniques, exercises, and diets to provide opportunities for optimal performances in competitions. The results showed that although the virtual environment differs from an Olympic sport environment, common characteristics are present relative to the understanding of competition as in the elements of athlete identity.
By exploiting exogenous variations in air quality during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, we estimate the effect of air pollution on mortality in China. We find that a 10 percent decrease in PM10 ...concentrations reduces the monthly standardized all-cause mortality rate by 8 percent. Men and women are equally susceptible to air pollution risks. The age groups for which the air pollution effects are greatest are children under 10 years old and the elderly.
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