‘The Personal Journey’: A Study of the Individual Race Stories of Desert Marathon Runners

Submitted by Richard Cheetham MSc, University of Winchester

Abstract
The research recounted the personal journeys and experiences of individuals who had undertaken and completed a Desert Marathon race, with specific focus on the reasons behind their participation, their race experiences and how the race had subsequently impacted upon their lives. The lack of a comparative analysis of these individual personal race accounts formed the rationale behind this research. The objective was to achieve a greater appreciation of what drives those to challenge themselves in such harsh and high risk environments. The eight runners interviewed all sought a challenge beyond that of the normal marathon distance and one that would require very diligent training ‘rituals’… The very personal reasons ranged from using the race to seek adventure, to grieve, to “make people sit up and take notice” and to experience and conquer an event of such magnitude. The recollection of the race and the months that have since passed, highlighted the impact on each of the runners. This impact showed changes in their outlook on life, a greater self-belief, and a “greater respect for humanity.” They had become invigorated by the experience and in some cases, there was a continued pursuit of the next ‘arena’ in which to test themselves as well as making enduring friendships with those they met along the way.

Introduction
In the words of Dean Karnazes, Desert and Ultra Marathon runner who once completed 50 marathons in 50 states on 50 consecutive days, and author of Ultra Marathon man: Confessions of an all-night runner.

I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few people to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go. (Karnazes, 2005, p.276)

The ‘culture’ of ultra-distance running has inspired a number of autobiographies from those who have found that they have a story to share of their adventures, heartache, drive and conquest of distances and terrains beyond ‘normal’ recognised running / endurance events. Dean Karnazes is one of those runners. Individuals’ life changing circumstances have led some to immerse themselves in the raw beauty of the long distance trails and the open road. They have entered a previously unknown world of suffering, unchartered territory of heightened physical and mental demands, and yet also one that embraces obstacles set along the way. It was these stories and the author’s own experience from the 2010 Atacama Desert Marathon that inspired this narrative research into this specific aspect of ultra-marathon running among those who set their goal to triumph in completing of one of life’s most difficult endurance challenges.

Extreme Running
The emergence of ‘extreme’ running as a new sports genre has seen races on all five continents run across deserts, along mountain ranges, and through dense jungle. What qualifies these as extreme are the length, terrain, and altitude; as well as extremities of heat, cold, isolation and remoteness. They demand physical and psychological strength from the participants and “extend them beyond the norm of running experiences” (McConnell & Horsley, 2007, p.10). The standard format for desert ultra-marathons is to require the individual to complete six marathons in 6 days, carrying all their equipment and food. It is only water, tents and medical support that is provided.

The locations for the races include the Sahara, Gobi, and Atacama deserts, as well as Antarctica (often referred to as the ‘last wilderness’). Runner and author, Robin Harvie, refers to these as the “theatre of the wild” (p.38) in his book Why we run? The challenge of long distance running goes beyond a simple calculation of mileage and often into a psychological territory unknown to most. It is therefore an event that takes the runner to “the extreme frontiers of the environment and their own physical capacity for endurance” (McConnell & Horsley, 2007, p.10).

An early insight into the appeal and demands of these extreme environments is given by Polar explorer Richard Byrd who wrote in 1938 of the appeal, the dangers and the challenge in his book ‘Alone’ long before they were used for endurance running events.

After gazing at the sky for some time, I came to the conclusion that such beauty had been reserved for remote and dangerous places, and that nature has good reasons for demanding special sacrifices from those who dare to contemplate it.

These sacrifices would require the runners to show thorough preparation and discipline, little room for error in an event that has claimed lives through dehydration and sheer physical fatigue.

And so it is from these desert cauldrons that emerge the individual race stories, their untold personal journeys that often begin beyond the start line and continue past the finish. It is the recollections which give an insight into the appeal of the challenge, the one that lures them into the desert, to endure such hardship and to be rewarded by such an achievement. With this article the author hopes to not only learn from the runner’s narratives, but to convey a sense of appreciation for the participants’ personal motives, barriers and doubt that were overcome in pursuing their goal of running across, in this case, the Sahara and Atacama deserts.

Author and runner, Billy Isherwood, provided perhaps one of the only detailed personal accounts of such a race when he completed the 2006 Atacama Desert race. It begins with an account of his battles with alcoholism, drug abuse, and the domestic violence he experienced during his childhood. Yet at the age of 54 he crossed the finish line after 250 kilometres of running through the unforgiving terrain and climatic conditions. This autobiographical account of his life, and how he arrived at the start line of the 2006 Atacama Desert Marathon, provided a story that was to partially influence the rationale behind this narrative study, as it detailed his journey to the race, his race account and the transformation since. Karnazes (2012) and Zahab (2007) have described their desert race accounts, but in among a collection of other races. The aim of this study is to collate and compare narratives from those competing for the first time, to achieve a greater appreciation of what drives those to challenge themselves in such harsh and high risk environments.

This research began with a review of a number of autobiographies and selected texts surrounding ultra-marathon runners and endurance running. This was coupled with the autobiographies of triathletes, Richard Roll and Chrissie Wellington. The experiences from this variety of ultra-endurance athletes helped to form a backdrop to the work and a basis for the direction of the interviews.

Ultra marathon runner, Robin Harvie (Harvie, 2012) produces an insight into his running motives and explains that the only way to truly understand ‘the why and your own why’ is to take part in these events. He states that the race changes an individual beyond their initial motivation and that “to really know where the road leads, is to take that road yourself” (p.4).

Robinson (2011) provides a starting point for the research in terms of accomplishment and for some, the need for self-actualisation. Many people “never connect” with their true talents and subsequently “never know what they are really capable of achieving” (p.xi). For Marshall Ulrich, who ran across America at the age of 57, it was the accomplishment, not the pursuit of “high prize money or stadiums of adoring fans” (p.17). For Scott Jurek, a world renowned ultra-marathon champion it was wanting to “pry myself open going beyond the body beyond the mind” (Jurek, 2012, p.224). Krissy Moehl, twice winner of the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (a 100 mile race in the Alps), also speaks of the accomplishment of “pushing your physical limits” (Moehl, cited in Powell, 2011, p.2). She refers specifically to the emotional responses that such challenges evoke aside from those physical boundaries that are realised. Multiple Ironman Triathlete, Chrissie Wellington (2012), refers to a “contest against the race itself” (p.1) regardless of fellow competitors.

Dean Karnazes identified that time spent running allowed him space for “finding peace” (p.276). Dietz (2011) recognises that in ultra-marathons the time out running and away from work, family, and finances rarely happens and therefore allows “a holiday for the mind” (p.42). Trail runner, Boff Whalley states that “We all of us run … To give our bodies a general sense of purpose – creating, in this hurly-burly world, space to think, space to breath” (Whalley, 2012, p.5). He refers to a connection with the environment – the relationship between “the earth and our feet” (p.3). His focus was on running away from normal chosen routes and exploring challenging paths with harsh terrain, unpredictable weather and undulating, demanding wilderness.

Andrew Murray who ran from the far north of Scotland to the Sahara desert (Murray, 2011) was driven by the endeavour, for a charitable cause but also the appeal of the locations he would visit along the way. The desert marathons are organised in places rarely visited but, it could be argued, in some of the most extraordinary destinations on earth. Dietz (2011) also highlighted that the running became an excuse to travel to places around the world. Karnazes (2005) was also led by the appeal, the freedom to explore and to experience the environment for real.

Some people may have fear of living in a comfort zone of neither risk nor adventure and a fear of living from “meal to meal” which Jim Schekhdar (Schekdhar, 2002) saw as his inspiration to break out from ‘normality’ and row across the Pacific in 2001. Or as Reid (cited in Austin, 2007) comments that there is a real need to achieve and challenge ourselves, to “do something with our lives” (p.120) and that this can be achieved through running. Maybe it could be the fear of simply “walking along the corridors leading to the lives of our parents” (Harvie, 2010, p.74) and therefore exist with the confines of ‘normal life.’

An analysis might reveal it as simple as runners looking for the next step, the further distance as they draw from their previous accomplishments (Dietz, 2011). One marathon may not be enough to provide some with the satisfaction after completion and that coupled with a new inner belief that there is more ‘in the tank’ which leads inevitably onto higher stakes. For some however, their very existence is defined by running (Harvie, 2010). Described by Karnazes (2005) as a very simple “primitive act” (Karnazes, 2005, p.276).

Selected comments from these autobiographies and ultra-endurance focussed literature show some of the deeply felt emotions and motivations. These are mere ‘snapshots’ of their stories.

Alongside these individual perspectives from endurance racers, a specific contextualised series of narratives from desert runners will add to and enhance the breadth of studies. This research was therefore designed to be an innovative research project within a developing specific area of athletic performance. To accomplish it I use narrative enquiry where “people’s lives are storied” (Savin-Boden & Major, 2013, p.227). Hopefully this will not only enable a more sophisticated academic understanding of the extremes of human sport, but it will provide a resource for those wishing to compete in such events, beyond what training manuals offer. As Parker (1978) sought to understand in the novel ‘Once a Runner’ there too was a desire to “capture some of the bittersweet beauty and heartbreak of the only all-consuming quest for physical excellence” (p.274).

Method
This research used a narrative research methodology which, through a study of research suitability, has been regarded as the most relevant and effective for understanding the individual race motives and race recollections (Savin-Boden & Howell Major, 2013, Jones, Brown, & Holloway, 2012). The study aimed to recount the experiences of individuals and therefore “focus on people’s perceptions and experiences of the world they live in – and what it means to them” (Jones et al. 2012, p.113) and to show an understanding of that experience (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Schultz (1964) emphasises that this is the world as viewed by the individual and not constructed by the researcher who should act to safeguard any misinterpretation of data. The study aimed to truly reflect first-person accounts of life experiences, which is essential in the use of narrative research and allows the individuals voices to be heard (Cresswell, 2007). The research sought to provide a richness of data that eight individual accounts of desert races can achieve. It was a description of what they underwent and how they lived through it – “the essence of the experience” (Cresswell, 2006, p.58).

Essential to this study, was the ability to recognise themes that may emerge, commonalities of the runners backgrounds and the race impact for example, and also to identify and highlight the very personal nature for undertaking their journey and encounters along the way. The runners developed a trust with the author that was built on ensuring they were represented honestly and accurately throughout.

Sample
A selection was made of eight runners (n=8), from 28 to 52 years of age, who all agreed to an interview, four female and four male. They were chosen through convenience from a number who had competed with the researcher in the Atacama Desert marathon in 2010 or from contacts of those participants and who had raced in other locations. Some of these have completed desert ultra-marathons since 2010 in the Sahara, Atacama, Antarctica, and Gobi Deserts.

The relatively small sample size is consistent with narrative research of this kind as Holloway and Wheeler (2010) suggest homogeneous groups can require only 6 to 8 participants. The selection of participants is also consistent with sampling recommendations by Morse (1986, 1991b) who encourages the choice of interviewees to be based upon their experience, knowledge and ability to articulate (in this case, their race journey). This form of purposive sampling was supported by the shared and “specific phenomenon” (Jones et al, 2012, p.35; Mayhut & Morehouse, 1994) that is recommended in qualitative study.

The interview procedure
All participants were interviewed individually at work or home in locations chosen by them. Four were interviewed via Skype, as they lived in the United States, Hong Kong and Australia. By their nature qualitative interviews are often unstructured (Jones et al, 2012). They use open-ended questions which is a primary consideration within qualitative research (Mayhut & Morehouse, 1994; Gratton & Jones, 2004). The aim was to allow the participants to describe their race experience in as much detail as possible and interviews lasted between 45 minutes and an hour but there was no time restriction placed on them. It was essential that the interviewee described their experience in as much detail as possible and felt they were encouraged in some way to lead and control the interview, recognizing that they were the expert of this very particular journey.

In this case, however, the interviewer has also completed a desert Ultra-marathon and this proved to be an advantage in the interview process as the interviewer was able to further explore their encounters with greater empathy. This may be a question of guidance as opposed to direction.

Interviews of this nature have been described as a “conversation with a purpose” (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994, p.88). As a result the questions designed and selected were guided by the subject content and also by Patton (1990) who used six types of questions. Selected from these, were themes based around experience, behaviour, feelings, background, sensory and opinion. The recounting of the race story from a personal perspective focussed on pre-race, race, and post -race experiences within the context of a personal journey.’ Their feelings, thoughts and motivations, as well as the impact that the race completion has subsequently had on them, shaped the interview process.

Data Analysis
The gathering of the stories from the interviews followed the approach recommended by Maykut and Morehouse (1994) in which what is meaningful to the participants guides the analysis, and not that which is pre-determined by the researcher. Therefore data collected aimed to represent those participants in a “coherent and meaningful way” (Hunter, 2010, p.44) by ensuring that the information was given order and structure in the analysis stage. Following each interview the audio tapes were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis (Gratton & Jones, 2010). Thematic analysis led to the selection of significant emerging themes that the participants identified, not those deemed worthy by the researcher; while not losing the reconstruction of the desert race journey. These emergent themes were identified in the results section. The analysis of the interview transcripts enabled a more meaningful presentation of the interviews and was considered in such a way that when read by the participants they would feel that they still ‘owned the story.’

Discussion of Results

Individual running history
The initial question aimed to gather a running history of each interviewee. This showed that they were not ‘well versed’ in the demands of endurance running in such harsh conditions and would have to acclimatise and adapt to the sheer volume of training and preparation required. It proved to be far in excess of that required for anything experienced before. Lucy confessed that before the Sahara Desert Marathon, “I’d never been a serious runner.” All the participants had completed a marathon before the race began, in some cases as part of their training and in others something that had been part of their running history.

It was felt important that, in initially focussing on this aspect of their stories, that the reader would be made aware of the running history of the group in order to put the accomplishment into a better context. The findings showed variety in their pre-desert race running accounts.

David who had competed in two Marathons and adopted an increasingly more serious approach to his training to the point where he wanted to find an event that allowed him to “incorporate all the training.” His father had completed “11 or 12 London Marathons” and he had grown up within an environment where “he’d (his father) go out on Christmas day or whenever…we just accepted it. Ross, who had “accidentally done a full marathon” three years before Atacama, played rugby and kept general fitness as it was “something I have always worked on.” He also confessed to not enjoying running and felt “I don’t think I’ve got the right body type.” Ricky who had played professional baseball where running formed part of the training programme and except for several shorter distance events including five and ten kilometre races “I had never really done anything formally and no marathons.”

Andrea had “sporadically” done some running at High School and College including cross-country but her father had “been a life-time runner and has done like I think around fifty marathons.” Andrea recalled a moment when “I gave him a call and said if I do a half-marathon will you come and do it with me?” This had come when she had taken up running again after a period in her twenties she had been “a really heavy smoker.”

Sam indicated that while she was always “an active person” despite taking part in several half-marathons stated “I definitely haven’t been a very good runner.” Marilena had completed six full marathons including Hong Kong, London, and one in Uruguay. She had a great deal of running experience; as a result the training application alone would, in itself, help her with the preparation for the Atacama Desert race.

Tremaine referred to the military CFT (Combat Fitness Test) as the only real specific running he had done while in the British Army but had no real interest in it outside of this form of ‘compulsory’ training.

It is this analysis that gave a starting point for the research. This showed that these successful desert marathon runners had no experience of extreme endurance events prior to that first day on the start line. A race start that would see them carry up to 12kgs each day of food, basic medical resources and other essential supplies to survive the extremes of heat (daytime temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius) and cold ( temperatures fell to near freezing at night). And so it seemed inevitable to begin the questioning with – why choose something so extreme?

