No abstract

Coaching is a male dominated area of sport. Globally, women coaches represent a small minority and only a few women coach male athletes. In Norway it is estimated that only about 19% of all coaches are women. In this article we engage in issues regarding the gendering of coaching from an athlete perspective. The concerns are how meanings of gender mirror the athletes’ perceptions and experiences of coaching practices. The theoretical framework develops our understanding of gender and how leadership ideals and practices are structured by and through gender. The data material consists of qualitative interviews with Norwegian boxers. The analysis demonstrates that male coaches earn the respect of their boxers more easily than female coaches do. Furthermore, female boxers experience a more open and socially supportive coach–athlete relationship with female coaches. The coach–athlete relationship with male coaches is often shaped by paternalism, which particularly seems to represent a challenge for young female athletes. The interviewees describe sound coaching as consisting of leadership forms associated with both masculine and feminine skills.

Marginalisation and exclusion of women in elite boxing has emerged as a substantial international problem, threatening women's democratic right to equal participation in sport. Since the London 2012 Olympic Games women's boxing has been an Olympic event. However, only 3 of the 10 weight categories were included in the Olympic programme for women. Today, male boxers compete in 10 out of 10 possible weight categories. While female boxers have gained accessed to a previously closed realm, discrimination, exclusion and unequal treatment of female athletes remains a widespread problem in international elite boxing. This article explores how the introduction of women's boxing into the Olympic Games involves practices of inclusion and exclusion in elite boxing. In particular, this analysis focuses on the following two research questions: (a) how practices of social exclusion and inclusion affect the involvement and engagement of women in boxing; and (b) how, and in what ways, female boxers have experienced recognition and acceptance in elite boxing after the introduction of women's boxing into the Olympic Games. Using a qualitative approach including document analysis of official press releases from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (AIBA), as well as interviews with athletes and coaches, this study reveals that although women's boxing has gained access to the Olympics, the structural and cultural changes that comprise the social inclusion of women in boxing are yet to be implemented.

Sparring with genderLeadership and meanings of gender among Norwegian boxing coaches.Sport is an important symbolic institution in which meanings of gender are constantly framed, expressed and reproduced. The article is based on a qualitative study of leadership forms among Norwegian boxing coaches (both male and female) and how these are influenced by meanings of gender. Our theoretical point of departure is Beauvoir's and Bourdieu's perspectives on how gender as a relation of domination is constructed. The analyses show that male coaches perceived themselves as more autocratic than their female counterparts, while female coaches emphasised a more democratic leadership style. Furthermore, female coaches were often associated with stereotyped femininities such as caring. Both male and female coaches expressed how their gendered bodies influenced their approaches to the athletes and represented limitations as well as possibilities in their coach leadership. The male dominated culture strongly influenced the way sound leadership was conceived and defined. Thus women's approaches to coach leadership were seen as complementary and gendered.Keywords: coach leadership, boxing, gender, power Idrett er en symbolsk institusjon hvor betydninger av kjønn hele tiden er i spill. Denne artikkelen er en studie av hvilke ledelsesformer som benyttes av norske boksetrenere og hvilke betydninger kjønn gis i denne konteksten. Boksing er en maskulin idrett og trenerarenaen er preget av sterk mannsdominans. Artikkelen er basert på kvalitative intervjuer med både mannlige og kvinnelige trenere. Det analytiske rammeverket er hovedsakelig basert på Beauvoirs (2000) og Bourdieus (2000) perspektiver på hvordan kjønn som dominansrelasjon er konstruert og kommer til utrykk. Studien viser at mannlige trenerne oppfatter seg selv som mer autokratiske enn sine kvinnelige kollegaer, mens de kvinnelige trenerne opplever seg selv som mer demokratiske og sosialt støttende. Videre avdekkes det hvordan kroppen som situasjon har stor betydning for hvilke grenser og frihet kvinnelige og mannlige trenere opplever knyttet til sine ledelsespraksiser. Trenernes oppfatninger og ledelsespraksiser avdekker også hvilke utfordringer og muligheter trenerne møter i et mannsdominert handlingsrom. Blant annet blir kvinners erfaringer og behov betraktet som spesielle og kjønnede, og dermed ikke som gyldige til å inkluderes i god treningsledelse.

Sport organizations adapt, renew and develop through creative and novel ideas. The various strategies for innovation applied by sport organizations hold the potential to radically change how we play, view and organize sport. In other words, through strategy, strategic management and innovation modern sport is shaped and improved. To date, limited scholarly attention has been given to strategy, strategic management and innovation in sport. However as the present review will demonstrate, sport innovation and strategic management of sports innovations are crucial for improvement of athletic performance. Furthermore, current research indicates that sport innovation can be a valuable tool to combat demanding challenges in modern sport, such as social exclusion. Therefore, innovation and strategic management needs specific attention within the sport sciences. The present paper attempts to provide more insight in the current body of research on sport innovation and strategic management. Finally, some recommendations for further research in this field is formulated.