Sport and Society

• Life in pre-industrial Britain

  • Communications and transport were limited
  • There was widespread illiteracy: lower classes were uneducated
  • Cruel or violent existences were the norm for the lower class
  • The upper class lived in comfort and luxury
  • There was very limited free time as work was based on the land: free time was dictated by the agricultural calendar
  • Class divisions clearly existed: two-tier feudal system
  • People lived in the countryside
• Characteristics of popular recreation

  • Long hours of work for the lower class meant popular recreation were occasional - restricted to breaks in the agricultural calendar
  • With limited transport, popular recreation was local and specific to each community
  • Activities used natural resources - open land
  • Literacy was low, so any rule and regulations were very basic
  • Activities were aggressive and male-dominated - reflecting the harsh society - lots of damage to property and injuries to participants
  • Wagers were placed by the upper class as part of sporting contests
• Mob Football

  An example of an activity played in pre-industrial Britain, which very much reflected the characteristics of popular recreation and socio-cultural factors evident at the time. It was played by the lower class.

  • It was localised - Ashbourne mob football - due to limited transport being available
  • It was very rural in nature, as the population was spread out in the countryside
  • Male-dominated and highly violent - reflected the living conditions
  • Became increasingly unpopular with the local authorities as the nineteenth century progressed and were eventually banned
• Characteristics of Mob Football

  • They were violent or unruly in nature
  • They led to injury or death in extreme cases
  • They led to damage of property
  • They were involved in gambling/wagering
  • They were linked to alcohol consumption/drunken behaviour
• Real Tennis

  It did not reflect the typical popular recreation characteristics of many activities of the time. Real tennis was an exclusive activity, courtly and royal in nature, played by the upper class males in society - Henry VIII in Hampton Court Palace.
• Characteristics of Real Tennis

  • The upper class were highly educated and highly literate - complex rules could be written down
  • It was played to a high moral code - it lacked violence and was played in a civilised manner
  • With plenty of leisure time, the upper class were able to play on a regular basis in expensive, purpose built facilities, using specialist equipment.
  • The upper class had the ability to travel - so it was non-local in nature
  • Real tennis was a skilful game with difficult technical demands, which enabled the upper class to show their 'superiority' over the lower class
• Athletics

  Was known as foot racing/pedestrianism, which consisted of footmen competing as messengers by the upper class for their speed across open land. The gentry would wager on how many miles they could cover in a specified period of time. Success in athletics meant increased social status for a gentlemen - happy to act as a patron to the working-class performers.

  Racing developed with running/walking allowed and some rules were introduced.
• Characteristics of Athletics

  • Rules were simple and unwritten
  • Events were local with people from neighbouring villages joining in with the festivities and competitions which occurred annually
  • It was set in a rural location
  • Betting occurred, with wagers placed on the outcome of the races
• The development of rational recreation

  Rational suggest that a level of order, logic and structure began to be applied to sports such as football, reflecting a more ordered industrially based society.
• The Wenlock Olympian Games (1850)

  • The Wenlock Agricultural Reading Society resolved to form an Olympian Class - which was set up to promote moral, physical and intellectual improvements, especially in the lower class
  • Prizes were offered for successful participants - encouraging taking part
  • The first games were held in 1850 and were a forerunner to the modern Olympic Games
  • Pageantry and celebrations were important - a band led the procession of flag bearers, officials and competitors
• Events in the Wenlock Olympian Games

  • Athletics
  • Quoits
  • Football
  • Cricket
  • Running
  • Hurdles
  • Blindfolded wheelbarrow race
  • Old woman's race - a pound of tea for the winner
• As well as holding annual Wenlock Olympian Games, Dr William Penny Brookes and the Wenlock Olympian Society campaigned for physical education to be on the school curriculum and promoted the benefits of sport and exercise nationally.
• The Industrial Revolution

  The influence of the industrial revolution on the development of rationalised sports and pastimes - the initial effects were negative:

  • Migration of the lower class into urban areas - led to a loss of space to play traditional mob games
  • Lack of leisure time - long 12-hour shifts, six days a week
  • Lack of income - low wages and poverty
  • Poor health - poor loving conditions led to pollution, and a lack of hygiene
  • Loss of rights - restrictions were placed on mob games
  • A lack of public provisions - no access to private facilities or no personal equipment
• Second half of the 19th century

  • Health and hygiene improved - gradual improvements in living conditions and local council provisions of public baths
  • Increase in wages and more time for sport - Factory Acts and Saturday half-days
  • The values of athleticism - high moral integrity
  • Industrial patronage - led to provisions for recreation and sport
  • Improvements in transport and communications - developments in roads and stem trains - fixtures and results could be published in the newspapers
  • Cheaper travel - participation and spectating was easier
• Urbanisation

  • Lack of space - in cities, unlike the countryside, space was at a premium. This led to the development of purpose-built facilities
  • Large working-class population - they needed entertaining, resulting in mass spectator numbers at football and rugby matches
  • Loss of traditional sports - mob games were banned in a civilised urban society
  • Change in working conditions - initially worked long hours in the factories, had limited free time and income
• The transport revolution

  • The movement of teams/spectators - development of railways enabled faster and further travel
  • Improved access to different parts of the country - enabled sport to develop form local to regional to national
  • Cheaper train travel - working class could follow their teams and sporting heroes
  • Improved access to the countryside - activities such as rambling became popular as rural areas were reachable and affordable
• Communications

  Improved as society become more literate. Such developments in the printed media increased the knowledge and awareness of sport in a number of different ways. It led to the emergence of heroes and role models as people could read match reports and relate to their favourite players scoring goals.
• The influence of the Church

  Reasons why the Church promoted sport included the fact that it encouraged social control through civilised activities diverting people from less socially acceptable behaviours such as drinking and gambling.

  Church facilities also provided venues for improving the morality of the working class and promoting Christian values.

  The Church organised teams, set up clubs and organised competitions - Aston Villa
• The emergence of the middle class

  • Codification - development of strict rules as public school and university old boys played a key role in the formation of many national governing bodies
  • Competitions - the development of leagues via middle-class involvement
  • Public provisions - the development of public facilities - parks and baths
  • Increased leisure time - as middle-class factory owners, they gradually gave their workers more leisure time
  • Move to 'professionalism' - helped in the development of early professional sport
• The British Empire

  • Teachers - developed teams and taught traditional sporting values in schools throughout the Empire
  • Industrialists/Factory owners - set up teams and gave workers time off to play sport nationally and internationally
  • Clergy - developed church teams or became missionaries
  • Officers in the British Army - used sport within the armed forces and spread it throughout the Empire
  • Diplomats - they travelled the world and took sport with them - rugby and cricket
  • They formed national governing bodies - codified sport and established leagues and competitions
• Development of NGBS

  • Sport was becoming increasingly popular with more widespread playing of sport
  • More teams and clubs were forming
  • More national and international fixtures were being organised
  • Leagues and competitions were required for these teams compete in
  • Nationally agreed rules and codification for different sports were required - a single set of rules were needed for fair play
  • Maintenance of the 'amateur ideal' to deal with professionalism and early commercialisation of sport
• Characteristics of Rational Recreation

  • Respectability - non-violent nature
  • Regionally/Nationally/Regularly played
  • Stringent administration and codification - strict and complex written rules were set
  • Referees/officials
  • Purpose-built facilities
  • Skills and tactics based