Sport in Australia

1. Sport in Australia Prof Peter Brown Dept of Tourism, Leisure, Hotel & Sport Management

2. What are we covering today? • Australian sport – preliminary impressions • What is sport? • Overview of the Australian Sport System • Socio-historical influences on sport in Australia • The role and place of women in Australian sport • Comparisons with the Norwegian sport system

3. Spot the stars

4. Australian sport – some preliminary impressions • List three words or phrases that reflect your impressions of sport in Australia • Can you name one Australian sportsman and one Australian sportswoman? • It has been argued that sport has a special place in Australian culture. What factors do you feel may have influenced the development of sport in Australia?

5. Australian – A sporting paradise? Social commentators from within Australia and outside have declared that Australian’s are obsessed with sport WHY?

6. What is sport? • ‘Amusement, diversion, fun’; ‘pastime, game’ (Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary) • ‘A range of activities which generally involve rules, physical exertion and/or coordination and competition between participants’ (Lynch & Veal, 1996) • ‘An institutionalised game demanding the demonstration of physical prowess’ (Loy 1979). • Covers activities on a continuum from play, through games to highly competitive sport

7. One view of Australian sport ‘Sport plays a vital role in the Australian community and touches almost every part of Australian life. It has helped to define our national identity and is one of the things that unifies our country. It also brings us a range of social and economic benefits: participants gain better health, social contacts and a better quality of life; our economy gains reduced health costs, higher productivity, increased employment and increases tourism. Australia’s success in a wide range of sports has enhanced our international reputation.’ Paul Keating - CAS Patron (February, 1996)

8. Another view of Australian Sport Nationally • 9.1 million persons (62.4% of the pop.) participated in physical activities for recreation, and 7 million (48.2% of the pop.) attended at least one sports event in 2002. • The most popular organised sport for boys is soccer (22.2% of pop) and for girls is netball (18.1% of pop) • 6.5 million registered sport participants • 30,000 clubs and associations • 1.4 million volunteers • Approx 140,000 employees • $1 billion annual expenditure by government at all levels • Accounts for 8% of the economy (Gross Domestic Product) Service delivery by • Public sector - all levels of government • Private / for-profit sector • Not for profit / community sector

9. Some sporting stars

10. The Australian sport system Economic influences PARTICIPANTS (players, officials, spectators) Political Influences PROVIDERS Legal Influences Socio-historical influences

11. PYRAMID BASED SPORT SYSTEM Elite Level Sport Intermediate Level Sport Mass Participation Sport

12. The Australian sport system • Three sector model: • Government • Community • Commercial/private • Important web site – peak government agency - Australian Sports Commission www.ausport.gov.au

13. Government sector – support of sport • Commonwealth/Federal – policy “Participation vs. Elite”, activity programs, National Sport Organisation (NSO) funding, elite athlete support • State – major event support, State Sport Organisation (SSO) funding, venue development • Local (75% of all funding) – facility provision, club support, volunteer training

14. Why should governments involve themselves in sport? ?

15. Community sector – support of sport • Volunteers at club level • Officials, coaches, administrators, players • Facility management • Fundraising • Player development • Sustains the “system”

16. Commercial/private sector – support of sport • Equipment supplies • Event management • Venue management • Athlete management • Media • Sponsorship (eg Greg Norman Australia’s first golfing millionaire) • Professional sport leagues

17. Contemporary Sport Structure Elite Sport Sport Organisation Funding/Facilities International Sport Federations Australian Institute of Sport National Sporting Organisations Australian Sports Commission State Sport Institutes/Academies State Sporting Organisations State Depts of Sport & Recreation Regional Sport Institutes/Academies District/Regional Associations/Clubs Local Government

18. ‘Time out’ - interlude

19. The history of women in Australian sport Video – Women and sport

20. Key themes surrounding the history of women in Australian sport • History of exclusion • Biological myths • Social conventions • Patriarchal nature of sports organisations • Media representations of gender relations

21. Hegemonic processes associated with sports media • The relative ‘visibility’ of women in sports news • The ‘containment’ of women in sports news. • ‘Stereotypical’ representations of gender in sports news.

22. How visible are women in sports news? • TV - 2% of total sports broadcasting • Radio - 1.4% of total sports broadcasts • Sports magazines - 6.8% of sports coverage • Newspapers - 10.7% of coverage (Source ASC 1997)

23. Volume of coverage for female sport (NH & SMH), 1890-1990

24. Proportional volume of coverage for female and male sport, NH & SMH, 1890-1990

25. To what extent are women contained in sports reports? • Positioning of articles • Timing of coverage • Sports covered

26. Gender stereotyping in sports news • Text • Images

27. Comparisons with the Norwegian sport system

28. Workshop time • Groups of 4 • 15 minutes to create a list of differences and similarities between the Australian and Norwegian sport systems in 4 areas: • Government policy and programs • Community sport • Professional sport • Historical and cultural influences • AND list any questions you may have about Australian sport?

29. The end… enjoy your time in Australia!