Twentieth century- social factors

Question 1

• How did social factors shaped sport in the 20th century?

Answer 1

• There was a massive development of scientific and technological innovation
• Sport in Britain had taken the shape it would keep, more or less, until the television boom of the 1960s and 1970s

Question 2

• What was the class like during the 20th century?
• Include: pub, horse racing and boxing, team sports, working class men and women, troop morale- ww1, crowds and unemployed and unskilled workers

Answer 2

• The pub was the centre of sporting activity for working-class men
• In horse racing and boxing, middle class and upper class put up the money and the lower class took part
• Team sports such as cricket, the working class and middle class would compete side by side
• Working-class men and women had less free time for sport than the upper and middle classes
• Sport played an important part in troop morale during WW1. In the afftermath of the war, spectator sport reached new heights of popularity
• Crowds were mostly well behaved, leading to the view that sport was a symbol of orderliness and good nature of the British working class
• Unemployed and unskilled workers couldn’t afford to spectate

Question 3

• Gender:
• Include: participation of women, crowds, professional sport and working-class women

Answer 3

• Participation of women in physical recreation had dropped dramatically in 1900
• Crowds at professional football and rugby league games became male dominated, showing a shared sense of community and class
• Professional sport was mainly watched by male skilled workers, with only a few women and middle-class spectators
• Working-class women were excluded from professional sport by the constraints of time and money.

Question 4

• Law and order:
• Include: fields of play, spectators, travel for spectators and players, professional teams formed in sports, Growing crowds, gambling, sports press

Answer 4

• Fields of play were enclosed, formal games were timetabled, there were written codes of conduct, e.g. in rugby and football, and most cruel sports had disappeared
• Spectators had to pay to watch; in boxing, gloves were worn, and numbered kit to assist spectators appeared to football. There was a fixed number of players per side in most sports
• Teams and spectators were able to travel widely. Sports events were held on Saturdays rather than on festival days
• Professional teams formed in football, rugby and cricket
• Growing crowds demanded purpose-built grounds and stadia. Spectatorism emerged, with more watching than participating
• Gambling was still an essential part of sport
• A sports press developed

Question 5

• What was The Education Act of 1944 and what does it state?

Answer 5

• The Education Act of 1944 (Butler Act) stated: ‘It shall be the duty of the local education authority for every

Question 6

• Before the introduction of comprehensive schools, what was the state education system made up of?

Answer 6

• Grammar schools
• Secondary modern schools
• Secondady technical schools

Question 7

• What did all these types of schools include?

Answer 7

• All schools’ curricula included physical education and some elements of sport
• Grammar schools often emulated the public schools provision of sport and ran competitive sports teams in major sports
• Secondary modern schools ran a range of sports teams
• Sport was also promoted through extra-curricular provision in schools

Question 8

• Availability of time:

Answer 8

• With gradual increase in leisure, time and money, men played as well as watch sport
• Towns offered many different sports, from water polo in public baths to pigeon races on allotments and quoits in fields behind pubs

Question 9

• Availability of money:

Answer 9

• Enabled darts, dominoes and billiards to flourish inside pubs

Question 10

• Availability of space:

Answer 10

• Space was a key requirement but it was at a premium and the land that was available was heavily used