1,721,026 research outputs found
Life after Rugby: Issues of Being an ‘Ex’ in Fiji Rugby.
Get PDFRugby has given Fiji international recognition and reputation. Not only is rugby a source of national pride but it has also become a valuable export, with an estimated 500 Fijian players currently in foreign leagues in, for instance, New Zealand, Australia, France, England and Japan. The economic and socio-cultural gains from rugby migration are often considerable, and consequently, many players in Fiji aspire to secure foreign club contracts as their personal and professional goal. However, little is known about the realities and challenges of the players’ life after their active playing career, the burden of which falls largely upon informal, community/family-based support networks. Such informal structures are increasingly under strain especially in urban areas and, faced with a lack of formal structural support mechanisms, many retired athletes experience a number of socio-economic and emotional problems. Some negotiate their post-rugby life successfully while many struggle with becoming and being an ‘ex’. Based on semi-structured interviews, the present paper explores these athletes’ experiences of “life after rugby” and illuminates the local as well as international neoliberal power dynamics that intersects Fiji rugby
Women, Sport and Exercise in the Asia-Pacific Region Domination, Resistance, Accommodation
No full textThis is the first book to focus on women, sport and exercise in the Asia-Pacific region. Presenting a diverse range of empirical case studies, from women’s boxing in India and women’s rugby in Fiji to women’s soccer in North Korea and Japan, the book uses sport as a lens to examine the historical, socio-cultural and political specificities of non-western and post-colonial societies. It also explores the complex ways in which non-western women resist as well as accommodate sport and exercise-related socio-cultural oppression, helping us to better understand the nexus of sport, exercise, gender, sexuality and power
Fiji's Women Rugby Players: Finding Motivation in a ‘Hostile’ Environment
No full textIn the Pacific island country of Fiji, where men’s rugby union enjoys immense popularity as a ‘national’ sport and a pinnacle of indigenous masculinity, a small community of women have actively pursued the game since the late 1980s. Until recently, they received little institutional or public support, and faced negative social sanctions for playing the hyper-masculine sport. But the Fijiana, the women’s national team, have made remarkable accomplishments in the last few years, including their qualification, along with only 11 other countries in the world, for the 2016 Summer Olympics. These achievements have significantly increased institutional and public support, although club registration remains low and limited resources (compared to those available to men’s rugby) are allocated to the development of women’s rugby. Given both the historical challenges and the remarkable recent achievements of Fijian women rugby players, this chapter, based on a mixed-method study consisting of a questionnaire survey (n = 70) and focus group discussions (n = 12), explores their motivations for playing rugby and continued involvement in the game against adversities as well as the key obstacle
A Gendered Focused Review of Sports Diplomacy
Get PDFOver the past two decades, research on the use of the concept ‘sports diplomacy’ has received growing attention from academics, public organisations, private organisations, and third sector organisations worldwide. However, the idea of sports diplomacy is contested. A prominent point of contestation is when voices from political, diplomatic, governance or business realms interpret the definition and function of sport in politics. A feature of both theoretical and practical aspects of sports diplomacy is a continued hegemony of men and male perspectives on the field and in practice. This chapter explores gendered understandings in academic literature and then applications of contemporary Australian and British sports diplomacy activities, such as leadership in sports organisations and partnership initiatives. Our chapter is based on two studies. Firstly, an integrated academic literature review of sports diplomacy and, secondly, responses from an online survey and interviews with Australian or British based individuals connected to the field. We offer evidence of the male-dominated field and practice of sports diplomacy, then analyse existing and future ways that sports diplomacy is (actively) rebalancing the gendered field, infrastructures, and programmes. The points raised throughout our chapter will challenge students, researchers, and practitioners to consider the gender aspect of dominant voices in the field and programmes interconnected around sports diplomacy
Traversing Ontological Dispositions: The Intersection Between Remote Indigenous Communities and Elite Urban-Based Men’s Football Organisation
No full textLinda Tuhiwai Smith’s comment serves to succinctly remind ethnographic researchers that the colonial legacy is difficult to dislodge from those interwoven mechanisms and behaviours that guide contemporary practice. It also assists us in introducing the essence of our contribution to this volume. We are in the midst of undertaking a major ethnographic project that places significant emphasis on reconsidering the usual procedural and theoretical dimensions of fieldwork research concerning Australian Indigenous sports participation. Our aims in this chapter are to set out and explain the historical relations between the people of Papunya and sporting organisations; and to convey the research framework to be put in place to conduct an ethnographic investigation of the relationship that has developed between the remote Aboriginal community of Papunya and the Central Australian Football League (CAFL). Our project aims to understand the ontological dispositions and cultural meanings of Australian Football that are syncretically enacted across and between the intersections of sport in a social system in Central
Australia. The primary emphasis of this chapter attends to ethnography issues and frameworks implemented when combining Organisational Studies and Australian sports studies. Secondarily, we briefly address and explain paradigmatic shortcomings pervading the contemporary analysis of Aboriginal participation in Australian football
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