Reasons why the participants chose to race across a desert.
The discussion then moved onto ‘the why’, the why something so extreme? And it was this question that unearthed some common themes. The level of extremity should not be underplayed. This was highlighted in the 2011 Gobi Desert race where one runner died. The need for thorough preparation was essential and that every aspect of the race had to be considered. Sam described “taking off those rose coloured glasses.” The desert was to be an uncompromising and unforgiving environment. Tremaine said he wanted to find something that was simply on the “borderline of lunacy!” For many this may be regarded as ‘lunacy’ but what transpired were the deeply personal accounts of ‘their why.’ Goals (such as this one) give a sense of purpose – “a real sense of being” (Pink, 2009, p.137). Ricky said “there always has to be a purpose…. a really strong why.” For him one of the reasons was on his way to work, “it was walking the tube (London Underground) and being out of breath…..its’ like I am gonna make a change.” The other answers to this question were “as individual as the runners themselves (Ulrich, 2011, p.44). Andrea had been “enthralled” by the feats of Dean Karnazes, ultramarathon and desert runner. She initially wanted to volunteer on a desert race but was encouraged by a race organiser that she could complete one and recounted, “he was like listen, I can tell when people are ready and it’s not about how far you can run, its’ really about your mind-set.” Andrea had reached a point in her life when she wanted to see that “I could really do something” to test herself.

The challenge itself – extending boundaries and beyond a marathon
Initially what became evident was the runners reference to ‘the challenge’ itself, the test of oneself against the elements and to find the next step from the marathon. It seemed that they were all looking for the next step. Ultramarathon runner Ray Zahab (cited in Ulrich, 2011) believes that if you can run twenty six miles then your body can carry you further, “the only question is can your mind go the distance” (p.144).

All of those interviewed were drawn by the need to see what was within their grasp, physically and mentally and that the desert race offered up a chance to demand of them to reach a limit never previously realised. David had read about the race as he had been actively looking for “the next thing” and had sought out an extreme race event. For him it was “something ….you make a commitment to …and that means you make sacrifices.” Wellington (2012) refers to what the intensity of Ironman taught her, “our limits may not be where we think they are” (p.274) and this was echoed. The need to push their boundaries, to apply themselves, unaided (Tremaine, “it’s just you and the desert,” Marilena, “just the thought of being in the open, self-supported”) to take on something dramatic and this captured their imagination.

Ross, who had experienced physical hardship due to altitude sickness when climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2007, had a philosophy of “not if but how” when he was presented with the details of the race by David via an e-mail in early September 2009. He exhibited a clear determination that in order to succeed one had to embrace the sheer scale of the challenge and reach “that boundary of probably pushing yourself to the limit.” He went on to say “it’s not how fast you run but how much guts you have.” Murakimi (2009) believes it is the pain (and the inevitability of it) which is accepted and that it can give us a greater sense of being alive. Others agreed that there was something alluring about the pain.

Having watched previous desert race videos, Marilena was aware of the likely suffering and was not in any way deterred but drawn in even more to choose the desert as her ‘arena’. “I saw suffering, going up and down hills and I thought that hmm that’s a challenge, I can do that. So I wanted to prove to myself that I can do it.” She also had a connection with her first race as her youngest daughter had been born in Chile and the “beauty” of Atacama had been the deciding factor on the choice of race and location.

It was important that the choice of extreme running took Ricky away from normal marathon events because for him, “What makes people sit up and listen is something more extreme,” “everyone’s done a marathon…for me “its’ kind of lost a bit of its’ shine.” He believed the attraction of this next level was “….discipline….commitment ….. Accomplishment, that’s what captures people’s spirit.” This was echoed by Harvie (2010) who felt that with the marathon distance (26.2 miles) “anyone can run a marathon given enough time” (p.269). Powell (2011) and Ulrich (2011) recognise the attempt to accomplish something so few have done as a motivational aspect in ultramarathon races. It is the thrill and excitement of taking on such a “mission” (McConnell & Horsley, 2007, p.11).

For loved ones
Lucy and Tremaine provided extremely emotive reasons for entering such an event. They had both experienced the loss of family through cancer, Lucy’s father had passed away in 2007 and Tremaine’s partner, Carla, had lost her battle to the illness at the age of only 31 in 2009. Lucy wanted to find a race that was something slightly different in order to generate interest for those wishing to donate to the charity she was running for (“raising money was my drive”) and also the race would help her to “put everything into perspective” since her bereavement. Tremaine had wanted to give something back to those who had cared for Carla, to do something “dramatic” and subsequently raise sponsorship in order to support a palliative care centre. He regarded the people who worked there and had cared for her as “saints” and not only did he wish to raise money but that the race would be his way of grieving. “You know in the middle of the desert, you’ve got no-one to talk to.” Both had been clearly deeply affected by their tragedies and it was evident the races (Lucy and Tremaine were to compete in four desert marathons in the same year along with Sam and Ricky) would allow them to deal with this part of their life. Scott Jurek, one of the most renowned ultramarathon runners said, “I ran because overcoming the difficulties of ultramarathon reminded me that I could overcome the difficulties of life, that overcoming difficulties was life” (Jurek, 2012, p.6).

For Tremaine, after all the anguish following Carla’s death “everyone fell to pieces” the desert race became a place that allowed him the chance to sort out “my own affairs.” It was “the best time to sort out my issues is when I am demoralised and broken down.”

Experience of the run
The journey offered each runner a starting point, as highlighted, from their first step along the route to the race and now that same journey moved to the next phase. The race itself was the next area for questioning. It is where initial fears, an almost inevitable suffering, emotions and individual coping mechanisms would all be unearthed.

Escapism
Beyond the chance to endure this feat of endurance the races provide times of isolation and solitude. There were times when runners experienced this and the interview sought to question what feelings this provoked among them. It aimed to garner greater details from the runners as to their race experience in terms of greater connection with their thoughts and to any appreciation of the environment they found themselves in. Heather Reid, Professor of Philosophy at Morningside College in Iowa, speaks of running allowing freedom, escape from the norm of daily living and away from “the herd” (Reid, cited in Austin, 2007, p.119). It offers a freedom and a removal of obstacles that limit the chance to ‘escape’ into a world “free of briefcase, cell phone and car keys” (p.118). When these freedoms are experienced how do individuals respond? Austin (2007) believes it is here that one can reflect on our lives and what is important to us. The questioning aimed to find how that freedom was recognised, appreciated and articulated. It was here that the ‘escapism’ enabled them to recollect feelings that show a greater connection with what they were doing and where they were. This was an uninterrupted space, away from outside distractions and ones that are part of or ‘plague’ our lives. The escapism that is “near impossible when modern life is defined by interaction” (Harvie, 2011, p.211). In this case the runners referred to the technology of contemporary life that does not afford us enough moments of ‘silence’.

Sam, Lucy, David, and Andrea referred to the “escapism” offered by the race. This referred to being away from normal work routines and into a challenge without phones and computers that would lead Lucy to show how much this meant to her, “I loved turning my phone off that was just a joy”… Andrea, “it’s been the only time in the last decade I don’t obsessively check my phone,” and “I don’t think I understood how disconnected from the rest of the world I would really be.” Sam reflected on similar experiences, “I put myself in high paced environments…….my phone is with me 24/7 and I am constantly checking e-mails.” With this hectic lifestyle came the “reward” of the marathon challenges, away from a world where in work her life was “crazy.” The final reflection came from David, who enjoyed being away from a life which appeared sometimes one of being ‘bombarded’ with e-mails, the internet”

Coping strategies
Endurance races provide an undulating ‘emotional terrain’ for runners. Zahab (2007) developed a “tunnel vision” (p.173) when trying to ignore the pain in his feet in the Amazon jungle marathon and allowed the “pure adrenaline” (p.174) to carry him through. Fry (cited in Austin, 2007) believes that running for the dedicated “is form of ritual suffering” (p.67). Harvie (2012) describes the suffering that is experienced and throws many into a pain “beyond comprehension” (p.73). And yet they also experience feelings that put this pain into some kind of perspective and deal with it in their own unique way. “I would live entirely in the moment………There was only one mission of putting one foot in front of the other” (Karnazes, 2011). Often there is the acknowledgement of its short-lived nature.

In her interview, Marilena described just how ‘dark’ things could get, “my feet were horrible…….I lost nine toenails” but “at least my suffering will be temporary……..that kept me going for sure.” Almost as inevitable partners inextricably linked are the moments here described as ‘moments of light and dark’ where the pain can give way to a time when the runner experiences a vivid moment of excitement that encapsulates all that is the adventure, the race, the encounter. They press on towards the light, towards that end goal lifted by what they could become and what they could realise. Ultramarathon runner Francesca Conte notes that at the Arkansas 100 mile race, “I always want, in every race to take the time to look up at the sky at night, because remembering how lucky I am matters more than winning” (cited in Jameson, 2003, p.152).

Ricky had suffered with horrendous blisters on both feet and had been vomiting during one of the stages. “We (a fellow runner who was with him on day 3) were in a horrible shape – that was a bad day.” A day that would find him out on the course for over 6 hours as he battled to cross the line for the end of a stage of the race. So how do you overcome these factors that could leave a runner struggling to carry on? Ricky continued, “You pushed through it, the pride, the elation of getting through and finishing that stage” and his drive to prove to others he could do it. One of those was his former Baseball coach at University who was always critical of him and doubted his abilities and to whom Ricky directed his anger: “I keep him in the back of my head…..and I imagined him watching me run this race. I’m going to prove you wrong because he’s a bastard. I wish he was listening to this.”

It was clear that each of the interviewees had their own strategy for these dark moments. Andrea had a key word, one that she would use when she was “hitting my lows.” She would “super-charge it with good thoughts…….charge it with good memories” and when those low points were experienced “I’ll say it (the word) to myself.” It was a case of “shifting” her thought process and it helped her through moments as on the third day when she had run out of water with five kilometres still to go. Water on the race was rationed each day. As Dean Karnazes pointed out when he participated in his first desert race, “Why ration water? I guess the organisers wanted to make it as authentic as possible. This is a race across the desert after all” (Karnazes, 2011, p.156). But this too could be a danger and Andrea was frustrated and angry but had turned this anger into “fuel, like it’s something that can move you on.”

David appeared very clear about his ability to cope with the times when he felt low either through fatigue or the pain of his worsening blisters. “I was never really that negative because I knew that everybody has their ups and downs.” He was able to break down the day’s route into sections where his aims would be to use the checkpoints as progress markers and goals. “I know that this is gonna hurt for the next 10k, but you can split that down.” Ulrich (2011) similarly learned to “compartmentalise my physical anguish…….how to strategize my races” (p.19 & 20).

Sam had injured her ankle even before the race had started and still travelled to the race. She had raised money for charity and was sponsored by a University in Australia. It had been a goal, “an absolute dream” and yet this initially appeared to be one that would stay as just that due to her injury in training just before the race. Her ability to turn potential disaster into achieving that goal was one that was built on reviewing how she could best complete each day.

So I decided to just walk it. I’m just going to do whatever I can to walk and even if I can only walk for the first one day, two days, I’m just going to make the most of it. I’ve never been to South America, so that’s what’s important to me, to really make the most of every moment I think that moment’s been the reason why I’m still running today.

It was almost as though her ‘dark moments’ had occurred before the race had begun and it enabled Sam to completely rethink her approach to the event. The walking of each stage for the first few days allowed her to take in her surroundings, to see things others may have missed as they pressed on across the terrain. “I found it a beautiful race.”

I was just wanting to make the most of it…….I had committed so much financially and …. mentally to get to the start line that I wasn’t going to throw that away by holding onto this idea that I would be able to run the whole thing.

Ross reflected on the charity he was running for although to help fend off the difficult times he was experiencing he spoke of “a bit of bravado” where there is a bit of it that you can’t go home and say I didn’t finish…..unless your leg was hanging off!” However he had been “so focussed, personally…..just progressing and putting your energy into that, otherwise I think I’d fall over and not get up.” He was also able to recall a time when the race became for him a moment of humour.

We were going across the salt flats where it was really rough, and it was a hazy heat, three sixty degrees and I just started cracking up. And I was just like this is …… bonkers like could not get further from reality, not reality, because it was reality, but from your day-to-day reality, and yeah I thought it was brilliant. Like couldn’t see another person and it was just like you know, that’s what you do it for.

Tremaine and Lucy had other emotions that influenced their coping strategy. Their recollections took on a very different slant. After her father’s death, Lucy and her sister, Camilla, entered the Sahara Desert Marathon and they had to split up midway as only Lucy was able to continue. At a checkpoint, one of the race doctors handed her a note passed to him earlier by Camilla. It had been written a while ago by their father, “I remember sitting quietly at the side of the camp…..bawling my eyes out because I was so tired.” The emotion, “the tears, the tiredness, I mean the whole thing was horrendous.” But this also enabled her to reflect upon why she was there and to change her thoughts “don’t be ridiculous, you’re raising money for people who are a lot worse off than you and that’s what kept me going.”

Tremaine experienced a great deal of reflection in the times of isolation in the race when “who do you talk to……your mind and soul has to dig up some serious questions.” The questions of regret related to being away from home when he was in Iraq and spending more time with his family surfaced when he was given that time to think “have a word with yourself.” And yet also occupying his thoughts were “you know she would be proud of me and what I’m doing you know.”

The impact of the race.
After all the miles, all the previously untapped thoughts and feelings, the physical peaks and troughs, the terrain and the temperature extremes it was all over but had it changed them? For the participants in the study at least this was the end of one journey and the start of another.

Friendships
One of the most significant changes for the participants was new and some enduring friendships, the connection with other runners from around the world and in one case, friendships that helped to change opinions. For Marilena, “I loved the way you mixed with so many nationalities, there were beautiful people; never seen them before and maybe you will never see again, but that week they were your closest friends and there was that rapport.” Tremaine had changed his views on those he had met away from his life in the military and from one that he felt instilled stereotypes of those in civilian life. He had experienced so much and identified so many things that had changed for him. Twenty two years serving in the military had left him ‘disconnected’ to civilians and now “I wasn’t a hate civvies kind of soldier that I used to be.” He highlighted what others identified as a camaraderie and respect among his fellow competitors: “No one judges you, the fit ones respect the slower ones, the slower ones respect the fit ones. It’s just like an aura around people.

Ross acknowledged it was “…..the friends that you make and the memories that you create there…..I don’t think it changed my life, but it’s certainly made it a lot richer.” With all the wealth of memories that arose Sam highlighted “what I take away from it (the race), from the journey of running, particularly in those early day races, were just the friendships I made”. Andrea found “one of the unexpected treasures of the experience” was “that you had to like earnestly connect with people in a way that you don’t get to in your life.” Murakami (2009) commented that one of the real pleasures of running has been the people he has met and who have encouraged him along the way.

New self-belief and new challenges
Six of the eight ventured back into other deserts to race and run across – these were Ricky, Lucy, Sam, Marilena, David, and Tremaine. For them the challenge had given them a change in their self-belief through this first accomplishment in an extreme endurance event. Lucy, “I do take on challenges slightly head-on now, because I, you know I‘ve put my body through some extreme situations.” The interview had taken place two weeks after she had summited Aconcagua in Argentina, which is just less than 7,000m high. “I think, I know I can, I know I can do with, like physically I can do more.” She continued to reflect on her thoughts to what lay ahead.

I’d never thought of running a hundred miles around Mont Blanc or round Mount Fuji…….now it’s perfectly normal that I am doing that at the end of April. It’s just ….you live in a tent and you get used to….a sleeping bag for three and a half weeks on a mountain or a week in the desert with ten other people, and that’s perfectly normal and you don’t bat an eyelid.

Jurek (2012) believes that runners are transformed by these challenges and that they can “illuminate the path leading to something larger than ourselves” (p.227). It was evident that the race had a transformational and profound effect on all the interviewees both during and after the race. Marilena had “always tried to challenge (herself)” and now

So when I crossed the line, ah, it’s just amazing, you look back and think wow, I did that 250 kilometres, six days and you did that. It shows what you can do if you put your mind to it.

David has since completed the Sahara Desert Marathon in 2012 and one where he felt this experience helped him in his approach. He finished tenth overall in his second desert race, in Atacama he placed outside the top fifty. “I think you definitely come back with a different mind-set, just on your own ability to take on a challenge and achieve it I think.” He has actively “sought out more” events like this because “your outlook changes.” Since 2010 Ross has continued to seek out running challenges and in 2012 completed the 100 mile footrace called the Centurion in just over 24 hours. Sam had reached a new “physical barrier” in terms of how hard she was able to push herself. This was one aspect identified by many of the runners before the race. “We’d never at home, would have considered doing a third marathon (of an eventual six)……that’s quite amazing.”

