INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

with an early high-performance age. But a disregard of ethical
principles by coaches working with young high-performance athletes
can be found in all kinds of sport. As no broader patterns could be
detected, this indicates that the adherence to ethical principles depends
more on other factors rather than on the kind of sport etc. Therefore,
the examination of ethical claims should take place in all kinds of
sport in youth high-performance sport.
6. Conclusion
The results show that the implementation on the base of Olympic
ideals cannot be taken for granted and that they have to be reexamined
regularly. The majority of the athletes say that their coach
supports an integrated, moral and emancipatory development and
formation of them. But they also describe individuals, who do not take
these standards into consideration and, therefore, endanger the
development of the individual athlete and undermine the positive
aspects of sport. The survey results show that ethical principles should
not be developed and verified for specific kinds of sports. It has
become clear that MEINBERG’s principles, while very theoretical and
general, have a practical application and can be used for critically
examining the behaviour of coaches in different kinds of sport. The
general ethical principles are flexible enough to adapt the coach’s
behaviour to the individual athlete and the specific situation. But
fundamental ethical principles like Olympic values should play an
important role in the formation of coaches, so that coaches become
aware of them and apply them to support a human and integrated
development of the athletes.
The unbalanced focus of the media on sports with a young highperformance
age is not justified. Media as well as sciences have to
examine the implementation of ethical standards regularly throughout
all kinds of sport. The present survey shows that transgressions of
ethical standards depend more on the individual personality of the
coach rather than on other aspects like the kind of sport, the age or
gender of the athletes. The partial disregard of ethical standards makes
it obvious that the conditions and the situations of young highperformance
athletes have to be re-examined regularly and in all kinds
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