The Games Ethic and Imperialism

Prologue: An Indifferent Beginning

“…The use of sport as a medium for shaping the abilities, values and character of a British governing class had long cultivated a belief that sport played a crucial role in the acquisition and consolidation of British hegemonic power. 125 Thomas Hughes' instant bestseller Tom Brown's Schooldays was among the first to articulate the role of sports as an expression of British (or more specifically, English) nationalism and imperialism. Hughes' insistence that the rugged masculinity and competitive spirit forged on the playing fields was tied to a powerful sense of national destiny became firmly entrenched in the educational ideology of the British public schools.…”

“…Through organised team sports such as football, rugby union and cricket, proponents maintained that students acquired important character traits such as equanimity, bravery and honesty -qualities deemed central to the development of patriotic, imperialistic and religiously devout English gentlemen. 10 Coubertin's fascination with British competitive sport derived from reading Thomas Hughes' totemic fictional novel Tom Brown's Schooldays. Reading Tom Brown as a work of detailed and contextualised history, Coubertin mistook Hughes' fictional version of Thomas Arnold, the legendary headmaster of Rugby School and a champion of muscular Christianity, as the person responsible for the significance accorded to competitive sport in English schools.…”

“Nothing More Than the Usual Injury”: Debating Hockey Violence During the Manslaughter Trials of Allan Loney (1905) and Charles Masson (1907)

“…As a result, "manly sports" were regarded as essential to nation-building, imperial service, and, when necessary, colonial war. 81 For instance, during the Loney case, Pringle referred to the "beneficial results of manly sports," reminding the court that "a manly nation requires manly games," and that "the battles of the British Empire were won on the playgrounds of Great Britain." Pringle also urged the court to remember "with great pride the splendid record made by the young Canadians who had served the Empire recently in South Africa," and whose "remarkable strength and endurance…was developed in the manly sports of this country, such as hockey and lacrosse."…”

Re-Conceptualizing Sport as a Sacred Phenomenon

“…Puritanism was not wholly opposed to sport, however, although Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin recognized emphasized the role of recreation above that of sport in the education and disciplining of Christian youth (Baker, 2007;Overman, 2011: 32). This significance of sport within Christianity was strengthened in succeeding centuries by a whole series of measures including, but not confined to, Protestant's support of 'muscular Christianity' within UK private schools (as a way of contributing to the fitness and missionary capacities of future leaders); its endorsement of initiatives to reduce ungodly behavior among the working classes (Struna, 1977;Holt, 1989); and the specific promotion of Church affiliated sports teams in the USA and UK (Mangan, 1984(Mangan, , 1986Mangan and Walvan, 1987;Baker, 2007;Overman, 2011;Parker and Weir, 2012).…”

“…4 In this context, while mainstream writings on sport may marginalize the subject, those concerned specifically with religion are demonstrating its importance for a range of sporting issues. Building on the work of Mangan (1986) and others, these include the historical significance of Christianity for rationalized sports and masculinities (Watson et al, 2005;Parker and Weir, 2012), the interconnections between Islam, physical education and the construction of gender (Faroog and Parker, 2009), the problems confronting multi-religious societies keen to raise the profile of sports for women irrespective of their religious affiliation (Walseth and Fasting, 2003;Kay, 2006;Walseth, 2006), and the importance of understanding the significance of religion for national sporting cultures (Price, 2006;Bain-Selbo, 2009). …”