european college of sport science

Friday, June 26th, 2009
was evaluated by measuring the appearance of sports reporting, the presence or absence of the types of sports reporting and the focus
on the national or international coverage regarding topics and personalities.
Concerning the communication interactivity the analysis illustrated that all online sport portals have adopted interactive innovations to
produce spectacular entertainment. In concrete, the study found that the commercial portals Kicker.de, Sport1.de, Sport1.ch and Laola1.at
have used more integration and multimedia elements than the Nzz.ch/sport and Sport.orf.at. In view of the national or international
orientation of the sport coverage, the analysis showed that all online portals focused on the national topics and athletes. Further, national
media representation was often characterised by stereotyping of other nations - for example Germany at Laola1.at (AUT). The main result
of this study was that the construction of national identity can find expression in online sport coverage.
References
Billings/Eastman (2002). Int. Re. Sociology Sport, 2, 157-165.
Blain et al. (1993). Sport and national identity in the European media, Leicester.
15:15 - 16:45
Invited symposia
IS-SS08 Young people, school sport and physical education
YOUTH SPORT IN NORWAY: THE FINDINGS FROM STATISTICS NORWAY
VAAGE, O.F.
STATISTICS NORWAY
Interview surveys of Norwegians’ living condition made by Statistics Norway did in 2004 and 2007 contain questions about sports activities.
The data cover persons from 6 to 79 years. The surveys cover a wide range of activities, but a general question of physical activities
in people’s leasure time is included.
In the paper we shall most of all look at young people’s sports activities, covering persons from 13 to 19 years: What kinds of activities do
they prefer and what do they not prefer? Are there differences between boys and girls? Do the young teenagers prefer other activities
than the older teenagers? How does their general physical activity differ? We shall also look at young persons’ activities compared to
activities of children and adult persons.
SPECULATING ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL EDUCATION, YOUTH SPORT AND LIFELONG PARTICIPA-
TION
GREEN, K.
UNIVERSITY OF CHESTER & NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF SPORT SCIENCES
The central concern of this paper is the long-standing issue of whether it is possible to identify a ‘causal’ link between school PE and
youth sport that might implicate PE in promoting increased engagement with sport and active recreation among young people.
There is a body of research – exploring among other things the so-called ‘determinants’ and ‘correlates’ of participation in sport over the
life course – which purports to show that active participation in sport during childhood and youth is an important prerequisite for involvement
in later life. However, the findings from such studies typically leave the question ‘What specifically does PE contribute to any “carryover”
effect?’ unanswered.
It is entirely plausible that for some young people, the effects of PE on their leisure-sport participation are causal in a necessary sense;
that is, without the impact of PE they simply would not take part in any sport in their spare time. PE may, therefore, be important for those
youngsters for whom it provides the only opportunity to engage with sport and active recreation or particular activities. It is equally feasible
that without the intervention of PE, some youngsters would not take part in particular sports in their leisure to which they are introduced
by their PE teachers via curricular or extra-curricular PE. In such cases, PE may be sufficient in itself to result in the desired effect.
The evidence for a ‘PE effect’ on youth and adult sports participation more generally, however, is indirect at best. All-in-all, it seems that
school interventions (via PE) appear likely only to impact upon youth sport around the margins; that is to say, they may only be effective
within what Birchwood, Roberts and Pollock (2008) refer to as a ‘mini.-max. range’ to which young people are already predisposed by
virtue of their socialization (in the family setting in particular) into or away from sport.
Ongoing attempts to identify conditions in which PE may have an effect, however slight, on participation in sport and active recreation
among young people in the here and now (as well as adults in the future) stand to benefit from studies which add a qualitative dimension
to the growing list of quantitative studies. That said if research into the sporting careers of those locked into sport as adults provides
a barometer of the impact of PE, then improvements in participation levels are more likely among those already engaging with in sport
and active recreation in their leisure. Even where interventions such as PE do boost levels of sports participation during school time these
levels are likely to be unsustainable beyond school in so far as they exceed the proportions of young people genuinely motivated to take
part.
Reference
Birchwood, D., Roberts, K. and Pollock, G. (2008) ‘Explaining differences in sport participation rates among young adults: Evidence from
the South Caucasus’, European Physical Education Review, 14(3): 283-300.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND YOUTH SPORT IN SCANDINAVIA
ANNERSTEDT, C.
NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF SPORT SCIENCES
The purpose of this session is to give an overview of physical education and youth sport in Scandinavia: The focus is on Sweden.
OSLO/NORWAY, JUNE 24-27, 2009 455