Competitiveness and health: The work of sport clubs as seen by sport clubs representatives - a Norwegian case study

Abstract

This article is study of sport club representatives' considerations about the work of sport clubs. Sport clubs are first and foremost providers of sport activity. However, when it came to the work of sport clubs, it is discovered that the focus is on competitiveness, but sport clubs were also seen as a vehicle for promotion of 'social goods' such as health. Based on documentary analysis, observations and interviews with board members of sport clubs, and with a neo-institutional perspective of translation, this article discusses how local agents combine different institutional elements such as competitiveness and health and assemble them into a wholeness of sport activity. Without claiming to have found the final solution to this complex phenomenon, the article discusses whether health is utilized -or exploited -for legislation purposes only, or whether it can be combined with competitiveness.

Sports clubs as settings for health promotion: Fundamentals and an overview to research

“…In Sweden, for example, the importance of "the plethora of actors in the health-promoting youth sports clubs' network" has been emphasized (29 p.13). In Norway, sports clubs have been reviewed as settings for sport policy implementation (which also has health-related aims) with an emphasis on the local characteristics and volunteers (13). In Denmark, there is no clear model of HPSC.…”

“…A non-drinking, honest and vigorous person has been, and continues to be, the paragon of a sportsman, especially in junior sport. The historical development of civil activity in other Nordic countries shapes similarly the national fundamentals behind the club activities (13).…”

“…Youth sports clubs possess great potential as a health promotion setting. In Nordic countries, the clubs attract a lot of children and adolescents, forming the largest organized leisure time activity (11,12,13,14). In addition, sports clubs' educational nature is informal; children and adolescents participate in the activities voluntarily, displaying their particular interest in a given sport.…”

How sports clubs include children and adolescents with disabilities in their activities. A systematic search of peer-reviewed articles

“…A goal of sports clubs can be to attract more participants, which may be part of a marketing strategy, for example when schools try to attract students by having successful sports teams (Haycock and Smith, 2011). However many of the young people name fun as a reason for participating in sports (Skille andØsterås, 2011). Nixon II (1989) concludes that the purpose of sports activities should be related to the interests of the people they are meant to serve.…”

“…There could be a conflict between results-oriented, competitive values and healthy, sports-for-all, democratic values (Peterson, 2008;Skille, 2010;Stenling and Fahlén, 2009). The Swedish sports movement is described by (Fahlén, 2015) as combining professional sports with the popular mass movement tradition in clubs and organizations that arrange various activities along a continuum from popular and amateur to elite and professional.…”