WJEC History - Sport, Leisure and Tourism - SPORT

Give 3 examples of amateur sports, and 3 of professional sports.

This can be used if asked about the development of professionalism in sport.

Amateur Sports

• Rugby Union
• Rowing
• Athletics

An example of how to use this in the exam. If asked about the trend of professionalism in sport, say it is towards growing professionalism for e.g. Rugby Union was an amateur sport in 1900 and remained amateur until 1995 when the IRB removed payment restrictions allowing it to become professional.

Professional Sports

• Boxing
• Horse Riding
• Rugby League

What is amateur and professional sport?

Amateur sport is sport that is unpaid and players play for fun as a leisure time activity or hobby. However, it is still competitive.

Professional sport is sport that pays its players and players have a career from their sport. This makes it very competitive.

What are the positive and negative effects of professionalism in sport?

Positives

• Gives people a career and living wage
• Creates a better quality of sport as only the best are paid
• Encourages participation in sport

Negatives

• Players get a "win at all costs" mentality as they do not want to lose their job
• Players have a lack of loyalty as they move to where they will be paid best

Name 4 spectator sports and how they developed as spectator sports

Football

Key things to why it developed

• Stadiums were built close to stations making them easier to access for all
• People had more leisure time
• People had a higher income
• The media allowed people to watch on TV and also advertised matches
• Rivalries between towns meant people wanted to support their teams
• Proper competitions were introduced (The Football League)

Problems with spectators

• Violence - Riots broke out between football groups and fans. Hooligans were at their worst in the 1980's when trouble was caused both in, and outside the stadium.
• Expense - Ticket prices have risen leading football away from the traditional working class supporters to a more business class supporter.

Horse Riding

Before the 1900's, entry fees were not charged but despite the introduction of entry fees, due to its popularity people were still willing to pay to watch.

After both World Wars, horse riding was used as a form of entertainment.

Originally for the working middle class, the new rail system made horse riding more accessible for poorer people.

Rugby Union

As population increased in Wales, the popularity of Rugby Union increased. The new population was made up of young working class men who set up teams based around pubs. This gave them an immediate fan basis of those who went to the pubs. People watched in support of their favourite teams and big events such as Wales' victory over the previously undefeated All Blacks attracted thousands of spectators.

Boxing

Boxing was available almost every night giving opportunities all the time to watch. Favourite competitors were made, attracting thousands to watch their fights such as Jimmy Wilde in his world title fight in 1916.

The Media had a number of effects on sport, it ;-

• Creates new sports
• Encourages participation
• Increased the profile of sport
• Makes sports more available to watch i.e. Football
• Changes focus of sports i.e. Cricket clothes changed to more colourful rather than the original white kit, also, music is used for players entrances.
• Made minority sports popular i.e. Darts, Snooker
• People don't have to travel to games, cheaper to watch
• Creates more sponsorship deals
• Creates sporting stars/role models

Use information on the Media in questions about the impact of the Media, sponsorship, how stars are created, etc.

Name 3 male, 3 female sporting stars

David Beckham - An English footballer who has played for a number of top name teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Milan. He surpassed Bobby Moore's total of 108 caps in 2009 and currently has 115 career appearances.

Len Hutton - Was an English test cricketer and played around the Second World War. In 1938, he set a record for the highest number of individual innings in a single Test match against Australia. In 1952, he became the first ever cricketer to captain England in a Test match.

Gareth Edwards - Was a Welsh Rugby Union scrum-half. He won 53 caps for Wales with 13 being as a caption. He scored 20 tries in international matches. He never dipped in form or had an injury allowing anybody to take his place.

Mary Rand - Was a track-and-filed athlete. She won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics whilst breaking a world record. She was the first ever female British athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.

Tanni Grey Thompson - Is an athlete and a TV presenter. She was born with spina bifida and had to use a wheelchair. In her Paralympic career, she won 16 medals. She also won 13 medals at the World Championships

Kelly Holmes - Is a middle distant runner who won gold in both the 800m and 1500m events at the 2004 Olympics. She set and still holds British records for 600m, 800m, 1000m and 1500m events.

