Una aproximación a las emociones en los equipos deportivos (An approach to emotions in sports teams)

Este trabajo se adentra en la convivencia de equipos deportivos pertenecientes a disciplinas que implican contacto con el equipo rival en su práctica, a partir del análisis empírico procedente de 30 entrevistas en profundidad con entrenadores/as y deportistas de equipos de la Comunidad de Madrid de las disciplinas de fútbol, baloncesto y rugby. En un acercamiento feminista desde la sociología del deporte, se señalan las formas de organización de los equipos deportivos, visibilizando las estrictas jerarquías y sistemas de disciplinamiento normalizados, incidiendo en ciertas prácticas exacerbadas que pueden llegar a justificarse en el contexto. A partir de aquí, se realiza un análisis a través de las especiales sensibilidades del deporte, incidiendo en el estudio de las emociones y las dinámicas afectivas en estos equipos deportivos, reflexionando acerca de su misión como sustento de sistemas que perpetúan fragilidades que darán pie a ciertas vulnerabilidades en el espacio, especialmente hacia las mujeres. Abstract. This work analyze the coexistence of sports teams of disciplines that involve contact with the rival team in their practice, based on the empirical analysis from 30 interviews with coaches and athletes of teams from the Community of Madrid of the soccer, basketball and rugby disciplines. In a feminist approach from the sociology of sport, the forms of organization of sports teams are pointed out, making visible the strict hierarchies and normalized disciplinary systems, influencing certain exacerbated practices that can be justified in the context. From here, an analysis is carried out through the special sensitivities of sport that affects the study of emotions and affective dynamics in these sports teams, reflecting on their mission as support for systems that perpetuate fragility that will give rise to certain vulnerabilities in space, especially against women.

Mobilising sociology of sport for social change beyond the pandemic

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, conversations about how to build sport back better are becoming increasingly pronounced. The crisis both deepens inequities and creates opportunity as a new way to configure sport post-pandemic demands to be discovered. The challenge has been thrown down to sociologists to help reimagine and reshape the course of sport. What might such re-enchantment look like? And how might it help realise the sociology of sport’s untapped potential to advance impactful public sociology? This paper explores these questions with a particular focus on sociologists of sport as co-creators of, and actors in, social change. I discuss five issues that I see as being relevant for rethinking and reconfiguring sport beyond the pandemic: (1) reclaiming the ludic and pleasure; (2) rethinking sociality in sport; (3) social inequities and ‘sport for all’; (4) de-/re-centring power in sport for development; and (5) global interdependence and interconnectedness. The insights presented can hopefully make a modest contribution to our collective understanding of transformative practice in and through the sociology of sport in uncertain times.

Sherpas in Himalayan Mountaineering

Vrinda Marwah’s chapter presents a deeply perceptive exploration of the play of labour, identity, power and modernity in the lives of Sherpas in Himalayan mountaineering. The economy of mountaineering tourism and role of Sherpas’ labour forms the base for a further exploration using the lens of the sociology of sport. Reviewing three key Western texts on the Sherpas, the author unearths the why and how of Sherpas’ relationship to climbing, power dynamics of representation, the racial and gendered connotations of labour. Moving beyond these discussions, the sporting lens offers an enquiry into identity, advancement and labour within contemporary polity and society for the Sherpas as a community.

Theorizing the form and impact of sport scandals

Sport scandals have attracted significant interest within and beyond the sociology of sport. However, developing a theoretical understanding of sport scandals has so far been neglected. Therefore, the two-fold purpose of this conceptual paper is to outline a theoretical model for understanding the form of a sport scandal, and to construct two typical sport scandals that can assist us in theorizing and differentiating how sport scandals may have varying effects on society. In our work, we rely on insights on form formulated by the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann combined with notions of ideal types derived from Max Weber. Accordingly, scandals are described as examples of paradoxical forms where excluded meaning re-enters to create spaces of temporary liminality. Despite their common characteristics, we are able to construct two ideal types of scandals – bureaucratic fallacy and charismatic failure – to understand why scandals may have varying impacts on the environment.