Sir Steve Redgrave, five time Olympic Gold medallist, asked himself the question upon retirement if he would go through all the sacrifices and training again; he felt he would.

“It was a privilege, a quest. It was a challenge and I have always been inspired by a challenge” (Redgrave, 2009, p.300). For those who did not draw a line at the end of their first extreme challenge, these words seemed to reflect what subsequently happened as they chose to confront another test of human endurance.

A chance to reflect
For all the runners the race had changed their thoughts about how they viewed life as well as themselves. For Andrea “it just made me think, well you might as well try more things” and was “less afraid to fail.” Since the Atacama she had been able to take more risks in her life and had moved to Tahoe from San Francisco “I would have probably never have made that decision if I wasn’t there (in the desert).” Ricky, who has since become a motivational speaker, working with charities and young children as a direct result of his completion of four desert marathons in the same year believed that “Nothing ever happens to you by saying no…..the world has just opened up by saying yeah I’m gonna do that race and its changed my life and (with it) from many different….perspectives.” There was a greater appreciation of certain aspects of life from both David, “I don’t think you worry so much about the bits and pieces, the things that can sort of clog up and take up your time, don’t actually matter or mean anything!” And Marilena, who was able to take a step back and appreciate her surroundings, her environment, “I see every beauty, I see a tree and I see the colours of the tree that maybe other people don’t see.”

Tremaine had come to terms with the loss of his partner Carla and was looking to the future. “I’ve come out the other end.” He was thankful for the race experiences in many ways and that “it’s finding my footing, and I would have never achieved that because I could have quite easily have been bitter.” Despite injury forcing him to abandon the Sahara Desert marathon he was able to complete two further races in the Gobi and Antarctica. “What I did discover on that first desert race was my respect for humanity and I really found some people that you know actually give a damn about everyone else apart from themselves.”

Work can deprive people of challenging experiences which give “effort a greater meaning to life” (p.120) and ones that provide a greater personal engagement (Pink, 2009) If this is to be achieved then it was through something providing a very different form of accomplishment. For Andrea, “I did it for nothing but the sheer aspect of seeing like that my life was really monotonous at the time. I‘d wanted to see if I have almost nothing for a week. Really what’s it gonna feel like for me and how I am, what does that actually change about me.” With Ross, the experience and “the adventure more than the race” was very different from his life as a graphic designer in London, “I sit in a studio looking at a screen for sixteen, eighteen hours, you know some days.” Sam’s achievements gained through running have led her to share those experiences in her role as an inspirational speaker. With future races she now tries to; “Align them with charitable causes, which is what I am most passionate about to be honest, probably even more than the running itself. …the capacity for it to you know really affect others and influence change.”

Final thoughts
The interviews concluded and an opportunity for the eight runners to describe what they would say to those contemplating taking part in, what has been described as. One of the toughest endurance races on earth. Words that they felt would help to prepare someone for the ‘experience’ they had all shared.

For Ross “just know that anything is achievable…..you’ve got two feet, heart, and lungs and off you go.” Lucy felt similarly that “go for it one hundred percent……it’s an incredible experience.” David wanted to highlight that this was not an exclusive challenge for elite runners. The race contained “people from all walks of life…….you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Ricky enthused “the race was epic man that was absolutely epic.” Andrea considered the experience of challenging herself and realising her potential to “see how far I could really push it” had made her feel the race “was very special, very special to have done that.”

Marilena recalled an “amazing journey….the whole journey was an amazing experience, you don’t need much in life……being with yourself sometimes and (with) nature.” Sam was able to put thoughts into a context of the ‘challenge’ by reflecting on her family background to put it into more perspective. Her father had polio as a child and her mother had “never run in her life” and so she wanted to recognise that “I had done an incredibly physical challenge….I succeeded more because of my mental capacities than my physical capacities.” The immediate impact for Sam when she finished her first desert race was evident, “I was just so happy, I felt so blessed to have finished it. “I was elated….it’s like my body was healed.” This absolute optimism and positivity……feeling fortunate to be there, I was definitely a stronger person when I finished the race.”
The final words were from Tremaine who wanted to ensure that people knew the risks and not to do it “off a whim/” The real question is “…what’s your fundamental reason? You know if it’s for fame and glory, don’t bother. The only race you have is to challenge yourself.”

Discussion
The race journey showed from starting out on this adventure the ‘line in the sand’ at the finish was merely a part of a tapestry of riches and rewards for each of the desert runners. Austin (2007) refers to runners experiencing self-discovery, a time where solitude allows reflection and that “we learn something about ourselves” (p.xii). Their learning was something that they all identified in the conversations and each was as individual and personal as the reasons they had set out on the path to adventure in the first place. The path they followed was transformational not only after but at points along the 250 kilometres of desert trail. Their stories highlighted what can be achieved when mind and body act in unison to surpass what has gone before in our lives in one of the most demanding of arenas.

There was a changed belief about themselves and having such a purpose in the race provided them with a fulfilling activity that gave them their own reward. Pink (2009) discusses a relationship between a challenge that is neither too easy and yet too difficult. With that step being beyond one’s current capability which “stretched the body and mind in a way that made the effort itself the most delicious reward” (p.115). The effort in each of their stories, proved worthwhile in many ways from the charities that they ran for to the people they met and the places they saw. Their ability to recall such vivid moments even when time had passed (nearly three years) since they finished the race, highlighted the impact of the race. These vivid recollections showed such detail that, one could argue, the journey had a deep and profound effect. Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University believes “the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life, your mind-set” (Dweck, 2006). It is clear the race affected each of the runners in terms of how differently they viewed themselves, if not openly in the interview but by the directions their lives took after leaving the desert.

Conclusion
If running is to be a metaphor for life as Whalley (2012) comments, then in this case the desert was to provide that stage. Running in “straight lines along city streets bears little resemblance to life” but venture away from these and the trails will reflect the “life twists and turns” (p.266, 267). When one takes the leap of faith away from the confinement those streets impose into the unpredictable twisting and tortuous routes that desert running is, then this truly reflects what living is really about. Roll (2012) believed that when deciding to test ourselves there is a “new path waiting for (us)” and dare to “take that first step and then (it will) show us who we really are” (p.125).

Some have continued to run, others have found a peace in the accomplishment and so the desert was hardly to be a desert at all. It was to be a treasure trove of memories, of new and life-long friendships and greater self-belief. “Our past makes us” (Jurek, 2012, p.264) and for these runners the past has shaped their future.

Applications in Sport
The heightened interest in extreme endurance events over recent years has made it possible for many people to achieve success in events they otherwise thought impossible. An insight into the experiences of a few of these who chose to venture into such unknowns can create an awareness of the impact such events can have on individuals. This study aimed to explore outside physiological and psychological research parameters and provide those considering embarking on a similar journey with simple narratives that could inspire them to realise what is possible and what can be realised.

Acknowledgements
I should like to thank the eight participants who willingly shared their stories with me so openly and honestly. They not only provided me with their experiences but also proved inspirational. I should also like to thank colleagues for their interest and encouragement throughout this research process as well as the University of Winchester for the financial support with this project. Finally, I should like to thank my patient family who recognised how important this research was for me.

References
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2. Clandinin, D.J. & Connelly, F.M. (2000) Narrative enquiry. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass

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28. Whalley, B. (2012). Running wild. London. Simon & Schuster.

2014-02-04T13:47:58-06:00February 4th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on ‘The Personal Journey’: A Study of the Individual Race Stories of Desert Marathon Runners

Physical Activities and Their Relation to Physical Education: A 200-Year Perspective and Future Challenges

Submitted by Suzanne Lundvall and Peter Schantz.

The Sport Journal normally doesn’t publish articles that have appeared in other publications previously, but the entry below is an exception to this rule. We at The Sport Journal feel the views expressed in this article are important enough to republish for our valued readers.

Abstract
In this macrolevel overview, a model of the multiplicity of the field of bodily movement cultures is initially presented. The model is then used to illuminate how different bodily movement practices emerged over time, became embedded, remained, faded, or disappeared in the world’s oldest physical education teacher education (PETE) program. Through this continuity and discontinuity of practices, five distinct phases are identified, although sometimes intertwined, and their contextual background is described. The first phase is characterized by the establishment of Ling gymnastics from the early 19th century and by its fall in the 20th century. The next phase started in the late 19th century and dealt with the introduction of sports and outdoor life. During a third phase, sports became the dominating movement practice. The fourth phase is related to the rise and fall of a separate female gymnastics culture during the 20th century. The fifth phase is characterized by the introduction of everyday life physical activities at the beginning of the new millennium. The overview is followed by reflections on the future content of bodily movement practices and sought-after values in PETE and physical education in the school system.

Introduction
The content of physical education (PE) programs in schools for children and young people is under debate globally. This is not new. PE has had an ongoing battle concerning how to gain the greatest and longest benefits for mind and body since it was established at the beginning of the 19th century (Pfister, 2003). These conflicts have been noted between cultures and nations, representing different points of view about the legitimate agenda of physical education, but conflicts have also been noted within nations and educational institutions (Kirk, 2010; Korsgaard, 1989; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003; Morgan, 2006; Pfister, 2003; Schantz, 2009; Schantz & Nilsson, 1990). In the authors’ view, good reasons exist to continue this debate in our time. For this purpose, a model of the multiplicity of the field of physical activity cultures is presented. It is offered as a supportive and clarifying structure for identifying, discussing, and making future PE content decisions.

To illuminate these issues, the model is used in a macrolevel overview, illustrating changes in values and practices within the oldest still existing physical education teacher education (PETE) program in the world, that is, The Royal Gymnastic Central Institute (GCI), now named The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH). Apart from studies based on empirical data from this PETE institution, the overview also makes use of international literature on physical culture and health.

Thus, this article focuses on PETE, a less examined area when it comes to how new concepts of bodily movement practices have emerged, become embedded in programs and local
practices, remained, faded, or disappeared because they were not “legitimate” or were of less value or for other reasons (e.g., Annerstedt, 1991; Fernandez, 2009; Kirk & Macdonald, 2001; Kirk, Macdonald, & Tinning, 1997; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003). Proceeding from these basic concepts, the final aim of this article is to reflect and discuss the present-day situation in relation to principles for bodily movement practices and sought-after values for PETE. This discussion will include tensions and disagreements on content issues and future challenges for PETE and school PE.

Theoretical Framework
The theoretical departure point is inspired by the work of Bourdieu. The analytical focus has been placed on how deliberate forms of bodily movement practices in the studied PETE program came to be defined and regulated through meaning-making principles or the logic of practices (Bourdieu, 1984, 1990; Engström, 2008). Over time, the chosen bodily movement practices have created tensions in terms of power and control over what has been seen as legitimate in the educational sector of physical activity and body culture. This departure point also makes it possible to study how aspects of investment and intrinsic values have been put forward and have been related to views on body and health.

The Educational Field of Physical Activity Practices: A Model
A model has been developed to illustrate the multiplicity of different forms of deliberate bodily movement practices with distinctly different meaning-making principles (logic of practices; Figure 1). It also considers the construction of gender. It is based on a similar model first described by Schantz and Nilsson (1990) and relates to an educational context in Sweden. However, it can also be easily adjusted to conditions in other countries. The different principles for bodily movement practices are spatially oriented in the model in relation to the rationality underpinning each practice. Sport activities, based on the logic of competition, are placed in the traditionally male-dominated domain. Aesthetic and expressive forms of physical activities, such as artistic forms of dance, are placed in the traditionally female-dominated domain. Ling gymnastics, fitness gymnastics, play, outdoor life, and everyday life physical activities are placed in a traditionally gender-neutral position in the middle of the model. None of these forms of movement practices are underpinned by measurement/competition or driven by aesthetics and expressiveness. Enhancement of different physical qualities through physical training can support the conduct of all movement practices in the model. Basic forms of physical training are therefore placed at the bottom of the model, with arrows signaling their possible supportive nature for all other movement practices. Physical activities that are related to different types of professions are not given a place in this model.

Figure 1. A Model of the Field of Physical Activity Practices (modified from Schantz &
Nilsson, 1990)

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Continuity and Discontinuity of Bodily Movement Practices Over Time
A general description is given below of how the model can be used to illuminate the relative amount of time devoted to different movement practices during different time periods. In this way, a flow of continuity and discontinuity emerges. Different distinct phases are noted. This primarily visual description is followed by a text elaborating contextual factors of importance for understanding the changes described.

From 1813 to 1900, Ling gymnastics was developed and dominated the movement practices, and a fundamental principle was the schooling of body and character (Figure 2). From 1900 to 1960, sports were gradually introduced and thereby the logic of competition. PETE also started to involve outdoor life with the main goal of experiencing nature. For this purpose, physical activities such as orienteering and skiing became part of the educational program. Female PETE education developed a gymnastics discourse of its own, with influences from dance, rhythmic, and aesthetics. Thus, different and gender-related dimensions of movement practices became represented. Alongside this, new forms of physical training, particularly circuit training and aerobic conditioning, were brought in and signaled a logic of training solely for an investment value (Figure 3). During the period from 1960 to 1980, the elements of Ling gymnastics generally faded away but left a space for fitness gymnastics, and at the beginning, this was divided for men and women. Sport dominated as a movement practice, and fitness training within the area of gymnastics increased. The position for outdoor life activities remained stable (Figure 4). From 1980 to 2000 the separate female gymnastic discourse ended as an unintended consequence of a coeducational reform. Sport as a movement practice dominated and became the primary rationale for PETE. Fitness gymnastics was available for male and female students.Outdoor life held its position (Figure 5). From 2000 and onward, everyday life physical activity
emerged with its fundamental principle of an investment value in health. In other ways, there was no fundamental change compared to the previous period (Figure 6).

Figure 2. Bodily movement practice in PETE from 1813 to 1900. Ling gymnastics was developed and established. It represented the content in male and female PETE (where female PETE was established in 1864; cf. Drakenberg et al., 1913). This is indicated by the gray field, which signifies teaching time allocation to this specific bodily movement practice.

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Figure 3. Bodily movement practices in PETE from 1900 to 1960. Male and female gymnastics, indicated as boxes with horizontal and diagonal lines, respectively, developed in different directions. In the 1950s, new forms of physical training appeared. The sizes of the gray fields represent an approximate relative balance between time allocated to different physical activity practices at the latter part of the time period (cf. Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003; Tolgfors, 1979). The years indicated as the beginning and end of the period should be read as approximate indications of time.

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Figure 4. Bodily movement practices in PETE from 1960 to 1980, with a shift toward more time being allocated for sports and a gradual shift away from Ling gymnastics toward fitness gymnastics (cf. Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003; Tolgfors, 1979). For general comments on the construction of the figure, see Figure 3.

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Figure 5. Bodily movement practices in PETE from 1980 to 2000 differ from the previous practices (see Figure 4) in that the coeducational reform led to the termination of the separate female gymnastics culture (cf. Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003; Schantz & Nilsson, 1990). For general comments on the construction of the figure, s ee Figure 3.

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Figure 6. Bodily movement practices in PETE in the 21st century. A dimension of “everyday life physical activity” was introduced during this period (Idrottshögskolan, 2002, 2003). The other movement practices remained the same compared to the previous phase, with one exception: The time alotted to “basic forms of physical training” was reduced; see Figure 5 (cf. Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003, 2012). For general comments on the construction of the figure, see Figure 3.

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Contexts of Emergence, Continuity, and Discontinuity of Bodily Movement Practices

Emergence of PETE in Sweden
The early 19th century was a time open for new concepts about the training of the body. This process, which was connected to the Enlightenment and the growing importance of rational and acting, as well as the faith in scientific thinking, made it possible for new concepts and ideals to develop, including a specific exercise culture of physical education (Pfister, 2003). The institutional setting for Swedish gymnastics came about when Per Henrik Ling was given permission to establish the Royal Gymnastic Central Institute (GCI, today GIH) in 1813. This was also the starting point for the emergence of PETE in Sweden. Ling wanted to provide a system on a theoretical basis and resting on philanthropical ideas, “the philosophy of nature,” inspired by Rousseau and GutsMuths, where the intellect could be developed through the senses and action. The other basis for his system was that it was intended to rest on the “laws of the human organism” and on knowledge gained from studies of the human body. His thinking resulted in certain ideas about the execution of movements and schooling of the body, which were tightly linked to Lings’ ethical and aesthetic ideals and to perspectives of health regarded as a wholeness.

