The Active Life
Not many of us can expect to be sporting legends. My forays into the sporting world have been brief and spectacularly unsuccessful. Fortunately for me, and for those best described as spectators in the world of sports, the emphasis has shifted from sport for the few to sport for everyone.
In 2002 there were more than 18,000 registered athletes throughout Australia. But, significantly, thousands more people participated in a wide range of sporting activities, most just for the fun of it.
Since the 1960s a shift of perspective has occurred with regard to participation in sport and exercise. Until then the emphasis was on identifying persons with exceptional sporting talent and coaching them to win. Winning first prize was everything, with only one winner or one winning team.
But if sport is only about winning, then what’s in it for the vast majority who fall hopelessly short of that ideal?
The shift in focus toward encouraging ordinary people to get off the couch and move, stretch and feel good has shifted the emphasis from winning to the eminently more achievable goal of simple involvement—in any form of exercise or sports. Of course, this in no way diminishes the achievements of our sporting heroes. Winning teams are still revered and Olympic sportsmen and women are regarded with awe, but for those who’ll never be a hero, there’s good news.
Participating in any form of sport or just doing a moderate amount of exercise will improve your physical and psychological wellbeing.
The physical benefits of exercise are well known—decreased blood pressure; healthy weight maintenance or reduction; regulation of glucose levels, helping to prevent and control diabetes; strengthening the bones and protecting against osteoporosis; good heart-health and rehabilitation of coronary heart disease, and so on. Studies show those with an increased energy expenditure on a daily basis live longer than their sedentary counterparts.
Psychological health can also be improved with an increase in physical activity. Increased exercise and sporting involvement have been linked to a reduction in depression and anxiety. Exercise is a vital tool in the management of stress and has the potential for enhancing self-esteem and self-confidence. Being physically active may increase our sense of achievement and self-worth.1
Besides the physical and psychological benefits to be gained from exercise, some of life’s most important lessons are learned on sports fields and in pursuing goals, working as a team and accepting loss (as well as victory) gracefully, and leadership. Involvement in sport can lead to an improvement in self-esteem, body image, achievement attitudes and mental health.
But some have concerns about the competitive nature of sport. Taking part in competitive sport has been shown in some cases to lead to a lowered sense of responsibility toward others and an unhealthy drive to win at all costs.2
It’s the attitudes of the participant that appears to be the determining factor. If the driving force behind participation in sport is to gain social status, greater popularity and perhaps a high-profile career, then good sportsmanship may take a back seat. But when participants are focused on cooperation, skill improvement and trying their best, then unsportsmanlike behaviour, such as cheating, is less likely to be accepted in themselves or others.
We need to emphasise and value qualities that enhance good sportsmanship, especially among children and adolescents. Gaining a sense of mastery over one’s body, enjoying the benefits of exercise and valuing the team spirit are attitudes we can and should encourage from a young age. These are attitudes that promote personal wellbeing and positive social development.
But there is also a prize that all receive from activity, whether we compete or not: It is the sense of wellbeing from being involved with an activity that is good for our bodies and also for our minds. So turn off the Sports Channel, get off your couch and open the door to a more active way of life, and join me for some fresh air.
1. Jane Ogden, Health Psychology, Open University Press, Buckingham, 1996.
2. Todd Ryska, “Sportsmanship in young athletes,” The Journal of Psychology, May 2003, page 273
| This is an extract from October 2003
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