Why has there been an increase in sporting stars in the C20th?

• The Media
• Better rewards in sport - more people get into sport
• More facilities to train/perform so more opportunities to join
• More investment in sport
• Increase leisure time
• Growing professionalism
• Competitions e.g. Olympics
• People aspire to be successful in sport
• Increased participation from women

Examples of sponsorship

• Usain Bolt - Puma sponsors £26million over 4 years
• Snooker world masters - Ladbrokes sponsor £500 000
• Andy Murray - Adidas sponsor £10million
• London Olympics 2012 - Cadbury sponsor £20million
• Liverpool F.C - Standard Chartered Bank sponsor £81million

Sponsorship can be ;-

• on an individual level
• for a team
• for a competition - local, national or international

Benefits of sponsorship

• Allows sports to become professional
• Improves the performance as athletes can focus solely on their sport as a career
• Improves facilities for athletes to train
• Improves stadia
• Improves facilities for guests

Issues in modern day sport

• Drug Scandals - In 1987, Carl Lewis beat Ben Johnson and claimed he would never be beat by Johnson again. However, in 1988, Johnson beat Lewis claiming that he could have run faster. 3 days later he was discovered to have taken drugs and was disqualified.
• Politics in Sport - In 1972 Munich Olympics, terrorists overshadowed the event by holding Israeli athletes hostage. The Moscow Olympics were boycotted by America and other countries in protest of the invasion of Afghanistan. As early as the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Hitler used the Olympics as a chance for propaganda.
• Sunday Sport - The previous views on Sunday as a day of rest relaxed after World War Two. In 1981, regular football on a Sunday began

• Violence in Sport - Football is the associated with violence not just with the hooligans but also with players. For example, Zidane headbutted Materazzi during a match. Supporters are most violent with extreme cases leading to death. In 1985 a 14 year old boy was killed at St. Andrews Stadium.
• Women in Sport - Originally women were restricted to more genteel sports such as tennis. Today women participate in the same sports as men, both as amateurs and professionals however they still lag with financial rewards.

Participation in Sport

Participation in sport has increased in the C20th for a number of reasons.

• Improved facilities
• Outdoor activities increased
• Changes in society
• New sports and sports organisations

Improved facilities

Examples

• Rugby grounds had floodlights allowing teams to play later in the day allowing mid-week matches
• A number of sports centres were built like the Harlow Sports Centre
• Synthetic outdoor playing surfaces allowed a number of sports to be played in one area. Also allowed more sports in towns and cities.

Outdoor activities

Types

• Walking, Cycling, Canoeing, Climbing and Mountain Biking

Reasons for increase

• Activity centres were built for children and the public
• Young people could go with youth clubs and schools
• Private car ownership gave people easier access to the country

Changes in society

• Increased leisure time, particularly at weekends
• Fuller employment in the 1960's and higher incomes
• Better transport and wider car ownership
• Television and media coverage
• Concern with health and fitness increased

New sports and sports organisations

New sports

• Basketball
• Volleyball
• Badminton

Organisations that encourage participation

• Youth clubs
• YFC's + Urdd Gobaith Cymru
• Girl Guides and Scouts

• Increase in the number of countries competing - From 241 athletes from 14 nations in 1896 to 10 500 competitors from 204 countries in 2008
• Improved facilities - Furnishings for athletes and officials are now better such as in the Olympic Village
• Sponsorship and Commercialisation - After 1972, the IOC started to explore the TV medium and lucrative advertising deals. The Olympics began to shift towards international sponsors.
• Improvement in performances - Amateurism in sports began to phase out in the Olympics in the 1970's, more professionals played so performance improved.
• Increase in the number of sports - More sports were introduced such as Volleyball, Basketball and Badminton. More events have been made within sports.
• New Olympics - Winter Olympics and Paralympics introduced.

Example of a question in the exam

''What does source B tell us about early Olympics?''