CODIFICATION OF SPORT
CONTINUED…
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• KNOW THE ROLE OF OXBRIDGE IN THE
CODIFICATION OF SPORT
• UNDERSTAND HOW GOVERNING BODIES
WERE FORMED
• BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR THE
SHIFT FROM AMATEUR TO PROFESSIONAL
TASK 1
• HOW DID SPORT CONTINUE TO SPREAD FROM
PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
• ANSWER: OXBRIDGE (UNIVERSITY)
The Development of Competitive Sport
The rationalisation of sport
The role of Oxbridge in the codification of
sport.
• Students leaving public schools attended one of the
Oxbridge universities.
• Each public school had created and played its own,
invented, games.
• So a need to establish an accepted form arose known as
the Melting Pot
• Games needed to once again become more formalised
The Development of Competitive Sport
The rationalisation of sport
The National Governing Body
• NGB’s were established to formally write the rules by which the
sport should be played / codification.
• They took control of the leagues, regular competitions and
fixtures.
• Took control of discipline providing referees and support in the
form of punishments.
• Developed a system of affiliation insisting that first clubs and
then players became registered.
• Responsible for selecting international managers and the
representation of the given sport on an international stage
• English FA – 1863 first NGB
• Some took control abroad also – eg. LTA (Lawn Tennis
Association)
TASK 2
• Why does the world play Sport that originated
in the UK?
The Development of Competitive Sport
The rationalisation of sport
Diffusion of sport.
• New ideas were formalized by a combination of the
university (Oxbridge) influence and that of the governing
bodies that were being established.
• Ex students spread the popularity of the sports through –
returning as old boys to their previous schools, taking up
jobs that involved travel e.g. in the army, commerce,
foreign office.
• Britain was an empire so had influence all over the world
• Improved communication and travel enabled people to
travel to participate in sports.
The Development of Competitive Sport
The rationalisation of sport
Diffusion of sport.
• Sport was spread by traders and commerce, setting up
clubs in ports etc.
• The army encouraged sport to improve moral and for the
training of the soldiers and so took the sports across the
world.
• Sport was spread via the education system with many
British teachers teaching abroad.
• The church also used sport as a means of social control
and education both at home and with their missionaries.
• Ex pats / emigrants formed clubs abroad.
• Diplomats took sports with them to their countries of
work.
• Foreign students attending university in England and then
returning home.
The Development of Competitive Sport
The Modern Olympic Games
The Modern Olympic Games
 Pierre de Coubertin is credited with the revival of the Olympic Games
 Based on the same ideals that the public schools had used to foster
the importance of team games in their institutions, the Olympics of the
nineteen hundreds involved competition between amateur sportsmen
And women who competed for the sheer enjoyment of participation.
 “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to
take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but
the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have
fought well.”
 Now they are a hugely commercial event, for both the athletes and
host nation
TASK 3
• The Olympic Case Study
• Page 104-5
• What was the purpose of De Coubertin revive
the Games?
• What were the key features of the Modern
Olympics?
• What were the Cotswold Olympicks?
The Development of Competitive Sport
20th Century Sport
The Period of Change.
• Sport had undergone change;
– games had been created, rules established,
competitions and leagues created, spectator
interest was developing
• Sport was about to undergo a major
change;
– Amateur to Professional!
The Development of Competitive Sport
20th Century Sport
Amateur to Professional
• Period of the gentleman amateur was
characterised by;
– gentlemen of middle and upper classes playing sport
in the spirit of “fair play” in order to maintain their
own moral value and that of sport”.
– Social divisions had always existed since the court and
mob sports, these were still very evident i.e. cricket
captains, roles that people adopted within teams,
types of activities that people participated in, amount
of time that different groups had to play sport.
The Development of Competitive Sport
20th Century Sport
Amateur to Professional
• Reasons for the change
–
–
–
–
–
Need for broken time payments
Spectators generating income
Income reflected by the success of the team
Now a need to win to generate more income
In order to win better players needed to be attracted
to play for a team
– Also players needed to practice and so didn’t have
time to work / needed to be compensated and
rewarded financialy.
Spectatorism
• Working class were given Saturday afternoons off
• This became the time for sport
• Demand for fixtures was two fold:
– Regular matches
– Attract spectators
• 1888 – English Football League created by teams from
Midlands & North England
• The County cricket championship developed in a similar
way
• “Rational” sport was different to Popular recreations: few
played & many watched
Homework
• Write a list of all of the Olympic Games from
this point, date & host city
• Can you find any evidence of controversy in
any of the Olympic games listed?
• Research the events of any 3 of the games
listed on the timeline on pages 106-7