History of sport Looking at the past
Lecture 2
Coakley Chp 3
• To understand sports as a social phenomena in today’s world we have to have an understanding of what physical games, contests and sport activities were like in past times (Coakley, 2004)
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
• • • • • • • • •
•
Born out of community-oriented service Competitions to keep SL’s 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 women’s involvement to promote numbers to keep service alive Now high numbers of women/girls as a consequence of feminist movement
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
• 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)
In the beginning: Ancient 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)
• 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
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)
• 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
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)
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 peasant’s 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)
• Women still largely not involved in physical games due to perception of being sex objects and under men’s 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
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
• 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
• 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
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)
• 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
The Industrial Revolution 1780 To Present
• Cannot simply say today’s 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
• 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)