AcePE | AQA A-Level PE (7582)

Amateurism

Amateurism refers to participation in sport purely for the love of it, with no financial gain, based on the idea of athleticism – physical endeavour combined with moral integrity. It developed as a code of sporting ethics among the upper and, later, middle classes during the Victorian era.

Elite sport was dominated by the upper and middle classes, who wrote the rules that formed the basis of many national governing bodies, e.g. the Football Association (founded 1863)
Amateurism was built around high moral values, including fair play, sportsmanship and immediate acceptance of rules and referee decisions – training was frowned upon as it suggested professionalism
Traces remain in modern British sport: fair play and sportsmanship are still promoted, e.g. through football's Fair Play Awards and pre/post-match handshakes; Rugby Union retained amateurism until late in the twentieth century and still refers to the referee as 'Sir'

The Olympic Oath

The Olympic oath, written by Baron de Coubertin, was first taken at the 1920 Antwerp Games and is sworn by one athlete, one judge (committing to impartiality) and one coach at each Games' opening ceremony, promising to compete respecting the rules, without doping, in the true spirit of sportsmanship.

Its ongoing relevance is debated: supporters point to the Olympics still being seen as a festival of fair play, but critics highlight repeated doping scandals (e.g. over 40 Russian athletes banned from Rio 2016) and 'win-at-all-costs' behaviour, e.g. Philip Hindes admitting to deliberately crashing at London 2012 to trigger a restart

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship means conforming to the written rules, spirit and etiquette of a sport, showing fairness, self-control and respect for opponents and officials, e.g. footballers kicking the ball out for an injured opponent, or cricketers 'walking' before being given out.

Sportsmanship is under pressure as winning becomes more important: simulation (deceiving an official by over-acting, e.g. diving) and breakdowns in etiquette (e.g. Suárez and Evra refusing to shake hands in 2012) are common
It can be encouraged through NGB campaigns (e.g. the FA's Respect initiative), fair play awards (e.g. UEFA's Fair Play Award), technology allowing correct decisions and citing of missed offences, rule changes, on-field punishment (sin-binning, sending off), post-event punishment, and rigorous drug testing

Gamesmanship

Gamesmanship is the art of winning by cunning means without technically breaking the rules – stretching rules to their limit and disregarding etiquette, e.g. delaying a restart, time-wasting, verbal 'sledging', or deliberately deceiving an official.

A famous example is the 1981 underarm bowling incident, when Australia captain Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball underarm, making it impossible for New Zealand to win – legal at the time, but hugely controversial

The Win Ethic

The win ethic describes a 'win at all costs' mentality in which coming second is not acceptable – sometimes called the 'Lombardian ethic' after Vince Lombardi.

Extreme examples include rugby coaches faking injury with blood capsules to bring on a specialist kicker, and Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' at the 1986 World Cup
The win ethic shows up in elite sport through formats with no drawn games, managers being sacked after poor results, higher levels of deviant behaviour, and media coverage that praises winners while criticising losers

Positive and Negative Deviance in Relation to the Sports Performer

Deviance is behaviour that goes against the accepted norms of society, but in sport it can take both positive and negative forms.