Ling aimed to develop a gymnastics system with four subdisciplines: pedagogical, medical, military, and aesthetic gymnastics. Hence, Swedish gymnastics came to be seen not only as a system for the purpose of educating the whole body, but also as a cure for the sick. Aesthetic gymnastics “whereby one expresses the inner self: thoughts and emotions” (Ling, 1840/1979, p.50) was subjected to only minor developmental attempts.

This article focuses on pedagogical gymnastics, which was defined as the means “whereby one learns to master one’s own body” (Ling, 1840/1979, p. 52). To correctly cultivate the human body, according to Ling (1840/1979, p. 54), required an elaborate system of different to promote the ability for movement control and competence. These movements were determined in detail with regard to starting and final positions, as well as the trajectory and rhythm of such movements. The system included a well-reasoned progression from easy to more complicated movements. The movements could be executed as freestanding exercises, without support, or as exercises supported by gymnastics apparatus, but all movements are based on the above-mentioned central aspects. This form of pedagogical gymnastics also had a statuesque aim (i.e., to develop a harmonious and symmetric body with good posture). Competition was not the aim or the medium of this specific movement practice, and it was not included in the praxeology (Lindroth, 1993/1994, 2004; Ling, 1840/1979; Ljunggren, 2000; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003).

From early on, Ling stated that women should be included in this form of bodily exercise, in a feminine type of gymnastics. However, this type of gymnastics was never developed by Per Henrik Ling himself, but rather was developed later through the work of his son, Hjalmar Ling, who gave examples of simple forms of gymnastics for female students (Lindroth, 2004; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003). Throughout the first 100 years at GCI, the teacher training of male and female students, in both theory and practice, was focused on gymnastics, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Tensions and Conflicts Around Ling Gymnastics
In the early 1900s, the scientific basis of the Ling gymnastic system was strongly questioned. This critique was primarily based on scientific studies of a specific movement that was claimed by the Ling gymnasts to enlarge the vital capacity and thereby improve oxygen uptake (Lindhard, 1926; Schantz, 2009; Söderberg, 1996). At GCI there had been, until the early 20th century, surprisingly small-scale efforts to increase the scientific understanding of Ling gymnastics in terms of their own knowledge production (cf. Lindroth, 2004). From the early 20th century there was, however, a clear ambition in this respect. A proposal to establish professorships in physiology, anatomy, histology, psychology, and pedagogics, as well as three in pedagogical gymnastics, was put forward in 1910. However, in those days the national government and parliament made such decisions, and not until 1938 was a decision made to establish a professorship in the physiology of bodily movements and hygiene (Schantz, 2009). In spite of this tension created by the accusation of a nonscientific bodily movement practice, Ling gymnastics kept its position as the main body exercise system into about the middle of the 20th century in combined 9-year elementary and junior high schools in Sweden (Lundquist Wanneberg, 2004) as well as in other countries (Kirk, 2010). One explanation for this long survival was its strong institutionalization, represented by the GCI, and its existing views on body, health, and physical culture, which constituted a strong health and hygiene discourse aimed at defeating, for example, infectious diseases and crooked bodily postures, and at strengthening character through education (Bonde, 2006; Palmblad & Eriksson, 1995). This health and hygiene discourse and the tight relationship between pedagogic and physiotherapeutic gymnastics gave legitimacy to Swedish gymnastics. Furthermore, this type of bodily exercise also encompassed PE for girls, which, over the years, led to a strong female PETE culture. From a societal perspective, this suited the task of PE well. The alternatives for bodily exercise and the training of girls’ bodies were few in number at that time (Carli, 2004; Kirk, 2010; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003). Furthermore, from the point of view of scientific legitimacy, there were no alternatives to Ling gymnastics. Thus, sports, for example, could not compete with Ling gymnastics in this respect.

From Gymnastics to Sports: The Process of Sportification of PETE
During the first half of the 20th century, sport with its logic of competition was introduced as part of the bodily movement culture at GCI and expanded gradually to become an equal part of the PETE training practice as compared to Ling gymnastics. When Ling gymnastics rapidly lost its dominating position from the 1950s to 1960s, sports overtook that role (cf. Figures 3 and 4). From the mid-1960s, the study hours for courses in sport disciplines started to outnumber those for gymnastics (Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003). To understand these changes in physical practices in PETE, it is important to understand how sport as a physical culture spread during the 19th and 20th centuries in Sweden and globally. A vast amount of literature has described how the rise of organized sports took off in such an emphatic way. Undoubtedly, there is, as Pfister (2003) notes, “a connection between the rise of sport and the adoption of values, standards and structures of industrialization—including rationality, technological progress, the abstract organization of time and an economy aimed at accumulation of capital” (p. 71). Linked to these societal processes was also the reformation of the public school systems, which required a system for the changing ideals of manliness, where the idealization of fair play, together with an appreciation of individual achievement, competitive in character, represented values to be sought after (Mangan, 1981a, 1981b). The average man was considered superior to the average woman, with women being seen as weaker and lacking potential (Pfister, 2003; Wright, 1996). Darwinism also played an important role in forming the sports ideology: the application of Darwin’s theory of natural selection as an argument for maintaining a strong defense for the survival of the fittest, which was to be achieved by means of persistent athletic exercises and competitions (Sandblad, 1985).

In Sweden, the breakthrough for the establishment of the sports movement occurred when the first sports organization became government financed (1913) and a part of the nation’s social and moral program (cf. Lindroth, 2004). As support grew during the first decades of the 20th century, sport was taken on by PETE as well as in PE in schools. The fundamental principle of Ling gymnastics thereby became less exclusive, appeared to be of less value, and was less sought after. The representatives of Ling gymnastics were surprised that sport, which had earlier been for the upper classes, was suddenly available to the wider masses (Lindroth, 2004).

The spread of sport after World War II was also accompanied by influences of a type of physical training—circuit training—originally emerging from military training. These influences brought in new principles concerning how the training of the body was to be planned and executed (Morgan & Adamson, 1961). Effective training during short periods of time, possible to be executed in small spaces, was in many ways revolutionary compared to the more complicated exercise programs in gymnastics. The emergence of exercise science (cf. Åstrand & Rodahl, 1970), not the least with regard to aerobic conditioning, gave sport and fitness training further legitimacy at GCI (Schantz, 2009). At first, the principles of training represented by circuit training were implemented as part of male gymnastic training (Figure 3).

Alongside the sportification process, the female branch of Ling gymnastics challenged its traditional practice from the beginning of the 20th century and was influenced by an elaborated theory of body and rhythm and the concept of effort saving (Laine, 1989). Initially, these influences, involving breaking with the stiff traditional floor-standing gymnastics, met opposition and resistance (Forsman & Moberg, 1990; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003). But it was not possible to stop this development and changing of “logic” to aesthetics because it could be justified as being in line with Ling’s intentions concerning the aesthetic branch of his system (see Figure 3). Another process that demonstrated elasticity in the application of the principles of Ling was the development of PE and children’s gymnastics toward a more natural and child centered way of moving, away from drill and command (Falk, 1903, 1913).

The nature of female gymnastics embodied values of emotions and how to put one’s soul into the movements, to liberate the body, and to provide space for self-education (Carli, 2004; Laine, 1989; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003). The performing of movements was characterized by sensitiveness, adaptability, body awareness, and expression—the feeling of the movement. This type of body training, based on what today is called a subjective experiencing of the body (body-as-subject), provided cultural, physical, and symbolic capital that did not challenge the existing ideals of the female body at that time. Both of the above-mentioned processes must be acknowledged as mechanisms for understanding the long survival of Swedish gymnastics in the PETE programs and in school PE. The corresponding development of the male Ling gymnastics was not the case (Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003).

The popularity and success of the spread of sports is both easy and not easy to understand. With regard to former principles for the education of body and mind, it is interesting how sport, with its meaning-making principles of competition and specialization of skills, with the training of the body as an objective, could fit in so easily and replace the old virtues of the training of the body, regarding health as wholeness, without the dualism of body and soul.

The introduction of outdoor life in PETE from 1900 to 1960 (Figure 3) can be understood in relation to the organization phase of outdoor life in the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It reflects a need for new identities due to both the great demographic changes with the strong urbanization processes during this period and also the concomitant nationalism and strong surge for new national identities. In this identification process, love of nature as well as skiing emerged as strong parts of the identity profile for Swedes (cf. Sandell & Sörlin, 2008).

From Two-Gender Specific PETE Cultures to One: A Merging With Consequences
During the 1970s political striving for equal rights and employment in Sweden led to questioning of the organization of gender-separated PETE programs. Suddenly old ideals stood beside new ones. The process of integration of the male and female PETE cultures as well as the sportification process of bodily movement practices led not only to a new gender order and a loss of the female gymnastics culture, but also to a marginalization of the female PE pedagogical culture (Carli, 2004; Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003; Schantz & Nilsson, 1990; cf. Figures 4 and 5). For corresponding changes in other countries, see Kirk (2010), Wright (1996), and O’Sullivan, Bush, and Gehring (2002). Furthermore, the time allotted to courses in gymnastics decreased substantially after the coeducation reform in 1977 (Lundvall & Meckbach, 2003). The long tradition of female PETE culture, together with school PE steering documents, prevented a total termination. Courses in dance, music, and movement remained as minor parts of the coeducational PETE study program, but were aimed more at fitness gymnastics, such as workouts and aerobics (Figure 5). Former practices with their fundamental principles of aesthetics became simplified.

At GCI–GIH, the total amount of practical courses went from being the major portion of the study programs during the early 20th century to becoming more peripheral, from taking up 80% of the total study time in the 1920s to less than 15% about 90 years later (Lundvall & Meckbach, 2012; Tolgfors, 1979). A parallel academization process of PETE took place in general, and globally, after the 1970s (e.g., see Kirk, 2010; Kirk et al., 1997; Tinning, 2010).

Everyday Life Physical Activity as Bodily Movement Practice: Disagreements in Modern Time During the late 20th century, new and other practices of physical activity started to be demanded. Recommended amounts and levels of physical activity were distributed in 1996 by the U.S. Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). This way of thinking about children’s and young peoples’ needs for physical activity bore some resemblance to former medical arguments for the prevention of disease and for the curing of the sick that started nearly 200 years earlier.

Everyday life physical activity as a way of thinking gradually became established in society around the beginning of the 21st century, originally taken on by stakeholders in public health, actors outside the field of PETE, and academic disciplines related to sports (Ainsworth, 2005; McKenzie, Alcaraz, Sallis, & Faucette, 1998; Morgan, 2000). This thinking signaled that children and adolescents need to learn how to become and stay physically active in everyday life (McKenna & Riddoch, 2003; Smith & Biddle, 2008; Trost, 2006). Changes in society had led to a focus on physical inactivity among the population. This scenario developed even though there had never before been so many opportunities for participation in organized sports. An outspoken fear of to what physically inactive lifestyles could lead among young people (including reports of obesity crises) was strongly communicated (World Health Organization, 2002). Once again, the question of how physical exercise could contribute to the health of a nation’s citizens came up on the political agenda.

The sought-after legitimatizing educational values and logic of practices behind this new way of thinking have not been clearly communicated so far. The rationale behind the emphasis on everyday life physical activity has given rise to criticism. Educational sociologists point out that school PE cannot only be driven by a medical risk discourse, or a pathogenic and/or normative way of thinking of physical activity and health (Gard & Wright, 2001, 2006; Kirk, 2010). Physical education is much more: It is about physical self-esteem, body awareness and abilities, personal and social development, questions of democracy, as well as critical aspects of health and health communication (Evans, 2004; Evans, Davies, & Wright, 2004; Macdonald & Hay, 2010; Siedentop, 2009). This can perhaps explain to some extent why PETE educators have shown a cautious attitude toward how the thinking about everyday life physical activity has been exposed and how it has been attempted to be implemented. It is too early to describe with any certainty how and what the construction of knowledge around everyday life physical activity will represent in terms of new or renewed bodily movement practices in the area of PETE in general and globally.

The first compulsory course in everyday life physical activity at GIH was started in 2004 in two transdisciplinary courses (Idrottshögskolan, 2002, 2003), which were demanded in a teacher education reform (Figure 6). These dimensions of human movement were introduced in a context of physical activity, public health, and sustainable development (Schantz, 2002, 2006; Schantz & Lundvall, forthcoming). Hence, it is possible to state that learning sports as the predominant bodily movement practice in PETE programs and school PE has been challenged.

Post-Overview Reflections
In this article, a model clarifying the multiplicity of fundamental principles and dimensions of bodily movement practices in a specific, but for the development of PETE, central setting in Sweden has been presented. The model has been used to illustrate the continuity and discontinuity of movement practices. Thereafter, mechanisms and contextual backgrounds to these changes over time have been described.

Although national and cultural differences in how countries organize their PETE programs and school PE exist, there are reasons to believe that the similarities of the development described outnumber the differences. The scheme of continuity and discontinuity stimulates a discussion about what values have been gained, what has been lost, and what possible values have not been introduced as part of PETE.

The introduction of new physical activity logics in PETE has sometimes been dependent not only on the meaningfulness of a certain logic but also on power relations. The introduction of sport is such an example. Furthermore, there are also examples of dramatic changes that have taken place without being desired or planned for intentionally. The rapid decline of female gymnastics at the beginning of the 1980s as a result of the introduction of coeducation is an example. Furthermore, Ling gymnastics faded away after World War II and, with that, faded the principles of movement practices aimed at dimensions such as general body awareness, posture, and ability to maintain motor control. Again, these consequences were not foreseen.

Another lesson is that such unforeseen consequences can be difficult to handle in terms of compensatory pedagogic actions. The values of the female gymnastics and the Ling gymnastics were dependent on strong framing cultures that had been developed over long periods of time, and indeed, the creation of new cultures fostering the best values of those previous cultures is difficult to achieve. Therefore, as a memento, it is suggested that, before changing the content of PETE, one should try to create different scenarios to counteract the possibility that that decision may lead to unforeseen effects.

The overview also makes it clear that the dimension of movement practices connected to different forms of artistic dance have been left out in PETE. This exclusion has, with few exceptions (Schantz & Nilsson, 1990), not been an issue that has been discussed. Indeed, most likely, this would not have been the case if it had been a traditionally male-dominated domain of physical activity. Among these gender issues is also that females taking up different forms of traditionally male-dominated sports is appraised positively, whereas attempts in the opposite direction are generally few in number or entirely absent and lack clear support in the currently governing mind-sets within PETE.

The existence of a multiplicity of logic of movement practices in the field of physical activity points to distinct values of each of the fundamental principles underlying these practices. In line with this, the interaction between different kinds of movement practices and the individual enlarges his/her points of reference in relation to body, movement, and mind.

With such a view constituting a rationale for different physical activities in PETE, one can ask what balances in time allocation are reasonable for attaining a goal of widening the personal experiences and securing “breadth” as an educative value of its own. This takes into account that most of the PE students of today have a strong personal experience in sports, whereas their experience with other physical activity cultures is meager (Brun Sundblad, Meckbach, Lundvall, & Nilsson, 2010). They have what Bourdieu would call a strongly developed taste for sport, forming part of a strong sport habitus (Bourdieu, 1984; Engström, 2008).

Another dimension of reflection on the PETE content deals with what PE contents in schools may be important for adult behavioral patterns of physical activity. Not much cross-sectional or longitudinal research exists on those issues, but there are indications that socializing into sport activities might not effectively foster physically active lifestyles among adults. Instead, schooling into a broad movement repertoire, as well as experiences of outdoor life, appears to be more effective in this respect (Engström, 2008).

