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Competition |
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Competition |
 | "Winning isn't everything, its the only thing", Vince Lombardi |
| "The winner is the only individual who is truly alive", George Allen |
| "Every time you win, you're reborn; when you lose, you die a little", George Allen |
| "We never lose, but sometimes the clock runs out on us", Vince Lombardi |
| "It isn't whether you win or lose, its how you play the game", Classic Sports Adage |
| Loy (1969). "A struggle for supremecy between 2 or more opposing sides." |
| Slusher, cited by Fait & Bailey (1974). "A contention of interests...a rivalry between opposing forces (man, animal, or nature) in which the interests of both are not mutually obtainable." |
| Coakley (1990). "A process through which success is measured by directly comparing the achievements of those who are performing the same physical activity under standardized conditions or rules." |
| General Definition: "A situation in which 2 or more people vie for a prize, honor, or advantage." |
| Hock, Scott and Edwards Study: Competitive sports and athletics may negatively affect personality development and self image, foster aggression and hinder the development of interpersonal relationships. |
| Barnett and Bryan Study: Participation in sport may in some way undermine pro-social behaviors as helping, sharing, and cooperation |
| Arnold Study: Competition is the source of envy, despair, selfishness, pride and callousness |
| Kleiber and Roberts: Competition increases anti-social tendencies which are exacerbated by losing |
| Greendorfer: Competition does not build character but may do just the opposite |
| Arnold: Competition is a training ground for challenges found in adult life |
| Astin: Free enterprise system values competition because it has contributed to America's strength and gives individuals the maximum opportunity to compete for the largest possible shape of the resources and rewards in society |
| For each successful competitor at least one must fail - zero sum game (the sum of the winners and losers is zero). |
| According to Graham, most intramural sports programs produce negative sum games - numbers of losers exceeds the number of winners. |
| Utilizing past performance as a criterion to evaluate current performance - positive sum gameindirect |
| Most of the time, competition tends to be self directed. Winning and losing is not the most important outcome, skill development and improvement in performance are the most important. |
| Examples: |
 | Golf outing where there is no comparison of scores |
| Basketball team who strives to get better each day regardless of outcome |
| Runner who does not focus on time but rather on fitness level |
| Opponent is a hindrance who stands between challenger in achieving a predetermined goal |
| promotes a more aggressive environment for sport |
| fosters domination over the opponent rather than cooperation with him/her |
| more value is placed on attaining the goal than the process of attaining the goal |
| the opponents' goals are incompatible (only one can achieve the goal) - supports a more hostile environment between opponents |
| Expresses a less obvious view of the relationships of opponents - this view is understood as an attempt to perform the same skill actions better than opponents in order to express and develop competence |
| competition is an activity WITH rather than AGAINST an opponent |
| competitions atmosphere is fostered between opponents |
| competition is seen to be within the spirit of the rules, NOT to dominate the opponent but to challenge the opponent's best efforts against their own |
| Fraileigh's view broadens Coakley's definition - instead of just comparing achievements, participants compare intentions. This provides for recognition for more than just winning. |
| support of competition as an activity WITH rather than against the opponent. |
| Is competition a "learned behavior" in paricipants or is it instinctive? This is a debate that has been at the forefront of literature relating to competition for a long time. While there is no "right or wrong" answer to this question (there are good arguments on both sides), it seems that competition is BOTH learned AND instinctive. How participants react to the competitive process is based on several factors: |
| coaches'/parents' influence |
| whether the individual was a participant or non-participant in competitive sport |
| media's influence |
| friends influence |
| whether the individual experienced past success in sport |
| the level of enthusiasm the participant has for sport |
| the level of intensity in participation in sport activities |
| Game Orientation: the extent to which an individual values fair play and sportsmanship over winning in competitive sport. |
| Professional Orientation: participant is said to value WINNING over fair play and sportsmanship |
| Play Orientation: participant is said to value FAIR PLAY and SPORTSMANSHIP over winning |
| competitive orientation |
| goal orientation |
| win orientation |
| sport environment (program design) |
| group norms and values |
| other current impacting social experiences |
As administrators, which one of these three areas
can we directly influence or control?
Question:
Does competition have a place in recreational sports?
Answer:
YES! Competition in and of itself is neither good
nor bad. Negative values can only be assigned to the competitive
process when the process exhibits negative behaviors, when competition
becomes the sole outcome of participation, and the value of goal attainment
(winning/losing) becomes all pervasive.
Applications for Recreational Sports Administrators:
· establish and enforce discipline codes/sportsmanship rating systems
· use participant advisory boards to provide input into program design
· training team coaches/captains/managers
· parent training programs
· training and evaluation of sports officials
· reward multiple outcomes (not just winning) in sport
· adopt and "accommodation" philosophy to promote cooperation
· allow opportunities for participant decision-making in program policy
· build in and take seriously participant evaluation of program design/delivery
· provide as much choice to participants as possible