In the name of Sport As a lad I grew up in the street. It was what we all did. The street, which was fortunately a cul de sac, was our playground (the only disturbance was the arrival of the milkman with his horse and cart) . We spent our time playing football and occasionally cricket. We would kick our ball against one set of large wooden gates until the old man living opposite got fed up with us and told us to clear off. We would then move to another site lower down the road and resume our game. The love of football and sport in general has remained with me. Swimming meant Sunday morning learning to swim at our local pool; cycling meant wandering across the county and beyond, with a friend, on our bikes, discussing books, politics and life in general. I remember those days as my introduction to literature, notably George Eliot and Pendennis. A subject that I had deliberately avoided because of my Grammar School’s contempt for working class culture which I reacted to and reciprocated by rejecting their culture. I enjoyed Sport, but was never going to be a star. But that was not what sport was about. We followed our local team, on rare occasions we even managed to go to watch our favourite league team in action. But the enjoyment of Sport came in the taking part not in any financial reward. At primary school I was goalkeeper for my school team. In those days my small primary school did not have a playing field and we had to travel across Town to practise and play our games. As a young teacher most of my Saturday mornings were spent taking responsibility for one of the school teams. Travelling with them and refereeing the game when it was played at the school ground. (I even undertook a refereeing course and learnt how professional referees understood the game and their responsibilities). This brought with it advantages above and beyond the physical satisfaction of enjoying the sport. Mathematics was not the favourite subject of many of the boys I taught but, by sharing their love of football (or cricket), I presented myself to them in a more likeable manner. Sadly, this situation came to an end when teachers as a profession had to act in order to maintain their status in society. They were in danger of being cast as ‘also rans’ in the competitive, money orientated world that was developing as the grip of capitalism was extended into ever widening areas of social life. The freely offered time in terms of clubs and activities was withdrawn as a less destructive form of action than outright strike action (although this was also needed). But all of that is part of the past history of my life. Now in my old age I can only regret that I am unable to indulge in the delight of playing football in my local park, using my coat and jumper as goal posts. The best I can do is, when occasionally crossing the park, the ball that the lads are kicking about strays towards me and I am able to kick it back to them to save one of them having to run after the ball in order to retrieve it. What prompted these thoughts was reading the Sports section of the newspaper. The key issues that predominated within this section are finance and politics. The former is epitomised by an article I read which discussed whether, as a nation, we were losing ‘our love affair with cycling’. The issue raised was the fact that ‘soaring costs were making the sport less accessible’. The positives mentioned was the fact that at a certain club ‘the best attended races are in the youth age groups, under sixes, under sevens, … right up to under-18s, girls and boys.’ There is a serious implication behind this comment which applies in all sports. Sport is no longer seen as an activity which is taken for pleasure, something to be enjoyed for its own sake, with one day providing a day of cycling, another of swimming, of walking, of playing some form of ball game, of enjoying the playground equipment at the local park. It is coming to be seen purely as a competitive pursuit which, if one is successful, can bring in very high rewards. But to be successful one has to start very young and to concentrate on one particular discipline. Young children have to make decisions (assuming we accept the opinion expressed by their parents that they are acting on the wishes of the child) at an age at which they do not have the knowledge or experience to make such a decision. The rewards are high but only for the very few who attain the level required to be successful. The majority fall by the wayside as they find that, despite all their endeavours, they do not have what is necessary to be the champions that they dreamt of being. In this I am reminded of the years I spent in Coventry. This was at a time when the manufacture of cars and vehicles was at its height as a commercial enterprise. It had been the view of the leaders of those companies that their interests were best served by having a high wage economy. They paid their engineers highly in order to get the best engineers and so had the most profitable companies. In other words they paid highly in order to exploit the best engineers and derive the greatest profit from them. This same principle is now applied in sport, the best professionals are paid exorbitant salaries, for the short period of their careers, not for their benefit, but because in that way the owners of the sporting enterprises can make the most money out of their clubs and related activities. They act out of self interest and for profit, exploiting both the successful stars and all of those who are unable to reach the required level of performance, and in the process all those who follow that particular sport by whatever means. The second issue that dominates Sport and its coverage in the media is that of politics. Sport is seen as a means of promoting the national competitive prowess of national economies and the position of the nation within the power structure of the world. This has a distorting effect upon the concept of sport. The clearest example is the present dispute between the International Olympic Committee and the western powers, including the US and the UK. To quote the IOC “It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of Sport. It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards. We have not seen a single comment on their attitude on the participation of athletes from countries involved in the other [ie other than Russia’s attack on Ukraine] 70 wars and armed conflicts around the world.” It used to be claimed that Sport had the ability to bring people from different countries together in a shared experience and that such contact would lead to a greater understanding between peoples. Thus making conflict and war less likely. Now Sport has been turned into one further arena in which such conflicts take place. At its very basic level sport is an aspect of each person's individual nature and interests. Like all other aspects of life, in order to fulfil oneself as an individual one has to be involved with other people. We can only express our individuality through social engagement. Teams, local and National are part of that but should never override the concept of sport as a self fulfilling activity. Sport can also be enjoyed as a spectator but only fully so if we are able to recognise the skills and qualities exhibited by all the participants. If we adopt a narrow ‘victory at all costs for my team’ then we are not enjoying sport but indulging in tribalism. There is much debate over the issue of the involvement of transgender people in sport. This debate illustrates the major difference between two concepts of Sport. The traditional view that sport is a natural activity that brings pleasure and other benefits to participants; and sport as a commercial activity bringing profits to promoters and enhanced prestige and power to nations. If we accept the first of these concepts then we will find no problem with transgender sports persons. The natural tendency of sporting arrangements will lead to both the achievement of fairness and participation being achieved. Within the latter definition no sense of fairness can ever be achieved because the whole concept of Sport in this sense is bound up with the structure of capitalist society of which the foundation is the accumulation of profit, all else is subservient to that aim. SCRIBAR. 31.3.23