L’engagement corporel : une alternative au concept polythétique de  « sports à risque » en sciences sociales

The bodily engagement of snow park freestylers: A study in three French winter sports resorts

“…Nevertheless, little remains known about actual behaviours in snow parks and, more especially, the particular relationship with risk that develops there, in comparison with other winter sports practice modes. By focusing the article on regular freestyle practitioners, to the detriment of those visiting these innovative areas only occasionally, the aim has been to gain a better understanding of their modes of bodily engagement, to borrow a sociological concept from Routier and Soulé (2012: 64–65), denoting ‘a type of exposure to danger, conscious and assumed, which is inherent in certain modes of practice’.…”

“…Moreover, engaged practitioners clearly proclaim autonomy in their risk management. It is similar to ‘ethics of responsibility’ (Routier and Soulé, 2012), which consist in fully assuming the induced situation, in contexts where error and indecision carry particular consequences.…”

Disengaging from high-risk sports: the identity-based rationales and biographical shifts that lead male athletes to “give up”

“…Rather than a set of sports activities, bodily engagement refers to a type of danger exposure that is conscious and assumed (Routier and Soulé 2012). Reasoning in terms of danger acceptance should not lead us to believe that it is the keystone of investment.…”

“…By way of an illustration we could mention the work of Stranger (1999) on surfing, Wheaton (2000) on windsurfing, Laurendeau and Van Brunschot on skydiving (2005), Martha and Griffet (2006) on BASE jumping, West and Allin (2010) on rock climbing, Soulé, Routier and Boivert (2012) on sailing or Pabion-Mouriès, Reynier and Soulé (2016) on freestyle skiing and snowboarding. Beside this research focused on specific activities, some academics developed transversal analyses of risk taking: Lyng (1990) through the concept of 'edgework'; Routier and Soulé (2012) through the concept of 'bodily engagement'. Whether it be a quest for intense thrills, a desire to achieve results, a hunger for adventure, or even the urge to forge an identity, a whole range of explanations, many of which are complementary, coexist and allow us to better understand the reasons why individuals get involved in potentially lethal sports.…”

“…Our purpose is to place into perspective both the reasons for which individuals claim to act (individual dynamics) and the contexts in which they act (structural dynamics), as proposed by Fillieule (2001), Darmon (2008) or Hélardot (2010) regarding other forms of commitment (political activism, militantism, etc.). Disengagement from hazardous activities is a multifaced phenomenon (Routier 2013) that requires a plural analytical framework (Routier 2011). Lyng (2014, 444) himself considers jointly "individual motivations in relation to historically-specific structural forces impinging on social actors".…”