Recent knowledge highlights that, in relation to physical activity, one has to take into account the multiplicity and complexity of young peoples’ lives. Context and social interaction play a central role. Children and adolescents are social actors that navigate in the landscape that surrounds physical movement culture. More attention has to be given to how the “healthy citizen” is constructed. What does it mean to live on the countryside, to live in inner cities, or to have the gym or the sport club as the social place for physical activities? In what ways does the place create meanings and relations? And for whom? Which physical activities are included or excluded (Wright & Macdonald, 2011; Thedin Jakobsson, in press)? According to current reports and research studies on school PE in Sweden, students learn sports but not about health and how to take responsibility for healthy physically active lifestyles (Lundvall & Meckbach, 2008; Quennerstedt, Öhman, & Ericson, 2008; Skolinspektionen, 2010). These issues have also been highlighted globally (Hardman & Green, 2011; Green, 2008; Pühse & Gerber, 2005)

New scenarios concerning health, well-being, and illness, including rising numbers of school students experiencing stress and forms of psychological unhealthiness (Folkhälsoinstitutet, 2011), migration, economic recessions, growing segregation among social classes, and an uneven distribution of access to physical activity and health knowledge, have continued to challenge the stability of health among societies’ citizens. The overview relates the content matter of PETE over time to influences of different societal contexts. From this perspective, the relation of physical activity in PETE to major current societal challenges, such as the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics, as well as issues related to sustainable development (cf. Schantz & Lundvall, forthcoming) and globalization, are examples of matters that deserve to be thought through and discussed in much more depth than what appears to be the case in most PETE institutions and countries at present.

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2014-01-27T19:05:47-06:00January 27th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology, Women and Sports|Comments Off on Physical Activities and Their Relation to Physical Education: A 200-Year Perspective and Future Challenges

An Analysis of Weight Management and Motivation of Former and Present High School and College Football Players

 

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to analyze the weight management practices and motivational orientation for participating in the sport of football from former and present high school and college aged football players. The study included an in-depth analysis of the practices of offensive and defensive linemen, because of the likelihood of these individuals having the most abnormal eating practices. The researcher also attempted to determine if there was a significant relationship between the eating patterns of all the players and their motivation to participate in football. The sample for the study consisted of former and present football players (N = 387) from three target populations: high school, college, and former players. The study was conducted over a period of 30 days in the month of June 2011. Surveys were returned at a rate of 95%. The results indicated differences in eating pattern and motivation among the four groups: former players, college players, high school players, and offensive and defensive linemen. Offensive and defensive linemen did not differ from other players on any of the motivation scales. The results also revealed correlations among the eating pattern and sport motivation scales.

Introduction

The research concerning weight management and motivation of former and present high school and college football players is a worthy subject for extensive research analysis. A 2003 study, conducted at the University of North Carolina, found that professional football players have a 52% greater risk of dying of heart disease than the general American population (7); it was noted that offensive and defensive linemen are three times more likely to die from heart disease than teammates who play other positions. Hargrove (6) conducted a study investigating the death of former NFL players (N = 3,850) who had died since 1955. The study reported the following findings:

•The average weight of National Football League (NFL) players had grown10% since 1985.

•The average weight of offensive tackles, the heaviest football players, had increased from 281 pounds in 1985 to 318 pounds in 2005.

•Compared to Major League Baseball (MLB) players, the rate of death before the age of 50 for NFL players was double that of the MLB players.

When college football players’ weights were compared to a cross section of similarly aged males, overweight and obesity were more prevalent amongst players (13). The average varsity high school lineman is expected to gain more than 50 pounds in 3 years to compete on the collegiate level (3). The 300-pound lineman is now common at the high-school level (11). An analysis of a 1985 Indiana State high school football championship game found that 7 players weighed more than 250 pounds; in a follow-up study in 2004, 50 players weighed more than 250 pounds, representing an increase of 43 players (16).

Weight Management

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (12) reported that football players need to increase the number of calories they eat a day to gain muscular mass, aiming for 18 to 20 times their maintenance calorie intake. To increase power and to fuel muscles football players often engage in binge eating behaviors. Binge eating disorder (BED) is exhibited through frequent binge eating episodes, combined with impaired control over eating, followed by remorse about the binge eating episodes within a 2-hour period (1). BED eventually leads to obesity and visceral abdominal fat, which is an essential factor to examine in football players because of its relation to metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea and high blood pressure (5).

Jonnalagadda, Rosenbloom, and Skinner (10) conducted a study to investigate the eating practices, attitudes, and physiology of 31 Division I college freshman football players. Results from the study revealed that players ate 3.6 times per day and ate out 4.8 times per week. Fast food was the most popular choice for eating out (55%). In a study on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome of 69 Division I college football players, the mean BMI of offensive and defensive linemen was categorized as obese, with a significant amount of fat in the abdominal area (13).

Motivation

Researchers have asserted that family members encourage athletes to perform well more than coaches do (2). Thompson and Sherman (21) stated that coaching style along with positive feedback can play a significant role in a player’s weight management practices and motivation player’s weight management behaviors and self-perception. Pressures from teammates, either real or imagined, can cause an athlete to accept the notion that extreme weight management practices as necessary to participate in the sport (41).

The self-determination theory (SDT) is a general theory for assessing an individual’s personality and motivational orientation. The objective of the SDT is to determine if an individual’s motivational behavior is non self-determined or self-determined (4). Non self-determined behavior is behavior that is controlled by external factors in which the individual experiences an obligation to behave in a specific way and feels controlled by a reward or by constraints (10). Self-determined behavior is described as an individual’s understanding and fulfillment of his or her needs by being able to make psychologically free choices (10).

Ryan (38) examined the effects of scholarship on a variety of male and female, scholarship and non scholarship athletes. Results indicated that scholarship football players had lower levels of IM than non scholarship athletes. Conversely, male wrestlers and female athletes on scholarship reported higher IM than non scholarship athletes. Sloan and Wiggins (39)conducted a study using the SMS to assess the motivational differences between61 college football players and 60 professional football players. Results revealed that, overall, players scored higher on IM subscales than on EM subscales (39). Professional football players scored higher on IM subscales than college players (39).

The purpose of this study was to analyze the weight management practices and motivational orientation for participating in the sport of football from former and present high school and college football players. The study included an in-depth analysis of the practices of offensive and defensive linemen, because of the likelihood of these individuals having the most abnormal eating practices. The researcher also attempted to determine if there was a significant relationship between the eating patterns of all the players and their motivation to participate in football.

Methods

Selection of Participants

Participants were selected from a convenience sample of 387 former and present football players. Emphasis was placed on the participation of offensive and defensive linemen because they were more likely to have the most extreme eating behaviors.

Instrumentation

The Yale Eating Pattern Questionnaire (YEPQ) is designed to diagnose a wide variety of eating behaviors of nonclinical populations (23). The scale consists of eight subscales: (a) uninhibited, (b) over snacking, (c) bingeing, (d)dieting, (e) satiation–full, (f) satiation–nausea, (g)satiation– guilty, (h) attributions to physical and emotional causes of weight problems. For the purpose of this study the uninhibited, over snacking,and bingeing scales were used to assess football player eating behaviors.

The Sport Motivation Scale Revised (SMSR) consists of six, 3-item subscales that measure three types of motivation: Intrinsic Motivation (IM), External Motivation, and A motivation (AMO) The IM subscale identifies athletes who practice sport to experience personal pleasure. The scale identifies EM-athletes who participate in sport for external purpose such as a prize (17). AMO identifies athletes who do not know why they practice, sport (17).

Procedures

The researcher obtained permission to conduct the study through a local university’s Institutional Review Board. Upon confirmation the researcher made initial contact with football camp administrators at the college and high school age level to explain the nature of the research and to obtain permission to administer the survey to players. Former football players were contacted by the researcher via telephone to explain the nature of the study and to answer any questions about consent.

Statistical Analysis of Data

Data for this study were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software program (SPSS) version 17.0. (IBM, Chicago, IL). An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical analyses. Demographic profile was analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics. The research design included three analyses. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was performed with the three eating habits scales from the YEPQ as the dependent variables and player group (high school, college, and former) and position group (linemen versus others) as the independent variables. To follow up a statistically significant main effect for player groups, three one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were performed (one for each eating habits scale) to determine where the differences between the player groups occurred. A follow-up honest significance test, Tukey’s honestly significant difference (THSD),was used to find which means were significantly different from one another.

MANOVA was used to analyze the differences in motivational orientation among the groups (types of football players and player positions). To follow up a statistically significant main effect for player group, six one-way ANOVAs were conducted: one for each of the six sports motivation dependent variables. These analyses were performed to determine which of the six dependent variables differed as a function of player group. A follow-up THSD was used to find which means were significantly different from one another. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to investigate the relationship between the YEPQ and SMSR subscale.

RESULTS

A total of 387 valid survey questionnaires were collected from former and present football players with a return rate of 95%. The study participants were equally distributed among the three player groups: 35.1% former players, 35.1%college players, and 29.7% high school players. Similarly, there were approximately equal numbers of offensive or defensive line players (50.6%) and players in other positions (49.4%). Most (69.3%) of the participants reported eating to maintain an ideal body weight for their position. The majority(73.4%) of participants also believed that unhealthy weight management practices pose a potential risk for football players. Most (72.9%) of the participants reported that receiving a scholarship or playing professional football was a career goal.

Coaches were the most likely individuals to influence a participant’s current weight management practices (47.3%), with parents and family also representing a significant influence (20.9%). Nearly all (85.3%) of the participants indicated that they would consider a weight management program after completing their football career, and very few (2.1%) had been diagnosed with an eating disorder.

Six of the scores in the SMSR scales had adequate reliability in this sample, whereas three did not. The internal consistency reliability coefficients for the intrinsic regulation (α = .74), extrinsic integrated regulation (α = .70), extrinsic identified regulation(α = .71), and a motivation (α = .72) scales from the SMSR were adequate, as were the reliability coefficients for the over snacking (α = .82) and bingeing (α = .81)scales from the YEPQ. The reliability coefficients for the extrinsic introjected regulation (α = .58) and extrinsic external regulation (α = .54) scales from the SMSR and the uninhibited scale (α = .48) from the YEPQ, however, were lower than the conventional criterion of .70. This finding represents a substantial limitation of this study, and the results related to these scales should be interpreted with caution.

DISCUSSION

Research Discussion One

The first research question asked if there were significant eating pattern differences among all groups of football players. The results indicate significant differences between high school, college, and former players on the eating pattern scales. High school players had higher scores on the uninhibited, over snacking, and bingeing scales than college and former players.The findings suggest that high school football players have more abnormaleating patterns than college and former football players. The findings support Henderson’s (8) examination of California’s Mater Dei high school football championship team in 2006; revealed that their starting offensive line outweighed the 1972 undefeated NFL Miami Dolphins’ Super Bowl championship team by 118 pound.

Descriptive statistics from this study’s demographic information sheet, support findings in the review of literature; statistics reveal that the coach (47.3%) was the most likely individual to influence players current weight management practices, followed by parents (20.9%). In relation, to parent and coach influence on high school football player’s weight management practices, peer pressure from teammates, either real or imagined,can cause athletes to accept the notion that extreme weight management practices as necessary to participate in the sport (21).

The findings also support body dissatisfaction research conducted by Pope(14). Adolescent males often feel pressure from social sources and the media to obtain the low body fat, “cut” or “ripped” muscular body (14). In relation, a significant amount of players from this study (69.3%)reported that they eat to maintain an ideal body weight for their position in football. In this case, high school football players eating patterns may express their desire to obtain the perceived prototype body they see in the media of football players.

Research Discussion Two

The second research question asked if there were significant eating pattern differences between all offensive or defensive linemen and other team players.Offensive and defensive linemen had lower scores on the uninhibited and bingeing scales compared to other players. The results indicate that smaller players who play positions other than offensive or defensive lineman have more abnormal eating patterns. The findings of the research support research conducted by Pope (15) on muscle dysmorphia. Males with muscle dysmorphia are obsessed with the idea that they are not muscular enough and see themselves as”skinny” or “too small” (15). In this case, smaller players who play position other than offensive/defensive line could be emulating perceived eating patterns of offensive/defensive linemen; in an attempt to obtain the prototype body to participate in football.

Research Discussion Three

Research question three asked if there were significant intrinsic or extrinsic motivational differences among all football players. High school and college players scored higher on the EM-introjected regulation and EM-external regulation scale than former players. The findings suggest that football players at the high school and college level have more non self-determined motivation than former players. The findings support research conducted by Hyman (9) on external influence student football players’ encounter in their participation in football. The findings are also supported by statistics in the demographic information sheet which show a large majority of players(72.9%) who reported that receiving a scholarship or playing professional football was a career goal.

A significant finding in the research was that college football players had higher mean scores on the EM-identified regulation, EM-integrated, and the IM-regulation scale than former and high school players. The finding suggests that college football players have more self-determined motivation than former and high school players. The findings are classic and supports Ryan’s(18) SDT which states, that intrinsic motivation can be improved with the introduction of performance-contingent rewards.

Research Discussion Four

The fourth research question asked if there were significant intrinsic or extrinsic motivational difference between all offensive and defensive linemen and other team players. The results indicate that offensive and defensive linemen did not differ from other players on any of the sports motivation scales. The findings suggest offensive/defensive linemen motivation to participate in football is no different in comparison to other team players. In this case, it was the researcher’s hypothesis that offensive/defensive linemen motivation to participate in football would be more non self-determined because they are routinely the heaviest players on a team. The results did not support the researcher’s hypothesis.

Research Discussion Five and Six

The fifth and sixth research questions asked if there was a significant correlation between eating patterns and motivation among all football players and if there was a significant correlation between extrinsic motivation and binge eating patterns among all football players. The results showed that there were significant correlations among the eating patterns and motivation scales.

Players with high scores on the YEPQ: uninhibited, overeating, and bingeing scale also had higher scores on the SMSR: EM-introjected regulation,EM-external regulation, AMO scales. The findings suggest that football players,who participate in football for non-self-determined reasons— to avoid criticism, to win a prize, or for no good reason, are also prone to abnormal eating patterns. Players with high scores on the YEPQ: bingeing scale and overeating scale tended to have lower scores on the SMSR: IM-regulation, EM-integrated regulation, and EM-identified regulation scales. The findings suggest that football players, who participate in football for self-determined reasons-to obtain personal goals, because its apart of you, to experience pleasure, do not show signs of abnormal eating patterns. In this sense performance contingent rewards in the form of food, can be introduced, for consistently adhering to the leisure activity or weight management plan.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that there were significant eating pattern differences among the four independent groups. The results indicate that high school players had higher scores on the uninhibited, over snacking, and bingeing scales than did former players. College players-scores on all three scales were between high school and former players. Former players-had lower score on all three scales. The results also revealed that offensive/defensive linemen had lower mean scores on the uninhibited and bingeing scale compared to other player groups. Results indicate that high school and college players had higher scores on the EM-external regulation scale than former players. College players had higher IM-regulation, EM-identified regulation mean scores than high school and former players. Former players had lower EM-introjected regulation scores than high school and college players. Offensive and defensive linemen did not differ from other players on any of the sport motivation scales.

To investigate if there were correlations among the eating pattern and motivation scales, results revealed that individuals with higher scores on the uninhibited scale from the YEPQ tended to have higher scores on the SMSR, EM-introjected regulation, EM-external regulation, and the A motivation scale.Participants with higher on the over snacking scale tended to have lower scores on the IM-regulation, EM-integrated regulation, and EM-identified regulation,and higher scores on the EM-external regulation and A motivation scales.Participants with higher scores on the bingeing scale tended to have lower IM-regulation scores and higher EM- introjected regulation, EM-external regulation, and A motivation scores. A limitation is that this was a convenience sample and may not be representative of all players or former players.

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT

Because the coach was reported to have the most influence on players’weight management practices (47.3%); and players reported eating to maintain an ideal body weight for their position (69.3%); and because nearly all participants (85.3%) reported they would consider a reconditioning plan after their playing career is over; future research could investigate the role coaches can play in the establishment of reconditioning plans once a player’s football career ends. Future research also could focus on making players aware that BED is a diagnosed eating disorder.

