Book Reviews
Sekot, Aleš (2006). Sociologie Sportu. Brno: Masaryk University and Paido.
A keen observer of sport and culture, Aleš Sekot has created a wonderful primer on
sport sociology for Czech readers. Grounded in sociological theory and a solid understanding of the interplay between sport and society through history, Sekot not only
covers the relevant issues of today in sport, but has also introduced new studies in several areas. These new studies are made available for the non-Czech speaker as well in
his companion publication, Sociology of Sport: Topical Issues (2006). Sekot’s work is
unique in his first person observational perspective of the changes wrought on sport as
the Czech nation moved from communism to democracy since 1989. He paints neither
the past system and its sociological implications nor the current transition as uncharacteristically rosy. In his conclusion he accurately states:
Some scholars will call for changes in dominant forms of sports or
even reject those forms and call for new and alternative sports. But we
should not expect widespread revolutionary changes in the near future.
Changing sports remains a difficult challenge (p. 409-410).
The first two chapters ground this book in sociological theory and the history of the
study of sport sociology. Sekot accurately reflects the trends and schools of thought
found across the globe, while assessing the current thinking in his native Czech. These
two chapters alone ought to be required reading for anyone desiring to understand
sport sociology. It is scarce to find such concise, unbiased and accurate an introduction
to the field even in the English language. Throughout the work, Sekot is careful to delineate his observations and conclusions between elite sport and recreational sport, or
power and performance sport and pleasure and participation sport. This careful delineation, which Sekot interweaves at every turn, makes this work a much more accurate
and complete picture of the social phenomena of sport in today’s world.
Contained within the second chapter is a short ten-page section on violence in
sport which serves as a precursor to his more nuanced handling of other current issues
in sport and society later in the book. This chapter is expounded on further in his English companion to the volume. However, the way Sekot has handled the problem of
violence in sport serves as a bridge to illustrate the change and tensions being faced in
sport today. He introduces each of the subjects that is dealt with more thoroughly further on in the book.
Chapters three and four deal with sport and youth and sport and free time. The
chapter on sport and youth brings the core issue of what is at play in the distinction
between power and performance sport and pleasure and participation sport clearly into
focus. In this context, Sekot handles the topics of sporting motivations, youth sport
involvement, and youth doping in sport. In the chapter on sport and free time, Sekot
deals with the views the core population have towards sport. He echoes the concern of
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Book Reviews
other writers who predict that in the future when people talk about sport participation,
what they will refer to it as entertainment and spectator sports, presented on television.
In the conclusion of this section, he leans heavily on a useful study by Slepička and
Slepičková from 2002 to illustrate the views of the average person in Czech society
toward sport. It is very useful for those trying to understand the place of sport in society in Czech, which hopefully represents a parallel to several Eastern European societies recently joining or hoping to join the European Union.
While the first four chapters take a more broad view and introduce the reader to
the underlying issues in sport sociology, the next three chapters focus toward a deep
look at what the future may look like for sport within society. Sekot shows his deep
understanding of the issues at hand, the history that has gone before, and possible ramifications for the future. He begins by dealing in depth with the role of the media in
shaping and representing sport in the culture. His premise that the media has driven the
commercialization of elite sport and furthered the division between power sport and
participation sport is well illustrated. Many have sought to illustrate this in other literature, but few have the insight Sekot has from observing the transition from socialist
sport to market-driven sport in such a short time frame.
The sixth chapter deals with sport and globalization, giving a most unbiased presentation of the topic. Sekot could be said to have good reason to throw stones as many
have done in addressing globalization, but rather he identifies and deals with the real
pressures faced in a democratic, market-driven society.
The seventh chapter on women in sport is again accurately written and in-depth. It
looks at the issues from a broad perspective, then narrows down to the reality of women in sport for the Czech Republic. This chapter contains several new studies which
are found in his English companion reader also.
Sekot wraps up his text with 20 pages of questions and perspectives on what may
lie ahead for sport in the Czech Republic and Europe. He remains faithful to his delineation between elite and recreational sport while asking penetrating questions and offering several variations of what the future may hold. This delineation throughout the
book is very helpful as the two forms of sport have grown further apart. Many have
brought this delineation to light, but few have faithfully examined the many areas of
interaction between sport and society while maintaining this delineation. We can only
hope that more will follow Sekot’s model in the future and produce such clear works
from many societal perspectives.
William Crossan
FTVS-UK, Prague, Czech Republic