Download - Sports In Brazil

culture. It would be unconceivable for the IOC to divorce itself from recognition of
the desirable balance between the needs of the present and those of the future.
In terms of developing concepts, this statement can be appraised in the light of
Lillehammer’s milestone. In a nutshell, the 1994 Games represented an epistemological
break, that is, a replacement of one central conception by another. Kept in its proper
context, the IOC official guidelines on the environment state an explicit commitment
to sustainable development and to this end they prescribe educational, managerial
and monitoring principles, not standarts or norms. (32) At Lillehammer those principles
were overextended by ethical and aesthetic assumptions locally developed, and
equally by assuming culture as the centre of the overall planning.
ENVIRONMENT AND SPORT REDEFINITIONS
More importantly, Lillehammer as a real influential project in science and
technology pointed out another unsettling bedrock of knowledge for the
environment and sport. Unlike the set of interrelations of Table 1, the remaining
focus evolves in day-to-day studies and research.
As the philosophical and scientific dialectics on the environment and sport
relations continue, this current trend lies between the construction of knowledge
presented in Table 1 and the efforts to develop a unified theory. Even being a
dominant mainstream, this trend is lacking in an impact similar to what was
provided in Lillehammer. While the later course concentrates its efforts in
fragmented and inductive approaches the former ones have been experiencing
deductive and in-depth advancements, as seen in Nansen, Coubertin, Naess and
other cornerstones.
But still missing in Table 1 is the notion of redefining sport practices and
required facilities in light of the increasing ecological awareness in many countries.
This supposition is initially supported by more than 500 articles and books on the
environment and sport published in the 1986-1992 period. Most of them is pointspecific
and close enough to observed data or presuppositions to be incorporated
in principles, norms, standards and even laws. (33)
In the line the last comment German scientists and thinkers are emerging as a
leading group in the process of knowledge building for environment and sport
involvements. Perhaps reflecting the unrelenting environmental crisis of their
country, prominent scholars from sport and leisure activities showed an early
accountability for ecological consideration for sport planning.
For instance, Jürgen Dieckert, from the University of Oldenburg, wrote an article
in the beginning of 1970’s emphasizing the character-building quality of nature-
Meio ambiente, esporte, Lazer e turismo 167