Tables

Table 4.2. Descriptive Statistics for Demographic and Background Characteristics (N = 387)

Variable Frequency Percentage
Player group    
High school player 115 29.7
College player 136 35.1
Former player 136 35.1
     
Position group    
Not offensive or defensive line 191 49.4
Offensive or defensive line 196 50.6
     
Ethnicity    
African American 289 74.7
Caucasian 74 19.1
Hispanic 10 2.6
Other 14 3.6
     
Do you eat to maintain an ideal body weight for your position?
Yes 268 69.3
No 107 27.6
Missing 12 3.1
     
Do you feel that unhealthy weight management practices are a potential health risk for football players?
Yes 284 73.4
No 95 24.5
Missing 8 2.1
     
Do you have hereditary health issues that contribute to weight gain?
Yes 44 11.4
No 339 87.6
Missing 4 1.0
     
Is earning a scholarship or playing professional football a career goal?
Yes 282 72.9
No 99 25.6
Missing 6 1.6
     
The individual who has influenced your current weight management practices the most:
Teammates 16 4.1
Peers 26 6.7
Parents/Family 81 20.9
Coach 183 47.3
Nobody 77 19.9
Missing 4 1.0
     
Would you consider a weight management program after you football career?
Yes 330 85.3
No 43 11.1
Missing 14 3.6
     
Have you ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder?
Yes 8 2.1
No 373 96.4
Missing 6 1.6
     
Height in inches 71.44 3.36
     
Age in years 25.05 10.49
     
Weight in pounds 214.63 48.31

Table 4.3. Descriptive Statistics for Composite Scores (N = 387)

Variable Items Min. Max. M SD α
Sports Motivation (SMSR)            
Intrinsic regulation 3 1.33 7.00 5.53 1.30 .74
Extrinsic integrated regulation 3 1.00 7.00 5.34 1.29 .70
Extrinsic identified regulation 3 1.33 7.00 5.49 1.28 .71
             
Sports Motivation (SMSR)            
Extrinsic introjected regulation 3 1.00 7.00 4.24 1.53 .58
Extrinsic external regulation 3 1.00 7.00 3.20 1.52 .54
Amotivation 3 1.00 6.67 2.17 1.37 .72
             
Eating Patterns (YEPQ)            
Uninhibited 9 1.44 4.89 2.90 .52 .48
Oversnacking 12 1.17 5.00 2.74 .67 .82
Bingeing 13 1.00 4.54 2.61 .68 .81

Table 4.4. Descriptive Statistics for Eating Patterns Composite Scores as a Function of Player Group and Position Group (N = 387)

Variable High school College Former
  M SD M SD M SD
Uninhibited            
Other than linemen 3.09 .56 3.01 .55 2.83 .54
Linemen 2.87 .46 2.86 .51 2.76 .46
             
Oversnacking            
Other than linemen 2.99 .73 2.82 .69 2.48 .64
Linemen 2.84 .65 2.63 .58 2.68 .62
             
Bingeing            
Other than linemen 2.93 .79 2.65 .69 2.48 .58
Linemen 2.60 .77 2.51 .61 2.52 .56

Table 4.5 Results from ANOVAs for the Eating Habits Dependent Variables (N = 387)

Effect Sum of
squares
df Mean
squares
F p
           
Between groups 2.56 2 1.28 4.77 .009
Within groups 103.05 384 .27    
Total 105.61 386      
           
Oversnacking          
Between groups 6.83 2 3.42 7.98 < .001
Within groups 164.39 384 .43    
Total 171.22 386      
           
Bingeing          
Between groups 4.61 2 2.30 5.12 < .001
Within groups 172.70 384 .45    
Total 177.30 386      

Table 4.6. Descriptive Statistics for Sports Motivation Composite Scores as a Function of Player Group and Position Group (N = 387)

Variable High school College Former
  M SD M SD M SD
Intrinsic regulation            
Other than linemen 5.41 1.36 5.72 1.15 5.23 1.50
Linemen 5.51 1.25 5.88 1.24 5.41 1.24
Extrinsic integrated regulation            
Other than linemen 5.29 1.14 5.39 1.18 5.14 1.47
Linemen 5.22 1.29 5.51 1.26 5.44 1.37
Extrinsic identified regulation            
Other than linemen 5.21 1.32 5.67 1.09 5.08 1.71
Linemen 5.47 1.09 5.84 1.03 5.59 1.22
Extrinsic introjected regulation            
Other than linemen 4.49 1.41 4.45 1.41 3.80 1.57
Linemen 4.23 1.67 4.65 1.65 3.85 1.35
Extrinsic External Regulation
Other than linemen
 
 
3.60
 
 
1.48
 
 
3.60
 
 
1.44
 
 
    
2.40
 
 
1.34
Linemen 3.54 1.55 3.30 1.61 2.84 1.35
Amotivation            
Other than linemen 2.44 1.50 2.19 1.47 2.18 1.31
Linemen 2.39 1.55 2.06 1.34 1.86 1.02

Table 4.7. Results from ANOVAs for the Sports Participation Dependent Variables (N = 387)

Effect Sum of squares df Mean squares F p
Intrinsic regulation          
Between groups 15.56 2 7.78 4.71 .010
Within groups 634.38 384 1.65    
Total 649.94 386      
Extrinsic integrated regulation          
Between groups 2.58 2 1.29 .77 .462
Within groups 639.48 384 1.67    
Total 642.06 386      
Extrinsic identified regulation          
Between groups 14.11 2 7.06 4.41 .013
Within groups 613.88 384 1.60    
Total 628.00 386      
Extrinsic Introjected Regulation          
Between groups 37.57 2 18.78 8.31 < .001
Within groups 867.61 384 2.26    
Total 905.18 386      
Extrinsic External Regulation          
Between groups 67.57 2 33.78 15.79 < .001
Within groups 821.45 384 2.14    
Total 889.01 386      
Amotivation          
Between groups 10.80 2 5.40 2.91 .055
Within groups 711.75 384 1.85    
Total 722.55 386      

Table 4.8. Correlations Among Composite Scores (N = 387)

Variable 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Sports motivation (SMSR)                  
1. Intrinsic regulation 1.00                
2. Extrinsic integrated regulation .67*** 1.00              
3. Extrinsic identified regulation .73*** .73*** 1.00            
4. Extrinsic introjected Regulation .47*** .44*** .44*** 1.00          
5. Extrinsic external regulation .09 .11* .15** .46*** 1.00        
6. Amotivation -.29*** -.33*** -.30*** .07 .39*** 1.00      
Eating Patterns (YEPQ)                  
7. Uninhibited .01 .00 -.01 .21*** .23*** .13* 1.00    
8. Oversnacking -.13* -.10* -.10* .06 .29*** .24*** .60** 1.00  
9. Bingeing -.11* -.06 -.09 .13* .25*** .24*** .58** .75*** 1.00

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001

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Henderson, M. (2006). Carrying a hefty amount of risk: Large young athletes face obesity problems after playing days end. The Los Angeles Times,p. A-25.

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2016-10-21T08:35:51-05:00May 16th, 2013|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on An Analysis of Weight Management and Motivation of Former and Present High School and College Football Players

Understanding Emotional and Binge Eating: From Sports Training to Tailgating

 

ABSTRACT

Many athletes are asked to gain weight and even overeat to “bulk up” for their respective sport(s). In addictive behaviors, early exposure and habit formation during the brain’s developing years are highly predictive of continued problems later in life. As with commonly abused drugs, research indicates foods high in sugars and fat also cause large increases in dopamine, serotonin, and, possibly the most important for those who struggle with food dependency, opioids/endorphins. Due to the brain’s hardwired limbic system circuitry and the naturally reinforcing biochemical mechanisms of eating, there are many physical and psychological factors that influence eating behaviors. Psychological eating factors include stress, depression, anxiety, body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem/self-efficacy, and a preoccupation with food, weight, and body shape. Interpersonal factors stem from social interactions and psychosocial variables such as cultural and ecological influences. For drugs of abuse, abstinence only programs are often the only effective method of eliminating dependency; however, these programs are not a possible with eating. Therefore, this review introduces research on mindfulness, which has been shown to be an effective impulse-control strategy for behaviors, such as eating, that are also a basic part of life. Any intervention plan for treating binge and emotional eating should include methods to help increase awareness and emotional resilience. Client-centered positive health behavior change techniques such as Motivational interviewing (MI) also appear to be highly effective in the treatment of emotional and binge eating.

Introduction

Eating pathologies are common among athletes where body image and size are emphasized due to the nature of their respective sports (8, 15, 25, 28). Long-term eating behaviors are reinforced and hard to change because of complex interactions between physical, psychological, and psychosocial factors. This critical research review addresses the often unrecognized issues associated with emotional and binge eating. Highly effective treatment options such as mindfulness-based therapies and Motivational Interviewing (MI) are introduced to help coaches and sport psychology consultants recognize and get even better at supporting the athletes they serve.

Emotional eating (EE) is characterized by episodes of binge eating to cope with unwanted feelings or serve as a positive reward, and the binges are often followed by feelings of guilt or loss of control. Binge eating is defined as“eating in a discrete period of time an amount of food that is definitely larger than most individuals would eat under similar circumstances” (2, p. 589). Whereas binge eating disorder (BED) is defined as “recurrent episodes of binge eating in the absence of the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors characteristic of Bulimia Nervosa” (2, p. 595).

Kemp, Bui, & Grier (2011) describe EE as the “invisible plague” and as eating (often over consuming) linked to an individual’s emotional states, characterized by episodes of binging,grazing, and/or eating when not hungry in an effort to change feelings. Therefore, the function of emotional eating is to change one’s emotional state (whether to reduce perceived stress or pain, or to enhance positive emotions), or to experience instant gratification by using food as a coping mechanism/reward (31). Binge eating is characterized by significant reoccurring disturbances or episodes of overeating followed by feelings of lack of control over food and distress about body shape and weight. Consequently, it may also be associated with depression, low self-esteem, and decreased quality of life (10, 14, 36, 41, 50). Emotional and binge eating are common behaviors that plausibly contribute to the growing obesity endemic with over half of U.S. adults being classified as overweight or obese (31, 36). Because we must consume food to live, it is difficult for some to find the balance between healthy consumption and over or under consumption.

Many athletes are asked to gain weight and even overeat in an attempt to bulk up for their sports (e.g., football). In all addictive behaviors, early exposure and habit development alters the mesolimbic system during the brain’s developing years. Such changes are highly predictive of continued problems later in life (11). Additionally, cultural obsessions with body image and the use of food for entertainment or celebrating social events (e.g., overcoming boredom, football tailgates, Superbowl parties, and weddings) further confound the developmental issues related to the formation of eating habits. Social norms and fast-paced lifestyles contribute to the obesity pandemic and the etiology of emotional and binge eating disorders. Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating can be characterized by food and body image causing distress and issues with emotions, attitudes, and behaviors (44). Furthermore, EE may be a major predisposing factor to the development of eating disorders along with other predisposing factors such as depression, stress, anxiety, body dissatisfaction, poor coping skills, low self-esteem and self-efficacy, low emotional awareness, a preoccupation with weight, body shape, and food intake (20, 36, 41, 48, 52, 57).

Neuropsychological Mechanisms

Many factors influence food consumption: physiological needs, psychological and emotional connections, and psychosocial elements. Water and food are essential for survival (i.e., metabolic requirements). To differentiate the critical need versus desire to eat, hunger is the biological craving for food based on survival needs whereas appetite describes the psychological desire for food (21). The neuro-physiologic response to hunger and control of food intake is regulated by the hypothalamus which stimulates the release of hormones such as leptin and ghrelin. The functions of leptin and ghrelin are mainly to stimulate hunger/satiety and regulate metabolism (21, 31).

Ghrelin has emerged as the first circulating hunger hormone and has been shown to increase food intake and fat mass in humans (33). Ghrelin is a fast acting hormone produced mainly by the lining of the stomach and the pancreas to stimulate hunger. Ghrelin levels increase rapidly before meals causing cravings for food and eating behavior initiation. Conversely, fat cells produce the hormone leptin which is responsible for causing full feelings and appetite suppression. Ghrelin-responsiveness is both leptin and insulin-sensitive. In relation to food addiction, ghrelin activates the mesolimbic cholinergic-dopaminergic reward link, which is a circuit that communicates the hedonistic and reinforcing aspects of natural rewards, (e.g., food) as well as of addictive drugs (27). Understanding the strength of this addictive mechanism helps to understand why people continue to eat despite the negative consequences of obesity. It has been established that obese individuals are leptin-resistant, but the role of leptin and ghrelin in the development or maintenance of obesity is still unclear (21, 31). Although physiological needs regulate “true” hunger, there are also psychological, emotional, psychosocial, and environmental factors that influence this complicated process.

Lustig’s (2006) biochemical model of obesity provides a clear application of the research on hormonal and biochemical influences to obesity prevention and intervention programs. His model illustrates how an obese individual’s hormonal signaling may inappropriately be triggering a hunger response. This process causes the body to store more energy as fat and to reduce energy expenditure while, at the same time, increasing appetite and biochemical motivations for overeating. Thus, a child may be gaining weight due to a biochemical imbalance that is causing him/her to experience hunger and sluggishness even though he/she is ingesting more calories than required (51).

Psychological and emotional factors that may predict or impact eating disorders are (a) varying levels of emotional awareness and regulation, (b) negative emotional states, (c) negative core beliefs and low self-efficacy, and (d) fundamental emotional dysfunction. Barchard et al. (2010) explain that emotional awareness is essential for an individual to have the ability to self-reflect and regulate emotional states. People with eating disorders may have difficulty identifying emotions and utilizing adaptive coping strategies to resolve negative feelings (31, 52). Without access to these coping strategies, some individuals use food as a solution to alleviate aversive emotional states. This often results in a learned behavior or conditioned response that over/under eating will soothe their problems or reduce negative affect (31, 52). The learned behavior may originate from childhood rewards consisting of food-related treats to encourage emotional regulation (19). This continued practice frequently breeds more disordered eating among adults later in life.

Likewise, negative self-beliefs play a causal role in both eating behaviors and depressed moods (48). The effects of low self-esteem in relation to body dissatisfaction and body disturbance have been extensively researched creating a reliable paradigm for accurately predicting disordered eating (20). Sim and Zeman (2006) consider body dissatisfaction as “normative discontent” because it is common among adolescent girls. Body dissatisfaction also appears to sustain a cyclic relationship with negative affect as it contributes to increased negative affect, and negative affect can contribute to increased feelings of body dissatisfaction (52).

There are numerous rudimentary elements that affect emotional states and well-being, which ultimately influence and can be used to predict eating disorders. Emotional dysfunction can encompass a multitude of feelings related to disordered eating such as anger, anxiety, depression, fear, loneliness, tiredness, sadness, and stress (7, 19, 36, 41, 52). Stress, specifically, can be quite influential to food intake. Stress is defined as the occurrence of an imbalance between demands (stressors) and coping resources (psychosocial resources) with the mediating factor of cognitive control in connection with“stress-eating” (57). Stress-induced eating typically occurs with a desire to escape from the negative emotion and can cause individuals to either engage in EE or restrictive eating (57). Other predisposing characteristics may include high levels of insecurity, submissive behaviors, social phobias, negative self-evaluation and low self-esteem, poor coping skills, neuroticism, maladaptive perfectionism, restrictive emotional expression, difficulty regulating intensity/duration of emotional states, internalization of behaviors, and/or ruminating thoughts about food items (7, 20, 23, 31). These personal variables interact with psychosocial and physiological variables to create a complex interaction of issues contributing to EE and BED.

Eating Disorders among Athletes

Multiple studies show that athletes report a higher incidence of eating disorders than comparable non-athlete populations (8, 15, 25, 28). Even among athletes with subclinical symptoms, there exists an increased risk of disordered attitudes or behaviors related to dietary practices. Sundgot-Borgenand Torstveit (2004) estimated that 13.5% of Norwegian elite athletes demonstrated clinical or subclinical eating disorders compared to only 4.6% of control groups. While rates of disordered eating are generally higher among females (16, 26), male athletes also exhibit risky eating behaviors related to body image (47). Furthermore, the type of competition is known to correlate with increased risk of eating disorders. Athletes in appearance-based sports such as gymnastics, figure skating, and diving, as well as weight-sensitive sports such as wrestling, jumping events, and endurance running have long been the focus of prevention and intervention efforts because of their demonstrated risk of disordered eating (12, 17, 55). More specifically, prevalence of eating disorders among sport types differs for males and females. Males participating in jumping sports and females in aesthetic sports have higher prevalence of eating disorders than other types of sport participation (55). Multiple influential factors have been linked to increased risk of eating disorders among athletes. Important risk factors include social pressures to adhere to the ideal body, perceived norm of sport body appearance, and perceived performance gains from weight control (56). Considering the associated problems related to both physical (e.g., body mass impact, fatigue, insomnia) and mental health (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance abuse), disordered eating represents a significant health concern among athletes (43).

