sport and society

• Periods of time covered in the history of sport


  • Pre-Industrial Britain
  • Post-Industrial Britain
  • 20th Century Britain
  • 21st Century Britain
• Factors affecting participation in sport


  • Social class
  • Gender
  • Time
  • Law & order
  • Education
  • Money
  • Transport
• Pre-industrial


  Period in history before the industrial revolution, pre 1850
• Socio-cultural factors


  The way in which our community has impacted developments in sport over time
• Mob Games


  • Played by peasants
  • Played between villages
  • Usually football/rugby-like games
  • Physical force
  • Little skill
  • Mass numbers
  • Occasional - e.g. festivals or holidays
• Upper class pre-1850 sports


  • Cockfighting
  • Tennis
  • Foxhunting
• Cockfighting


  14 ft square with 2 male chickens fighting to the death or serious injury, often had metal spikes on their feet to increase brutality, upper class would bet large sums of money
• Social classes in pre-industrial Britain


  • Upper Class
  • Lower Class
• Upper Class


  Land owners, rich people who often watched and looked down on the mob sports
• Lower Class


  Peasants who worked on the land for little money, e.g. sports: bare knuckle fighting, mob games
• Upper and lower classes shared some activities


  But the role within each activity depended on your class
• Pedestrianism


  • Lower class people would compete in walking races, upper class people would back/sponsor them to make money, upper class would also gamble on these
• Cricket


  • Amateurs - a person who competes, but not for financial gain
  • Lower Class Professionals - a person who competes and gains money for doing so
• Factors affecting participation (pre 1850's)


  • Gender
  • Social class
  • Law and Order
  • Education and Literacy
  • Availability of time
  • Money
  • Transport
• Social Class


  Different classes took part in different activities, different classes may have different roles within a sport, upper class had more money and time, so had more access to sports, nature of activities reflects class (e.g. violent = lower class)
• Gender


  Females seen as 'weaker', so activities could not be dangerous or strenuous, male dominated sports included mob games, cock fighting, pedestrianism, cricket, female sports included frock races (lower class) and archery (upper class)
• Law & Order


  Very little law and order, reflected in the games played, lower class had violent and sometimes fatal activities with few/no rules, cruelty to animals
• Education & Literacy


  Lower class not educated and illiterate, so no rules could be read, upper class well educated and literate, so they participated in sports with more sophisticated rules
• Availability of time


  Lower class worked long and exhausting hours on the land, so little appetite for additional exercise, activities usually on holidays, holy days or festivals, upper classes had more time available
• Availability of Money


  Upper class had more money to buy horses, equipment, facilities, clothing for sports, lower class had less money
• Transport


  Main types were horse and cart, walking, road conditions were poor so many never left their own village, upper classes were able to travel to events
• Rules were not written, they were spoken, which is why there were very few rules
• Simple rules for lower class (e.g. mob football - no murder, no manslaughter), more sophisticated/advanced rules for the upper class</b>
• The Industrial Revolution


  Agrarian Revolution - movement of workers away from countryside to cities, Industrial Revolution - more industry work, factories, better wages but still long hours, Urban Revolution - huge rise in population in cities
• Amateurism


  Not needing to be paid to play, upper and eventually middle class people
• Professionalism


  Needing to be paid to play, lower class people who excelled at their sport
• Amateurs and professionals


  Often played on the same teams but forced to use different changing rooms, amateurs made to clean kit and do dirty jobs, working men paid extra for missing work to play
• Middle class


  Professionals, factory owners and managers, but did not own large estates, had more time to be involved in sport, many went to public schools and were involved in developing rules
• Women's role in pre-20th century


  To marry and have children, depend financially on husband, education deemed pointless
• Status of women began to change in late 19th century


  More men than women due to work and army deaths/emigration, campaigners fought for equal rights, work, education, vote, this affected women's participation in sport
• Law and Order


  Development of more laws affected which activities were allowed, upper and middle classes developed these laws, cock fighting and mob games eliminated but upper class sports like fox hunting left untouched
• Education and Literacy


  Lower classes didn't want education as it meant less time working/earning, upper/middle classes continued to gain education, Education Act 1870 increased elementary schools, 1981 Act made education free so more lower class families sent kids to school where they learned to read and understand rules of upper/middle class sports
• Availability of time and money


  Factory owners tried to stop players getting paid to miss work but soon realised sport could keep them healthy and loyal, this led to companies forming their own teams
• Companies that became famous football teams


  • Dial Square (Royal Arsenal), Thames Iron Works, Newton Heath (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company), JT Morton's Canning and Preserves Factory, Anglo-Saxon landowner called 'Totta' (West Ham, Millwall, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United)
• Lower class work hours


  Still worked long hours for little money (72 hour weeks), little money and time for sport, 'Saturday half-day' introduced by 1965 to boost morale
• Transport developments


  Walking, horseback, rivers, canals, then roads, bicycles, railways, cars facilitated travel to and from sports
• Effect of railways on sport


  Bigger crowds/followings, better players moved to better teams, race meetings planned around train times, owners could get horses to Scottish races, teams could tour the country for fixtures
• Public schools


  Expensive, boarding, boys only, upper and middle class only, harsh/strict environment, fee-paying
• Influence of public schools


  • Facilities/space & equipment, time available for fixtures, specialist coaches, inter-house system, developed/codified rules, role models from older to younger boys
• Athleticism


  Trying hard, being honourable, truthful and showing good sportsmanship, developed by Thomas Arnold at Rugby School