History of sport Looking at the past

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History of sportLooking at the past

• Lecture 2
• Coakley Chp 3

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• To understand sports as a social phenomena in
  todays world we have to have an understanding of
  what physical games, contests and sport
  activities were like in past times (Coakley,
  2004)

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Understanding history in relation to sports

• We often think of history as being a
  chronological sequence of events.often without
  references/links to broader social and cultural
  issues of the time
• Eg history of surf lifesaving in Australia
• Not just a chronological order of events

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• Born out of community-oriented service
• Competitions to keep SLs fit
• Events based on SL skills
• Became more popular than the community service
• Attracted people to SL based on sport more so
  than the service
• Other sports became more popular
• Decrease in numbers meant decrease in service
  involvement
• Women wanted to join. However, highly
  masculinised
• Needed womens involvement to promote numbers to
  keep service alive
• Now high numbers of women/girls as a consequence
  of feminist movement

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Sports vary over time and place

• All cultures have engaged in physical activities
  and human movement as a part of their ritual life
• However, only a few cultures have used physical
  games with structures, organisations, formal
  rules, competition and record keeping

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• In prehistoric times there were no sports as we
  know them today
• Physical activities were tied to survival
  (hunting) and religious expression (to appease
  gods and religious worship)
• The first forms of organised games emerged from
  the combination of these physical challenges and
  religious practices
• Sports have been created by the culture and the
  cultural constraints in which they live.
  Therefore sports will vary from one culture to
  another (and take on different cultural meanings)

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In the beginningAncient Greece (1000 B.C. to
100 B.C.)

• The early Greek games were based on religion and
  mythology
• Combined festivals, prayer, sacrifices, religious
  services along with music dancing and ritual
  feasts
• Competitors were young males from wealthy
  families (designed for young males)
• Consisted of primarily warrior sports such as
  chariot racing, wrestling, boxing , javelin and
  discus throwing, foot racing, archery and long
  jumping (violence and injuries common)

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• Olympia was chosen as one of the festival sites
  due to its religious associations with Greek gods
  and mythological characters
• Without permanent buildings or playing fields
  until 550 B.C the games were held at Olympia
  every four years
• There were other religious and athletic festivals
  although the Olympic games became the most
  prestigious of all athletic events
• Only men allowed to compete and watch. However,
  women held own games at Olympia dedicated to a
  goddess and born out of Greek fertility rites

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Roman era 100 B.C to 500 A.D

• Physical contests were used to train soldiers and
  provide mass entertainment
• The first A.D games took the form of circuses and
  gladiatorial combat- Chariot races being the most
  popular
• Wealthy Romans recruited slaves as charioteers
• The events grew as spectacles and were important
  diversions for the masses as there was high
  unemployment (half of the days on the Roman
  calendar were public holidays)

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• To keep the events interesting other activities
  were needed
• These included
• Men and women fighting lions, tigers and panthers
• Condemned criminals dressed in sheepskin thrown
  in to starved wild animals
• Gladiators with weapons pitted against one
  another to fight to the death
• Served the purpose of entertainment and disposing
  of undesirable people
• Note women seldom involved in games. Legally
  subservient to men in Roman life

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Medieval Europe 500 To 1300

• Consisted of folk games and archery contests in
  which animals were brutalised by local peasants
  (linked to peasant customs)
• Tournaments staged by knights and nobles (linked
  to military training and the desire for
  entertainment)
• Close links with religion and sports as Roman
  Catholic Church spread through Europe (Roman
  soldiers brought ball sports with them as they
  moved through Europe)

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• Distinct class divisions
• Peasant games had little structure, few rules and
  played in peasant villages (roots to hockey,
  rugby, soccer curling, baseball and cricket)
• The upper class
• Paid little attention to peasants games (safety
  valves to defuse the masses)
• Had access to more equipment and facilities
• Ownership of horses allowed various forms of
  horse racing, hunting and hawking
• War games popular among upper class males (deaths
  and serious injuries occurred)

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• Women still largely not involved in physical
  games due to perception of being sex objects and
  under mens control
• However, some peasant women did engage in
  physical activities as peasant festivals moved
  from village to village
• Some upper class women engaged in ladylike
  games and activities

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Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment 1300
To 1800

• Renaissance
• Popular peasant pastimes were being prohibited
  (could use time better for defending masters
  lands)
• However, they did not readily give them up and
  sometimes became rallying points for opposition
  to church and government
• At the same time the Renaissance man was
  evolving (strong body, sensitive, skilled in
  weapons, educated, aesthetically appealing)
• Women still had little access to physical games
  although the upper class played some of the more
  docile games

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• The (Protestant) Reformation (early 1500s to
  late 1600s)
• English Puritans wanted to control, eliminate,
  leisure in everyday life in England
• Prime targets were the peasants festive games
  (not so much the games, rather the associated
  drinking and partying)
• Negative attitudes towards games and sport
  affected participation

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• In the early 1600s the puritan stance was
  challenged and sports were allowed to be played
• By late 1600s in England activities such as
  cricket, horse racing, fencing, golf and boxing
  were highly organised

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The Enlightenment

• 1700-1800 many games began to resemble sports of
  today
• Removed from religion
• Organised (usually by competitors-not
  organisations)
• Achievements sometimes measured and
• Records sometimes kept
• Open to all competitors regardless of background
  (still quite gendered)

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• However, unlike today they were strictly for
  diversion
• No one thought that sport would influence society
• Therefore no organisations were created to
  coordinate large numbers of competitors
• This changed in the industrial revolution

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The Industrial Revolution 1780 To Present

• Cannot simply say todays sports are a result of
  the industrial revolution
• However, they did emerge during this period of
  industrialisation in which people played their
  sports and activities amidst trying to maintain
  everyday life
• Industrial Revolution, which brought mass
  production, factories and organisation to work
  also brought organisation to community life

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• Hence the more industrialised the nation, the
  more emphasis that nation placed on organised
  sport and activities
• Therefore these nations have
• Larger organisations
• More money
• More power
• More global domination in such sporting events
  (Olympic games, World championships)