Matthew Nicholson

Barrie Houlihan

Russell Hoye

Although there is growing interest from governments in participation levels in sport, the extent to which governments actively promote ‘sport for all’ and their motives for doing so vary greatly. This is the first book to examine the sport participation policies of national governments across the world and to offer a comparative analysis of the motives for, and successes and failures of those policies. Organized around a series of sixteen national case studies, including the UK, the US, Australia, China and India, the book enables students and practitioners to compare and contrast the development, implementation and impact of sport participation policies throughout the world. An introductory chapter provides a framework for understanding and interpreting those case studies and each chapter then addresses the following key themes: national structures for sport national sporting cultures participation levels in organized sport the nature and extent of government intervention implementation of governmental policy the impact of government policy. With contributions from many of the world’s leading experts on sport policy and sport development, this book is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the role of governments in relation to supporting and regulating their citizens’ involvement in sport.

International Policy Perspectives

Participation in Sport

The first book to examine the intersection of sport with other (non-sport) policies from an international perspective including topics such as gambling the media, social inclusion and economic development.

Issues and Analysis

Sport and Policy

Elsa Kristiansen

Milena M. Parent

Elite youth sport competitions have increased significantly in number in recent years, with the Youth Olympic Games representing the high point of this phenomenon. This book examines the global context within which elite youth sport has emerged and continues to grow. It explores elite youth sport policy across fifteen countries, in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, addressing the questions of how youth talent development is organised and why elite youth sport has become so popular. Taking a comparative global perspective, the book analyses the growth in more systematic approaches to young athlete development and the increasing emphasis on early talent identification. It discusses the attitude of stakeholders (such as NGBs, governments and sponsors) towards elite youth sport, while also considering how young elite athletes’ interests are protected and how the growth in elite youth sport affects a sport’s development strategy. Written by a team of internationally renowned researchers, Elite Youth Sport Policy and Management: A comparative analysis is fascinating reading for all students, scholars, managers, policy-makers and coaches with an interest in youth sport, elite sport development, talent identification and sports policy.

A comparative analysis

Elite Youth Sport Policy and Management

Mick Green

Lecturer Both at the Centre for Applied Statistics Mick Green

Sports development has become a prominent concern within both the academic study of sport and within the organization and administration of sport. The Routledge Handbook of Sports Development is the first book to comprehensively map the wide-ranging territory of sports development as an activity and as a policy field, and to offer a definitive survey of current academic knowledge and professional practice. Spanning the whole spectrum of activity in sports development, from youth sport and mass participation to the development of elite athletes, the book identifies and defines the core functions of sports development, exploring the interface between sports development and cognate fields such as education, coaching, community welfare and policy. The book presents important new studies of sports development around the world, illustrating the breadth of practice within and between countries, and examines the most important issues facing practitioners within sports development today, from child protection to partnership working. With unparalleled depth and breadth of coverage, the Routledge Handbook of Sports Development is the definitive guide to policy, practice and research in sports development. It is essential reading for all students, researchers and professionals with an interest in this important and rapidly evolving field.

Routledge Handbook of Sports Development

Praise for the First Edition: "Barrie Houlihan's astonishingly ambitious and skilfully assembled collection examines the relations between sport, social policy and the social context that underlies the two. Organized around such themes as exclusion, commercialism and international comparisons, the book allows the reader to understand not only the centrality of sport to contemporary society, but the often perplexing policies that contrive to encourage or deny participation, promote or deter public sector involvement and support or undermine physical education. Importantly, Houlihan never prioritises the general over the particular, always striving to find detail amid the bigger picture." - Ellis Cashmore, Professor of Culture, Media and Sport, Staffordshire University "The most comprehensive study of contemporary issues in sport by leading international scholars. Houlihan's book is the answer to sports students' prayers, full of information, statistics, tables and figures, extensive guides to further reading and, most important of all, challenging ideas. A weighty vademecum for the early 21st century." - Jim Riordan Honorary Professor of Sports Studies, University of Stirling, Professor Emeritus at University of Surrey, and President of the European Sports History Association Fully updated and revised, the Second Edition of Barrie Houlihan's ground-breaking book provides students and lecturers with a one-stop text that is comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, accessible, international and engaging. Sport and Society allows students to: Approach the study of sport from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Understand the importance of social structure, power and inequality in analyzing the nature and significance of sport in society. Address the rapid commercialization and regulation of sport. Engage in comparative analysis to understand problems clearly and produce sound solutions. Expand their knowledge through chapter summaries, guides to further reading and extensive bibliographies. This Second Edition contains five brand new chapters, which reflect recent concerns with: young athletes and human rights, sport and the city, sport and violence, sport and health, and sport and Islam. A superb teaching text, it will be relished by lecturers seeking an authoritative introduction to sport and society and students who want a relevant, enriching text for their learning and research needs.

