Suchergebnisse

Organised sport has become a legitimate interest group, with potential influence in wider policy-making circles. Building on a distinction between because-of motives and in-order-to motives, the purpose of this study is to analyse why sport organisations conduct advocacy while offering an assessment of the sport-internal transformative effects of advocacy activities. The analysis is based on interviews with 46 elected and staff representatives of Swedish Regional Sport Federations, and it shows (1) that a perceived de-institutionalization of organised sport's monopolistic position in Sweden underpins the imperative to conduct advocacy, and (2) that the overarching goal-oriented purpose of advocacy is to further sport organisations' role as advocates in future policy processes. This indicates that sport organisations are transitioning from a 'passive custodian' to an 'active advocate' role in relation to the government. We propose that this latter role may include a professionalisation of advocacy activities, and that advocacy, therefore, may accentuate internal tensions related to the trade-off between efficiency and democracy, create a need for sport-internal advocacy, and undermine future advocacy claims and/or access to policy processes. ; I idrottens namn: distriktidrottsförbunds idrottspolitiska arbete i en förändrad idrottspolitisk kontext

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to and analyse strategic representations and legitimacy production in sport policy advocacy processes. Considering it as a case of public consultation in part made possible by contemporary governing systems, the empirical base of the study is the public hearings with representatives of six parliamentary parties that were arranged by the Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC) prior to the 2014 election to the Swedish parliament. Using verbatim transcripts of these hearings as data and the notion of policy advocacy as institutionally situated production of legitimising accounts, two research questions are addressed: (1) What legitimising accounts are produced and deployed by the SSC during the hearings? (2) To what wider systems of meaning are those legitimising accounts connected and how? The analysis shows three sets of legitimising accounts and how both long-standing and contemporary ideas of the sport–government relationship in Sweden were used as cultural resources in these framing processes. Two aspects of policy advocacy processes arising from the study are discussed. First, the possible reasons for and consequences of the contradictory nature of legitimising accounts advanced, and second the transformations of the institutional conditions of sport that are implied by the emergence of phenomena, such as the hearings under analysis.

This study investigated the promotion and consumption of alcohol at the 2012 New Zealand Rugby Sevens Tournament. The paper uses a quantitative survey to gain insight into how attendees experienced the event in relation to alcohol promotions and alcohol consumption. One hundred and six participants completed the survey, the results of which highlight respondents' opinions of: (a) the appearance and role of alcohol promotions at the event; (b) the link between event atmosphere and alcohol consumption; and, (c) messages about moderating alcohol consumption during the event. The discussion draws attention to how live spectators of one particular alcohol-sponsored sports event perceived the role of alcohol as part of the entertainment package and the atmosphere of the event.