Socio-Economic/ Commercialisation of Sport

Question 1

What are some of the factors that influence someone’s ability to partake in sport?

Answer 1

• Gender
• Age
• Socio-economic group
• Disability

Question 2

How might the commercialisation of sport affect who wants to partake?

Answer 2

Many adverts featuring popular celebrities are shown to the public to increase the appeal of specific sports to certain demographics of people.

One we have looked at is Christiano Ronaldo holding KFC in an advert for the Premier League. This attracts both people that like KFC and football and also glamorises this food as maybe something that he would eat even though this is just a marketing strategy.

Question 3

What kind of sports might be only available to certain socio-economic groups

Answer 3

Sports like:

• Horse riding
• Polo
• Shooting

These require a certain level of money that must be originally invested if someone wishes to take part meaning that people with less money or even social connections to these sports are unlikely to get involved and be able to play for the first time.

Question 4

How might these tightly restricted sports be affected by these bind of socio-economic entry?

Answer 4

The demographic of players in these sports may become stale and potentially popularity of these sports could easily decline due to less new people joining and the hardcore fans slowly dying out.

This can cause sports in certain cultures to become obsolete and unpopular due to the lack of new people.

Question 5

How might expectations of certain people within a sport affect their mental state and well-being?

Answer 5

Aspiring rugby players in New Zealand are extremely dedicated to their nation’s sport and it is one of the central aspects to their life.

If players fail to make it to their desired level or skill many often suffer from depression and anxiety about their performance and they doubt their value.

This is evident that sport can have a long lasting effect on many people and how a culture can be formed around a sport.

Question 6

How does gender affect the participation ability?

Answer 6

Gender- Some sports are mainly played by one sex making it harder for someone of the opposite gender to join in or even consider participating in the given sport.

Question 7

How does age affect participation ability?

Answer 7

There may not be nearby sports teams of the right age group for someone to join.

This can put them off or they might join a running club for example but everybody is older which reduces the social benefits that may be gleamed from joining the team.

Question 8

How does disability affect participation likelihood and ability?

Answer 8

There may not be teams in the area that have the appropriate equipment or facilities to have a disabled athlete take part meaning that they may be put off looking for a team to join due to the logistical difficulties associated with participation.

Also some areas may likely have no disabled team meaning unless one is setup there’s no way for a disabled person to partake in the given sport.

Question 9

How does ethnicity affect participation ability in sport?

Answer 9

There might be a small number of people who are in your ethnic group meaning you feel isolated and unwelcome to join despite the people possibly being friendly and happy for you to participate.

Some sports are heavily associated with different ethnic groups such as long distance runners being black. This can create a stigma around the sport and cause people to feel unwelcome from joining in.

Question 10

How does socioeconomic group affect participation rates in sport?

Answer 10

If people have less money they may not be able to afford necessary equipment for the sport such as expensive:

• Clothing
• Shoes
• Sports equipment
• Facility hire or funding
• Prices for coaching

Certain sports are also heavily associated with money and social class such as equestrian or golf meaning that people feel unwelcome to join for fear of being discriminated in the group due to their class or financial situation.

Question 11

How might commercialization of sport affect participation rates?

Answer 11

If a sport is seen to be popular with lots of people or made famous by a celebrity participation rates will increase and more public opinion will be drawn towards the given sport.

Examples:

Jessica Ennis being the poster girl of the olympics and attracting attention so more people would watch the Olympics and tune in as this will increase the money made and how much sponsors will have to pay.

Christiano Ronaldo- Sponsored KFC