A Student Introduction

Sport and Society

There is a paucity of academic work in the area of elite sport development despite there being ample evidence that achieving international sporting success is of increasing importance to the public (exemplified by consistent media interest in elite success or the lack of it) and to governments in most developed countries who have, almost without exception, increased the level of public funding for elite squad development often to the detriment of other sports policy objectives such as increasing general levels of participation. Comparative Elite Sport Development: systems, structures and public policy focuses on the identification and development of elite sporting talent especially in Olympic sports. Written by a team of international contributors it applies a reflective and analytical approach, and both informs, and is informed by, established bodies of theory in policy analysis. Uniquely, it adopts a comparative approach of policy rivals, leading 'sports powers' and policy innovators, which provides broad and thorough analytical coverage. * A revealing and unique comparative study of policy rivals, leading 'sports powers' and policy innovators - including China, Japan, Singapore, Germany, France, Poland, Norway, New Zealand and the United States * Edited by well established experts in the field and contributed to by a global team of cutting edge researchers * Focuses on the hot-topic of identifying and developing elite sporting talent especially in Olympic sports

Systems, Structures and Public Policy

Comparative Elite Sport Development

Berit Skirstad

This book highlights the different roles of youth sport, from sport for all and community sport activities to elite sport and international competitions, to suggest significant new directions for youth sport research and practices. The collection addresses a range of prominent management and policy issues associated with the growing interest in research into youth sport. Major youth sport events such as the Youth Olympic Games and the European Youth Olympic Festival are included in this collection as important policy arenas. In addition, the collection addresses a series of under-researched topics including the welfare of young elite athletes, the process of talent identification and development in elite youth disability sport and how young athletes cope with emotional abuse. The contributors to this collection are drawn from a wide range of countries Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Norway. The book ends with an overview of the state of research into sport-based youth development and highlights trends and gaps in the literature suitable for further research. The chapters were originally published as a special issue in Sport in Society.

From Participation to the Olympics

Young People and Sport

Anita White

This text traces the evolution of sports development in the UK in the context of broader shifts in sport and social policy. It explores the emergence of sports development from the early years of public policy for sport in the 1960s to the contemporary era. This analysis is set against a background of policy initiatives, from 'Sport For All', 'Action Sport' and CCT, to the National Lottery and the contemporary emphasis on sport as a factor in the social and cultural well-being of the nation. Incorporating original material from major case studies and the national governing bodies of hockey, rowing, rugby union and tennis, the book examines the reality of "doing sports development" within this changing social and political policy climate.

Development of Sport Or Development Through Sport?

The Politics of Sports Development

There is a paucity of academic work in the area of elite sport development despite there being ample evidence that achieving international sporting success is of increasing importance to the public (exemplified by consistent media interest in elite success or the lack of it) and to governments in most developed countries who have, almost without exception, increased the level of public funding for elite squad development often to the detriment of other sports policy objectives such as increasing general levels of participation. Comparative Elite Sport Development: systems, structures and public policy focuses on the identification and development of elite sporting talent especially in Olympic sports. Written by a team of international contributors it applies a reflective and analytical approach, and both informs, and is informed by, established bodies of theory in policy analysis. Uniquely, it adopts a comparative approach of policy rivals, leading 'sports powers' and policy innovators, which provides broad and thorough analytical coverage.

Organized around four themes key to the study of sport (perspectives, inclusion, commercialization and the international context), this text provides a student introduction to the field.

Svein S. Andersen

Lars Tore Ronglan

Over the last twenty years or so there has been a sharp increase in interest from national sports federations and governments in the development of effective elite sport systems, particularly focused on achieving success in the summer and winter Olympic Games. Many countries now have publicly funded elite sports strategies which provide specialist facilities and support staff and often provide direct financial support for athletes. These developments have stimulated academic interest in describing the elite sport systems, analysing the processes by which policy is established and evaluating the impact of these policies on elite athlete success. Far less attention has been placed on the operation of the elite sports systems and on how the system interfaces with the athlete. The aim of this book is to refocus attention on the management and operation of systems designed to deliver elite success. The book draws on the theoretical literature in implementation, organisation theory, leadership and complexity. This provides an initial context for analysis and a stimulus for theory development around key questions such as: How do coaches manage their relationship with athletes? How does talent identification operate in practice? Do coaches fulfil the role of gatekeeper between the athlete and other elements of the sports system e.g. sports science support? How do managers, support staff and athletes interpret the expectations placed on them? The first part of the book focuses on aspects of the effectiveness of elite sports systems and the second explores aspects of systems operation focused on the interface between the athlete and the sport development system, and cross-cutting themes within the book include the management of talent identification and coach development. This is illuminating reading for any student, researcher or practitioner working in sport development, sport management or sports coaching.

Research and Practice

Managing Elite Sport Systems

Nils Asle Bergsgard

Per Mangset

Svein Ingve Nødland

Hilmar Rommetvedt

Sport Policy: a comparative analysis of stability and change builds on the growing general interest in the comparative study of sport policy and the more specific interest in processes of policy change and issues associated with policy convergence. In stark contrast to many other areas of public policy such as education, personal welfare and health care there is a paucity of theoretically informed comparative studies in sport. Over recent years there has been a steady increase in public investment in sport and frequently, as a consequence, a sharper debate about how public resources should be used. However, there has been little analysis of the factors that shape the generation of domestic sport policy and little attempt to identify the variables that might influence the policy process. Sport Policy: a comparative analysis of stability and change provides a theoretically informed analysis of the sports systems in Canada, England, Germany and Norway. These economically advanced countries are carefully selected to enable the investigation of the significance of variables and because they share a number of socio-economic and sports-related characteristics, which provides the text with a unique breadth and depth of coverage. This text is a vital addition to the general paucity of literature in this area and is written by an internationally renowned author team.

Barrie Houlihan

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