While much research has historically focused on eating disorders which result in low body mass (e.g., anorexia), more recent research on the high prevalence of overweight and obese athletes has revealed the need for more comprehensive approaches to disordered eating prevention. For example, the premium placed on size in American football often leads to unhealthy practices(e.g., anabolic steroid use, binge-eating) to increase size, with as many as 74% of college football players purposefully participating in regular binge-eating (3, 13, 16).

Increasing attention has been given to the weight-related health risks of professional football players in recent years (22). While binge eating increases the risk of health complications similar to those linked to obesity including hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease (43), there are other notable complications related to the increased size of football players. A recent study indicated that overweight, retired football players were more likely to suffer from decreased cognitive functioning and neurodegenerative disease than normal weight former players (58). While this study examined professional football players, the average size of football players has also increased at both the high school and college levels over the last several decades (40, 42, 45, 46). Given the assumption that binge-eating may be linked to increases in athletes’ size, the health risks may be even more significant. Because sport-related eating disorders often persist after sport participation has ceased, the importance of recognition, prevention, or early diagnosis and treatment of these conditions in essential (8).

Understanding Health Behavior Change

As explained in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), intention is not the exclusive determinant of behavior, meaning that perceived behavioral control includes factors outside of the individual’s control that can affect both intention and behavior (31, 51). TPB supports the belief that psychosocial,environmental, and intrapersonal factors also influence disordered eating. The three overarching factors recognized by researchers are (a) food advertising,(b) sociocultural pressures, and (c) relational variables (20, 31). Kemp et al. (2011) suggest that exposure to food advertising heavily influences unhealthy food consumption and tendencies to overeat and snack, possibly serving as an external trigger to activate hedonic desires for food.

Sociocultural pressures include a variety of social norms (i.e., beliefs about a behavior that reflect the perceived social pressure to perform or not perform a behavior) such as the high value placed on a thin female body, the overall encouragement to eat more, and unfavorable social comparisons (20, 23, 31). Research indicates the drive to be thin among girls and women produces a negative emotional response and body dissatisfaction because of the feelings of failure to live up to perceptions of what is considered the ideal of beauty (20, 52). Markedly, many people who engage in EE have learned the behavior overtime and may be socially facilitated by family and friends who exhibit similar behaviors (31). The severity of eating disorders can be measured on a continuum and take into account all of the influential factors.

Diagnostic Statistical Manual-V (DSM-V) updates

To update older versions of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM), the American Psychiatric Association (APA) suggested that BED be included in the DSM-V because of several reliable predictive factors such as family history and its comorbid associations with mood disorders (1). In the DSM-V, BED is marked by recurrent episodes of binge eating and is characterized by both of the following:

1) eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances, and 2) a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating). The binge eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following: 1) eating much more rapidly than normal, 2) eating until feeling uncomfortably full, 3) eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry, 4) eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating, 5) feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterwards. Marked distress regarding binge eating is also present. Additionally, the behavior occurs, on average, at least once a week for three months.

Binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behavior such as purging and does not occur exclusively during the course of anorexia, bulimia, or restrictive food intake disorder.

Treatment options

Mindfulness has been described as an intentional, nonjudgmental awareness of one’s present-moment thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions as they occur and fade away in an ongoing stream, without being swept away in preconceived expectations (5, 29, 30). Research evaluating mindfulness-based therapy has begun to proliferate in the health literature (32) and has demonstrated effectiveness in treating a variety of health concerns including addictive disorders (54), and emotional disorders due to HIV/AIDS (53). Several mindfulness-based therapies are commonly found in clinical and counseling psychology literature. Among these are dialectical behavior therapy (DBT; 37,38), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; 24), mindfulness-based eating awareness training (MB-EAT; 35), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT; 49). Researchers (6, 35) have found MBCT and MB-EAT to be effective in the treatment of eating disorders. MBCT and MB-EAT programs frequently consist of 8-10 sessions. The initial sessions serve to introduce the basic tenets of mindfulness, while subsequent sessions help participants address the thoughts (and feelings) associated with food and eating through mindful eating. Binge triggers, hunger cues, and taste and stomach satiety are identified. Participants, then, learn how to use mindful eating to reduce the frequency and severity of unhealthy eating episodes (e.g., binge eating).

The presence and influence of coaches (and, frequently, sport psychology consultants) in many sport environments, makes them well positioned to identify patterns or evidence of disordered eating among athletes. Furthermore, mindfulness-based approaches to athletic performance enhancement (e.g., 9, 18) are being increasingly adopted by coaches and sport psychology consultants. These interventions may provide an existing infrastructure and understanding in which other concerns such as EE and BED may be more readily addressed through MBCT and MB-EAT. The close relationship between the affected athlete and coach may allow the coach to be more aware of difficulties the athlete may be experiencing. Furthermore, MBCT and MB-EAT interventions may be enhanced and reinforced on a more regular basis, too, by including coaches in the training. Sport psychology consultants should be made aware that mindfulness-based interventions can serve much broader purposes than performance enhancement (4) and should at least be made aware of existing modalities (e.g., MBCT, MB-EAT) for such purposes.

A variety of treatment options have been associated with positive outcomes regarding eating disorders. Mental health interventions that increase emotional awareness are highly beneficial for emotional eaters, and because binge eating disorder and addictive disorders possess a number of overlapping symptoms, treatments that are successful in treating addictive disorders are also typically considered beneficial in treating binge eating (7, 10). Other assumptions for treating eating disorders include (a) education alone will not be sufficient; (b) goal orientation and coaching to better manage emotions and resist overeating temptations may positively impact behaviors; (c) engaging in stress management techniques (like meditation or relaxation) may help regulate emotions; and (d) parenting skills may help to model positive behavior for children, as explained by the social learning theory (31).

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is still considered the treatment of choice for binge eating and is successful in reducing binging behaviors and improving psychosocial functioning (14). CBT in self-help programs and group settings provide positive outcomes, not only for BED, but also in treating depressive disorders, maladaptive body image, and social self-esteem by addressing negative self-beliefs and teaching effective coping strategies (14, 48, 50).

More recent advances in the treatment of eating disorders use the practice of motivational interviewing (MI), a client-centered directive method for enhancing intrinsic motivation for change (10, 14). MI is effective in treating substance use, diet, exercise, and other lifestyle behaviors including eating disorders, and is as effective as CBT in reducing the frequency of binge eating (10, 14). MI encourages reflection on the behavior and resolution of ambivalence towards changing the behavior Moreover, MI introduces/considers the idea of change, and may increase self-esteem, self-efficacy, and motivation for change, while decreasing depressive symptoms (10).

The positive psychological principles of MI can also be used by practitioners along with other therapeutic approaches and positive strategies when working with clients. Clinician behaviors may significantly influence a client’s motivation for change. Therefore, a strategic model could be integrated to help improve existing therapeutic practices. When working with clients who struggle with EE or BED, practitioners can use the following MI strategies to guide treatment/counseling sessions. First, express acceptance towards the client and maintain an empathetic manner. Also, affirm the client’s freedom of choice and self-direction. Elicit both the client’s concerns about the behavior as well as ideas for healthier alternative behaviors. Change talk should also be elicited from the client. Next, explore the client’s ambivalence towards changing the behavior while assessing their confidence and readiness for change (10, 14). It is also advisable to discuss the various stages of change (i.e., transtheoretical model) and assess the client’s current stage while eliciting self-motivational statements. These statements may then be reframed to amplify motivation and self-efficacy. Proceed by exploring the client’s values and encourage a written decisional balance of the pros and cons for changing the behavior. Strive to practice active listening with the client and work collaboratively on a change plan in which the client is vested. Similar treatment models for composure and coping may also be helpful in treating clients with eating pathologies.

Ultimately, there are numerous physiological, intrapersonal (i.e., cognitive and affective), interpersonal (i.e., relational), and psychosocial (i.e., environmental and sociocultural) factors that influence behaviors associated with disordered emotional and binge eating. Similarly, there are also a range of therapies and treatments that can be used to positively affect the frequency and severity of these behaviors. Practitioners should stay abreast of this literature as treatment protocols continue to expand and become further refined and more efficacious.

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2015-01-31T01:09:00-06:00May 8th, 2013|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Understanding Emotional and Binge Eating: From Sports Training to Tailgating

Student-Athlete Participation in Intercollegiate Athletic Decision-Making: Inclusion through Different Domains of Governance

 

ABSTRACT

This investigation focused on literature related to student-athlete involvement and input in intercollegiate athletic governance.  The aim was to develop support for understanding and justifying differences in the level of involvement a student-athlete may have when considering multiple areas of governance. Results revealed that the various claims for and against student involvement should not been seen as mutually exclusive when seeking to understand and justify formal student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making.  Rather, together they provide a complex lens for analyzing and changing the contributions of student-athletes in different domains of intercollegiate athletic governance.  Athletic administrators and other stakeholders should consider each domain and incorporate student-athletes into their governance process appropriately.

INTRODUCTION

The economic activity produced from consumer interests in intercollegiate athletic contests in America is profound. Schnaars, C., Upton, J., Mosemak, J, & DeRamus, K. (2012) report published in USA Today identified the largest intercollegiate athletic budget for a single institution surpassed 150 million in 2011. Currently, CBS network and Time Warner are paying over 10.8 billion for rights to broadcast the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament through the year 2024 (Kramer, 2010). As the financial stakes increase within intercollegiate sport, the NCAA and individual institutions continue to create bylaws and policies which will undoubtedly impact a student-athletes experience in higher education.

Because of the power that athletic departments exert on campuses and within their surrounding communities, there is potential for concern by individuals associated with intercollegiate athletics and the way in which the programs operate.  The purpose of this paper is to focus on those persons for whom the universities, corporate entities, the NCAA and sports networks are indebted to for providing entertainment to fans since the first documented intercollegiate athletic event in 1827. Beginning in the early 20th century, the NCAA and other stakeholders have continued to deny student-athletes a voice or place in the governance of college sports in the United States (Branch, 2011).  This investigation will focus on literature related to student-athlete involvement and input in intercollegiate athletic governance.  Moreover, the aim is to develop support for understanding and justifying differences in the level of involvement a student-athlete may have when considering multiple areas of governance.

Initially, the researcher will provide a brief introduction into the historical origins of student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic governance and then present an integrative review and discussion of the literature, with specific focus on the various reasons for and against student involvement in athletic decision-making.  In order to elaborate on this point, one must realize that different perceptions of student-athletes may represent a justification into certain perceptions of existing power holders; (1) student-athletes can be viewed as stakeholders (2) student-athletes can be viwed as consumers, and (3) student-athletes can be viewed as members of the athletic community. The argument will be made that different perceptions of student-athletes and related claims regarding their involvement in intercollegiate athletics do not have to be treated as mutually exclusive.  Instead, researchers, university administrators, corporate sponsors, and athletic personnel should envision through an intricate lens the nature and extent of student-athlete involvement in different domains of intercollegiate athletic governance.

For instance, the notion of a student-athlete as an athletic community member applies more readily to matters of the CHAMPS/Lifeskills program, while claims arguing they are consumers of higher education gain prominence in academic support services. The final portion of the article reveals that student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic governance can be included in different areas of athletic governance (i.e., academic affairs, policy, finance), thus providing a new lens for understanding and/or justifying an increased involvement of student-athletes in intercollegiate athletic decision-making.

Historical View of Student Athlete Involvement in Governance
The student role in governance of sport can be traced historically to the birth of Oxford in 1167 (Smith, 1988). Here, the organizational nature and governance reflected the elite status of the study body.  Sport participation was valued and organized by the affluent. Sports such as boating, cricket, horse racing, hunting, and tennis were all popular as institutions continued to develop well into the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.  According to Smith (1988) these sporting events were rarely well-organized and often drew the scorn of university officials. The governance of these early college sporting events resembled Bologna University and their “student university” model where students would organize in a group and control the curriculum and organization of their studies.  However, the difference between Bologna and organized sport was the intention to participate in sport activities rather than scholarship.

A combination of the ease of access to participants within the university and the authority to govern sporting events made way for increased growth and interest in athletic competition.  Student leaders of sporting events were able to name the time, place, stakes, and rules of the contest (Smith, 1988). For this reason, the enthusiasm generated from early competitions in Europe eventually made their way across the pond to both Yale and Harvard.  By the 1840’s Yale and Harvard had established bona fide rowing clubs, the first organized sports clubs in American colleges (Lewis, 1970; Smith, 1988).

Much like their English counterparts, the American college students were the leaders of the intercollegiate athletic movement. As early as the 1780’s participation in horse races, betting on cock-fights, and hunting of wild game were known to exist between students at the College of William and Mary (Smith, 1988). The student culture of the American college was organized with athletic teams and clubs that were beyond the control of university presidents, deans, and faculty (Smith, 1988; Miller, 1987; Watterson, 1988; Thelin, 1996). However, as spectators and interests in sporting events continued, the dominance of students and marginalization of faculty, alumni, and collegiate leaders in sporting decisions began to decline (Smith, 1988). For example: Horse racing and betting at the College of William and Mary was so strong and so much at cross purposes with the goals of the institution that college officials banned students from keeping horses, making races, or betting on those made by others (p. 9).

Later, college presidents within national magazines began to influence the public view of college football through emotive inscriptions of the injuries and abuses of the game (Thelin, 1996). In 1904, it was documented that 20 players were killed during intercollegiate football games (Sack & Staurowsky, 1998). The public outcry over the violence and the addition of Theodore Roosevelt’s concern provoked the first successful of many previously attempted reform efforts (e.g., 1898 Brown University Conference, 1892 Charles Eliot Institutional Control Effort, 1884 Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletics of America).  In 1905, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States formed (IAAUS).  It was not until five years later that this group adopted its current name the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

As important as the creation of the NCAA was to the development of specific sporting rules, the ability to actually govern and gain administrative control of the structure and fiscal portions was not obtained until the 1930’s (Lawrence, 1987).  Prior to this many alumni, athletic directors, and coaches had attempted to garner much of the administrative power from the student body (Thelin, 1996).  An example can be found in 1909 within Yale’s Athletic Association (YAA) which was run by students and alumni: Undergraduate Robert Moses sought to break Walter Camp’s hegemony by creating the Yale Minor Sports Association—an effort that at first bemused, then angered, Camp. To thwart the renegade student movement headed by Moses, Camp called in chips owed to him by campus administrators; the dean of the college tried unsuccessfully to dissuade Moses from his new endeavor (p. 20).

Over the decades, however, continued struggles for power existed.  The commercialized nature of intercollegiate sport had become too profitable for the NCAA, universities, and corporate entities to allow the student body to remain in control.  The addition of academic eligibility, amateurism, and competition rules by the NCAA expanded the lack of student involvement in athletic governance (Thelin, 1996).  Subsequently, much like history of higher education, where the pre-modern experience of the student university in Bologna gradually faded into distant memory with the adoption of the Parisian model, the pre-modern student athletic organizations faded into distant memory with the adoption of the NCAA and its increased membership (Perkin, 2006).

Since the decrease in student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic governance, five significant national studies have been published: (1) the 1929 Carnegie Foundation Study; (2) the 1952 Presidents’ Report for the American Council on Education; (3) George Hanford’s 1974 study for the American Council on Education; and (4) the 1991 Knight Foundation Commission Study (5) 2007 Knight Foundation Commission Study (Thelin, 1996, Knorr, 2004).  Occurring in different decades, each study focused on a specific issue related to intercollegiate athletics. Most important in regards to student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate governance was the 1929 Carnegie Foundation Study which called for restoration of student control (Savage, 1953). Specific issues within the other remaining studies included low graduation rates, lowering of academic entrance requirements for athletes; uncontrolled spending for facilities, escalating compensation for coaches, the manipulation of schedules to accommodate television, and the big-business element continues to drive athletic departments to acquire corporate sponsorships (Knorr, 2004).  Telander (1989) may have been most accurate when he explained that coaches are concerned with winning, athletic directors are concerned with generating revenue, and presidents are concerned with the prestige of the institution. The lack of mention or emphasis on student-athlete development or involvement in governance seems to have been disregarded and besieged by the concern and growth of commercialism.

