Sport in Australia
Prof Peter Brown
Dept of Tourism,
Leisure, Hotel & Sport
Management
What are we covering today?
1. Australian sport – preliminary impressions
2. What is sport?
3. Overview of the Australian Sport System
4. Socio-historical influences on sport in Australia
5. The role and place of women in Australian sport
6. Comparisons with the Norwegian sport system
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Spot the stars
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Australian sport – some
preliminary impressions
1. List three words or phrases that reflect
your impressions of sport in Australia
2. Can you name one Australian sportsman
and one Australian sportswoman?
3. It has been argued that sport has a
special place in Australian culture. What
factors do you feel may have influenced
the development of sport in Australia?
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Australian – A sporting paradise?
Social commentators from within Australia and outside have
declared that Australian’s are obsessed with sport
WHY?
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What is sport?
• ‘Amusement, diversion, fun’; ‘pastime,
game’ (Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary)
• ‘A range of activities which generally
involve rules, physical exertion and/or
coordination and competition between
participants’ (Lynch & Veal, 1996)
• ‘An institutionalised game demanding the
demonstration of physical prowess’ (Loy
1979).
• Covers activities on a continuum from play,
through games to highly competitive sport
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One view of Australian sport
‘Sport plays a vital role in the Australian community
and touches almost every part of Australian life. It
has helped to define our national identity and is one
of the things that unifies our country. It also brings
us a range of social and economic benefits:
participants gain better health, social contacts and
a better quality of life; our economy gains reduced
health costs, higher productivity, increased
employment and increases tourism. Australia’s
success in a wide range of sports has enhanced our
international reputation.’
Paul Keating - CAS Patron (February, 1996)
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Another view of Australian Sport
Nationally
 9.1 million persons (62.4% of the pop.) participated in physical
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activities for recreation, and 7 million (48.2% of the pop.) attended at
least one sports event in 2002.
The most popular organised sport for boys is soccer (22.2% of pop)
and for girls is netball (18.1% of pop)
6.5 million registered sport participants
30,000 clubs and associations
1.4 million volunteers
Approx 140,000 employees
$1 billion annual expenditure by government at all levels
Accounts for 8% of the economy (Gross Domestic Product)
Service delivery by
 Public sector - all levels of government
 Private / for-profit sector
 Not for profit / community sector
Some sporting stars
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The Australian sport system
Economic
influences
Political
Influences
Legal
Influences
Socio-historical
influences
PARTICIPANTS
(players, officials,
spectators)
PROVIDERS
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PYRAMID
BASED SPORT
SYSTEM
Elite
Level
Sport
Intermediate Level Sport
Mass Participation Sport
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The Australian sport system
• Three sector model:
– Government
– Community
– Commercial/private
• Important web site – peak government
agency - Australian Sports Commission
www.ausport.gov.au
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Government sector – support of sport
• Commonwealth/Federal – policy
“Participation vs. Elite”, activity programs,
National Sport Organisation (NSO) funding,
elite athlete support
• State – major event support, State Sport
Organisation (SSO) funding, venue
development
• Local (75% of all funding) – facility provision,
club support, volunteer training
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Why should governments involve
themselves in sport?
?
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Community sector – support of sport
 Volunteers at club level
 Officials, coaches, administrators, players
 Facility management
 Fundraising
 Player development
 Sustains the “system”
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Commercial/private sector – support
of sport
 Equipment supplies
 Event management
 Venue management
 Athlete management
 Media
 Sponsorship (eg Greg Norman Australia’s
first golfing millionaire)
 Professional sport leagues
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Contemporary Sport Structure
Elite Sport
Sport Organisation
Funding/Facilities
International Sport
Federations
Australian Institute
of Sport
National Sporting
Organisations
Australian Sports
Commission
State Sport
Institutes/Academies
State Sporting
Organisations
State Depts of
Sport & Recreation
Regional Sport
Institutes/Academies
District/Regional
Associations/Clubs
Local Government
‘Time out’ - interlude
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The history of women in Australian
sport
Video – Women and sport
Key themes surrounding the history
of women in Australian sport
 History of exclusion
 Biological myths
 Social conventions
 Patriarchal nature of
sports organisations
 Media representations of
gender relations
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Hegemonic processes associated
with sports media
 The relative ‘visibility’
of women in sports
news
 The ‘containment’ of
women in sports news.
 ‘Stereotypical’
representations of
gender in sports news.
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How visible are women in
sports news?
 TV - 2% of total sports
broadcasting
 Radio - 1.4% of total
sports broadcasts
 Sports magazines - 6.8%
of sports coverage
 Newspapers - 10.7% of
coverage
(Source ASC 1997)
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Volume of coverage for female sport
(NH & SMH), 1890-1990
35000
Print area (cm2)
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1890
1914
1940
1965
1990
Sample year
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Proportional volume of coverage for female
and male sport, NH & SMH, 1890-1990
120
Per cent (%)
100
80
Male
60
Female
40
20
0
1890
1914
1940
1965
1990
Sample year
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To what extent are women
contained in sports reports?
 Positioning of
articles
 Timing of
coverage
 Sports covered
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Gender stereotyping in sports
news
 Text
 Images
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Comparisons with the Norwegian
sport system
Workshop time
 Groups of 4
 15 minutes to create a list of differences and
similarities between the Australian and
Norwegian sport systems in 4 areas:
– Government policy and programs
– Community sport
– Professional sport
– Historical and cultural influences
 AND list any questions you may have about
Australian sport?
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The end… enjoy your time in
Australia!
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