NCAA and Student Involvement
Prior to the 1980’s the NCAA governed only male sports (Crowley, Joseph, Pickle, & Clarkson, 2006).  The NCAA differed from The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), which was at one time the largest governing organization for intercollegiate athletics in the United States, because the AIAW included student-athletes in its governance process from its inception (Willey, 1996).  Student-athletes were able to serve on committees which were recognized at both the national and regional levels. Voting status concerning competition, eligibility, and financial aid was granted to student-athletes. In addition, student-athletes were allowed to serve on appeal committees to review student-athletes complaints or issues (Hendricks, 2011). In order to stay competitive, the AIAW moved away from these ideals, and, by its demise in 1982, appeared to be strikingly similar to the commercial professional model of the men (Smith, 2010).

Given the lack of regard for student involvement in the reform studies and the collapse of the AIAW; it is not surprising that it was not until eight decades after its inception that the NCAA adopted the first formal inclusion of student-athletes into their governance structure with the association wide formation of the Student Athletic Advisory Committees (SAAC) (Hendricks, 2011). Prior to the SAAC, areas such as academic eligibility, amateurism, health and safety and competition rules had been the regulation purview of the NCAA (Braziel, 1997). The SAAC was formed to review and offer student-athlete input of NCAA activities and legislation.  Its purpose is to ensure that the student-athlete voice was accounted for at all NCAA member institutions (NCAA, 2012).

Eventually the idea of allowing student-athlete representation at the national level led to the creation of SAAC at each NCAA division institution. This suggests that the NCAA recognizes that student-athletes deserve a voice in intercollegiate athletics. However, the limited power of the SAAC is obvious.  In 1995, the National SAAC expressed concern over a proposal set forth by the Oversight Committee of the NCAA Membership Structure (Braziel, 1997). Under the new restructuring model, the NCAA adopted a new voting system. The proposed plan was designed to increase university accountability and simplify the governing process.  However, the SAAC argued that the change destroyed the already restricted voice student-athletes had in the governing process.  Today, the national SAAC consists of 80 members serving on the national Division I, II and III committees (NCAA, 2012). The committee continues to push for an increase in student-athlete involvement as described in a letter written during the late 2000’s by the chair of the Division-I national SAAC (Piscetelli, 2006).

Over the course of history, there has been considerable variability regarding student involvement and input in intercollegiate athletic decision-making. From the early 1700’s when students exercised complete autonomy in regards to sporting events; to the failed reform attempts by administrators, alumni, and faculty during the 19th century; to the development of the NCAA; to the Carnegie Report of 1929 calling for presidents and alumni to return power to the student body; to our current day model with the SAAC.
This historical overview can be used as a source for understanding variations in student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making.  The literature provides no secure grounds on which to establish a reason or justification for student-athlete inclusion in intercollegiate athletic governance. In the following sections, the paper therefore considers different reason for and against student athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic governance articulated from a variety of perspectives.

METHODOLOGY

According to Mouton (2001), philosophical analysis is concerned with ‘questions of meaning, explanation, and understanding and such studies are typically aimed at analyzing arguments in favor of or against a particular position. The core of this paper is based on an extensive review of scholarly books and publications via searches of academic literature.  Multiple searches and search strategies were employed addressing the question of student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making.  This includes searches through; university libraries, database searches included ERIC, Academic Search Premier, and Google Scholar.  Keywords included student-athlete governance, student-athlete participation, student-athlete involvement, student-athlete protests, and student-athlete government. The various searches provided a plethora of resources covering over fifty years of scholarship.

The final selection of sources was driven by theoretical considerations and the aim of the study, whereby only a fraction of the original sources could be utilized.  Preference was given to peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in books that showcase the debate within the intercollegiate athletic community and directly engage with the question; how student athlete involvement in athletic department decision-making may be justified? The result is a historical-philosophical analysis and discussion of key arguments for and against the involvement of student-athletes in intercollegiate athletic decision making.

Reasons for and against student-athlete involvement in university decision-making will be articulated from a variety of perspectives: (1) student-athletes as stakeholders (2) students-athletes as consumers; (3) student-athletes as members of a community.  This section discusses the various ways in which the case for the formal inclusion of student-athletes in intercollegiate athletic decision-making has been made in the literature.

RESULTS

The power of student-athletes as a political member has been illustrated most recently in the extensive pressures provided through a non-NCAA sponsored organization known as the National College Players Association (NCPA).  The NCPA has been on the front line fighting for student-athlete concerns ranging from: increases in scholarships monies, holding universities responsible for player’s sport-related medical expenses, increased graduation rates, protected educational opportunities for student athletes in good academic standing, elimination of restrictions on legitimate employment, and modification to current transfer rules (NCPA, 2012).  Over the course of 3 years, the NCPA has expanded to include over 15,000 members consisting of both current and former NCAA student-athletes (NCPA, 2012)

The NCPA has successfully collaborated with other external organization (i.e., Knight Commission, Coalition of Intercollegiate Athletics) to pressure the NCAA and its constituents into making reforms by publishing research and exposing issues to media outlets such as CBS, 60 minutes, ESPN, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and numerous radio programs (NCPA, 2012).  More recently, the organization collected over 300 Division I football and basketball student-athlete signatures petitioning for a share in NCAA revenues (Zagier, 2011).  While the NCPA continues to support the student-athlete, historical accounts of student-athletes on campus advocating for increased involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making has been masked and needs to be revealed.

One of the first documented organized efforts by student-athletes to battle big-time college athletics occurred in the mid 1930’s. The lack of jobs for players, healthy food, and insufficient medical goods influenced the Howard University Bison’s to boycott participation in football games (Fram & Frampton, 2012). In 1937, the University of Pittsburgh undefeated football season resulted in uncertainty and unrest between players and the university (Oriard, 2001).  In this instance, the players organized and demanded compensation of $200 dollars for their participation in the season culminating Rose Bowl. The university disagreed to the terms resulting in players increasing their demands of the institution the following season.  The players believed they should be provided four-year athletic scholarships, accommodations for missed classes, and collective bargaining rights (Fram & Frampton, 2012).

Fast forwarding to the 1992-93 academic year, unified student-athletes at University of Oklahoma demonstrated their power to facilitate change by refusing to practice (Blum, 1993). The collective strategy required the coaches to cancel practice and provide the players a platform to vocalize their dissatisfaction with the team and its coaching staff.   Furthermore, a similar event occurred at Morgan State where school officials canceled the last scheduled football game because they feared that the team would stage a half-time protest to show its disgust of the head coach. In this instance, the team demanded the removal of the head coach, whom they accused of being verbally and physically abusive (Blum, 1993).  The issue was resolved with the firing of the head coach.

A more recent event occurred at University of California, Davis in 2010 where student-athletes silently marched into the institutions gymnasium in order to protest the possible elimination of funding for certain sports teams.  The silent sit-in protest included the gathering of signatures and occupying of the first floor lobby where the Office of Student Affairs was located (Tsan, 2010).  The petition was presented to the Chancellor with hopes to influence the administrations decision. The results were not in favor of the student-athlete when they received news that four of the 27 university sports teams would be cut.  However, a positive of the outcome was those student-athletes who were provided grant-in-aid were still able to receive funding for their remaining years at the institution.

These examples illustrate that student-athletes are cognizant of the potential for collective action on and off the playing fields. Although their efforts have been confined primarily to athletic issues, the precedent for successful collective action has been shown to include a variety of student-athlete concerns. Therefore, the political argument for student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making exists.

The political argument is centered on the idea that student-athletes are internal stakeholders (i.e., politically significant constituents of intercollegiate athletics).  “Stakeholders are persons or groups that have or claim, ownership, rights, or interests in a business and its activities, past, present, or future (Clarkson, 1995, p 106).”  According to Harrison & Freeman, (1999) addressing the perspective of various stakeholders is socially responsible organizational behavior. Therefore, with democratic governance by stakeholders being commonplace in universities (Morrow, 1998), it remains troubling to think that the NCAA seems to have adopted a more monolithic approach. The NCAA’s influences along with other stakeholders (i.e., sports networks, faculty, corporations, and conference commissioners) have continued to deny student-athletes a legitimate place at the table.  Those stakeholders who currently have a voice must recognize that the athletic culture is composed of competing, internal stakeholders, all of which must be heard and accommodated (Boland, 2005).

Additional research was completed by Thompson (1972) analyzing the political functions and consequences of formally including the general student population into university governance. Thompson (1972) found that when general students are incorporated into the governance process as stakeholders, they are quickly exposed to the complexity of issues, the recognition of the consequences of decisions, and the development of personal commitments.  Consequently, loyalties develop through the inclusion of the governed and in return major impulses are deflated (i.e., student athlete protests or revolts will not occur).

As a result, formal student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making would provide, on the one hand, an alternative to tactics of coercion through organizations like the NCPA and future disruption or protests by student-athletes.   On the other hand, the inclusions might also moderate the partisan views of other member of the intercollegiate athletic community and thus create less adversarial relationships between the current intercollegiate athletic powers.

Student-Athletes as Consumers
As opposed to the political argument for the involvement of all stakeholders through democratic governance, an additional argument for student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making can be made with reference to the role and function of student-athletes as consumers of higher education. This case involves different viewpoints of student-athletes as well as intercollegiate athletic departments.  The student-athlete is viewed as a consumer of higher education, whereas, the athletic department and university are viewed as a service provider in a contractual relationship with the student-athlete.  As the service provider makes decisions, the student-athletes experience the consequences.  For that reason, it seems the student athletes should be provided the right to partake in decision-making.

However, student athletes are a diverse group and diversity can be both a strength and weakness to the consumer argument.  Besides gender, student-athletes are diverse economically, racially, socially, and geographically.  These differences can create distinct issues for the internal structure and goals of student-athlete involvement in governance. For example, what do student-athletes desire from the NCAA and athletic departments?  Student-athletes in revenue-producing sports may want increased profit or revenue sharing.  Student-athletes in nonrevenue-producing sports may want increased scholarships.  Women athletics may want equal funding. The diverse individual interests of student-athletes could potentially destroy the consumer argument because the variety of goals associated with the consumer.

Therefore, it is critical that student-athletes in terms of political influence determine at least one common goal in their involvement in governance. As consumers, it seems education would be the most appropriate choice because it remains a commonality among the student-athlete population.

Student Athletes as Members of the Athletic Community
An additional argument first explored by Wolff (1969) argues general student participation in decision making can be justified by virtue of students being members of a community. Without a doubt, the notion of students as full members of the academic community still carries currency in studies that seek to make a case for general student rights to involvement in university decision making (Bergan, 2004; Lizzio, A. & Wilson, K, 2009).  According to Wolff (1969) ‘a community of persons united by collective understandings, by common goals, by bonds of reciprocal obligation, and by a flow of sentiment makes the preservation of the community an object of desire, not merely a matter of prudence.’ This communitarian view of the university can be easily transferred to a communitarian view of intercollegiate athletic departments. Consequently, an argument for inclusion of student-athletes involvement in athletic decision-making through the community domain exists.

However, an argument may exist against student-athletes as full members of an athletic department’s community.  One could argue that student-athletes by definition and in practice are only temporary members of this community, whose commitment to intercollegiate athletics mission may be diminutive. Thus, students are not likely to be personally affected when decisions they have been partial to actually take effect since they will have left campus by then (Zuo and Ratsoy, 1999). Others could point out that characteristically intercollegiate athletic departments are not democratic communities but rather are structured in a fairly rigid professional hierarchy of athletic expertise and seniority.  Therefore, student-athletes are at best, novices and junior members of the intercollegiate athletic community.

Is it appropriate for student-athletes to claims to having an equal voice and equal authority in intercollegiate athletic governance or should their voice be tempered in view of their limited knowledge and experience?  Many of the stakeholders today would argue the student-athletes authority should be weighed against the competencies of other groups within the intercollegiate athletics community; in particular, those of the faculty, coaches, administrators, and corporate entities.  Therefore, the argument is that authority should reside with the credentialed rather than the less expert.  However, Thompson (1972) argues that the involvement by all major groups in governing the university has important benefits, such as a better quality of decisions. In the case of students-athletes, the potential educational benefit of participating in decision-making of intercollegiate athletics should be seen as a means to pursue the educational purposes of the university.

The argument for formal student involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making as a means to instill democratic norms and values in students as future citizens carries a strong message.  Active citizenship is one of a number of potentially positive consequences of student inclusion.  Thompson (1972) notes that by widening the circle of participants in decision-making to include others (i.e., student-athletes), the results may reveal positive educational effects in different respects. Student-athlete involvement is not only for the benefit of the student athletes themselves, but it is also likely to improve the quality of decisions and acceptance of decisions. In these regards, the inclusion of students in intercollegiate decision-making contributes to the pursuit of the institutions and the NCAA mission.

DISCUSSION AND APPLICATION

The historical-philosophical debate analyzed in the previous section shows that the meaning and justification of student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making can be understood with reference to different views of the student-athlete.  These different conceptions provide a means for understanding the nature and extent of student-athlete involvement in different contexts and domains of intercollegiate athletic decision-making. When considering formal student-athlete involvement in the various domains of intercollegiate athletic governance student athletes as stakeholders, consumers, and members of the athletic community claims come to play in various combinations.

Governance of Policy
The involvement of students in intercollegiate athletic decisions dealing with policy involves considerations of students’ expertise both as low-ranking members of the athletic community and users of athletic department and institutional services.  The nature and extent of student-athlete involvement will vary with regard to the setting (academic policy, team policy, department policy, and NCAA policy).  Additionally, the nature of the issues under considerations must be evaluated (e.g., staffing, marketing, compliance, academic affairs).

Governance of Academic and Student Affairs
Extra-curricular involvement in intercollegiate athletics dealing with matters of the Champs/Lifeskills programs, fundraisers, and so forth, offers extensive opportunity for student involvement in decision-making.  Here students are clearly the most interested and affected members of the community; as users of services and facilities for student development, their lived experience offers invaluable expertise in decision-making.  Moreover, as student athletes they have certain rights and responsibilities associated with governing their own lives.  Students acceptance of and support for decisions taken in this domain of governance is particularly crucial and students collective power to demand or reject certain decisions must be seriously taken into account.

Governance of Finance and Planning
A complex combination of different reasons for and against formal student involvement comes into play when considering the nature and extent of student-athlete involvement in  financial decision making. In certain contexts, student-athletes may have been able to carve a niche historically as a political constituency that needs to be consulted and formally involved.  Student-athlete involvement in this domain may engross the recognition of certain participatory rights of students as adults and citizens. However, the increasingly dominant view of student athletes as transient users and consumers indicates that such high-level participation can be only marginal. An example of one scenario where student-athletes may successfully lobby for a seat at the decision-making table would be an issue such as social media monitoring or banning for student-athletes.

CONCLUSION

This illustrative application of different claims and related views of student-athletes proves that they are not exclusive to a specific domain of governance.  Rather, the goal was to provide in combination a heuristic lens for considering student-athlete involvement.  The researcher has outlined the history of student-athlete involvement in university governance and analyzed multiple arguments for and against formal student-athlete involvement.  The task involved a review of the literature and has yielded reasons for and against the consideration of increased student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making. It has been argued that the various claims for and against student involvement, and related perceptions of students, should not been seen as mutually exclusive when seeking to understand and justify formal student-athlete involvement in intercollegiate athletic decision-making. Athletic administrators, faculty, and other current stakeholders should consider each domain and incorporate student-athletes into their governance process appropriately.

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2013-11-22T22:33:55-06:00April 2nd, 2013|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Student-Athlete Participation in Intercollegiate Athletic Decision-Making: Inclusion through Different Domains of Governance
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