1. 1
SPORT AND THE
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN
THE
21st CENTURY
4th
Year
[PHYSICAL EDUCATION]
Enjoy watching sport and just do physical activity a life style

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SPORT AND THE PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY IN THE 21S T CENTURY
INDEX:
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................ 3
2. CONCEPT OF SPORT....................................................................................................................................... 3
3. THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING SPORT IN OUR SOCIETY.................... 4
4. SOCIETY SPORT................................................................................................................................................. 4
4.1. THE SPORTS PRACTICE...................................................................................................................... 5
4.1.1 SPORTS PRACTICE IN SPAIN.......................................................................................................... 5
4.2. THE PRESENCE OF SPORT IN SHOOLS.................................................................................... 5
4.2.1. SPORT FOR ALL................................................................................................................................... 6
4.2.2. THE OFFER AND THE SPORTCONCEPTIONS.................................................................. 6
5. INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND APPEARING OF NEW WAYS OF ORGANIZATION . 6
5.1. SOME INSTITUTIONS THAT REGULATE SPORT ................................................................ 7
5.1.1. AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL.......................................................................................... 7
5.1.2. AT A NATIONAL LEVEL............................................................................................................. 7
5.1.3. AT AN AUTONOMOUS LEVEL ............................................................................................... 8
6. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AFFILLIATED AND THE POPULAR SPORT. 8

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1. INTRODUCTION
Sport is one of the most important phenomena
happened in the last 100 years. It’s an activity
with plenty of advantages: physical, mental,
educative and social. But, on the other hand, a
misuse of sport can cause problems, interests
and conflicts. We must create a critical
opinion, so:
 How is sport nowadays?
 Which are its characteristics?
 Which are the most important expressions?
 Which are its values?
2. CONCEPT OF SPORT
The concept includes many different activities, carried out in different fields
and with many different goals. It is complicated to get a single definition of
sport but there are common features among the different sport activities:
Driving situation, there are mates and opponents that try to cooperate or
make more difficult my actions.
Game, free participation to have fun.
Competition, a desire for self-improvement.
Rules, they must exist to define the characteristics of the activity.
Institutionalization, an institution must state the development and the
regulations of the game.
Therefore, we aren´t going to look
for a unique and true definition of sport
because there isn´t only one. The common
features stated above have to do with
individual and collective behaviours which
human beings have always had.

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This is the definition of sport that we can find in the European Letter of
Sport:
Any kind of physical activity that by means of an organized
participation or not, has as an aim the expression or improvement of
the mental or physical condition, the development of the social
relationships or the obtaining of scores in every competition.
3. THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING SPORT
IN OUR SOCIETY
We can say that sport is a social phenomenon, everybody plays sport, it’s
fashionable, and we can see it on the media, on advertisement…
On the one hand, we consider sport as a mass
spectacle where great amounts of money are moved.
On the other hand, another social reality is
developed and this is also sport, a big percentage of the
world population practices it in an anonymous way, people who work in a club
or for a sport association, millions of students who play at school, the disabled
or the old age people…
So important is sport that our governments pass laws regulating its practice
in every field (political, educational or economic measures) to foster the
physical activity.
However, we ask ourselves some questions,
Is really our society a sport society?
Is good sport for society?
Which factors can harm sport as a social good?
4. SOCIETY SPORT
The physical activity started as an inborn behavior to the human beings related to
physiological or psychological needs. Its development and evolution as sport, the
recently created games, the complexity of rules, the need of organization and above
all its presence in society cause its institutionalization.
In other words, sport went from more or less free activities to perfectly regulated
situations controlled by official bodies: clubs, sports associations, federations….
At the same time, the competitive aspect became the main aspect for those who
practice as sport and for those who watch it. Therefore, competitivity will be one
of the characteristics of the 21st society.

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That competitivity is a dominant value in our contemporary society as well as the
performance and the result.
‘the sports behaviours are due to cultural phenomena and to customs of
the community they belong to’
4.1. THE SPORTS PRACTICE
For a long time, in Spain there were a greater
number of spectators watching a sport than the number
of people who practiced it.
This tendency has changed in the last decades. Great
clubs have seen how the number of spectators has been
reduced. That’s the reason why they have resorted to
advertising, television and sports marketing.
On the contrary, our towns and cities filled with a greater number of people
who do sport. The sports facilities have increased dramatically, also the number
of professionals devoted to training and the sports teaching.
4.1.1 SPORTS PRACTICE IN SPAIN
AT A GENERAL LEVEL
Nearly 16 million of people over 14 do sport in
Spain.
EVOLUTION OF THE SPORTS PRACTICE IN
THE LAST 30 YEARS (1980-2010)
Population between 15 and 65, the practice has
increased in these years, it has gone from 25% to 45%
nowadays.
SPORTS PRACTICE DEPENDING ON GENDER
There is a 31% of women that do sport and the percentage of men is 49%.
REASONS TO PLAY SPORT
Nowadays the reasons have changed; we have the desire of adventure, the
need of having fun, the physical appearance or the human interaction.
4.2. THE PRESENCE OF SPORT IN SHOOLS
After many years, Physical Education
appears as a subject in schools in all levels: more
qualified teachers, more facilities and materials.
Students are constantly in contact with the physical
education.
Moreover, sport out of schools has been
fostered but we must go on growing to get a society
with habits of physical education to prevent

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cardiovascular illnesses, to improve our mind and to make us feel as member of a
group thanks to the sport practice. In this way, we will consider the importance of
our BODY in MOTION.
4.2.1. SPORT FOR ALL
For a long time the tracksuit and doing sport have been
associated with children and young people with higher social
classes or a high cultural level with the male sex…
Nowadays sport is within everybody's reach: children, older…..,
women. The economic or cultural level is not a problem to carry
out physical activities, everybody can do sport and everywhere
can be practiced.
4.2.2. THE OFFER AND THE SPORTCONCEPTIONS
Many activities and new sports have appeared, activities and sports that widen the
possibility of a sport practice for us.
Together with this, we find new conceptions such a sport in nature, adventure
sports, sport as a meeting point…
Currently, we should analyze the advantages and disadvantages of sport:
 Sport as physical and mental health.
 Popular sport or entertainment sport.
 Professional sport as spectacle sport.
 Sport at a high competitive level.
 Education sport.
5. INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND APPEARING OF NEW
WAYS OF ORGANIZATION
Governments have created institutions that make the organization of this
phenomenon easier. Besides, greater administrative, economic and political
resources go to improve its management.

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5.1. SOME INSTITUTIONS THAT REGULATE SPORT
5.1.1. AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
 IOC (International Olympic Committee)
 INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS
 ASSOCIATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTSMEN
They are the institutions that regulate the greatest competitions in our
society such as the Olympic Games, the World Cups of every sport and the
competitions of Clubs. It would be the professional sport devoted to earn millions of
euros.
All the international federations of the Olympic Games are included in the
International Committee.
In the mass sports there are ASSOCIATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL
SPORTSMEN in golf or tennis; the PGA in golf or the WTA in tennis for women.
5.1.2. AT A NATIONAL LEVEL
 SPORTS COUNCIL
 NATIONAL FEDERATIONS
 PROFESSIONAL LEAGUES
This sport depends directly on the government of each country and its
development depends on this Council which depends at the same time on the
Ministry of Education and Culture.
Each NATIONAL FEDERATION regulates the competitions in every sport
as well as its organization and promotion.
The sports with a higher number of licenses in Spain:
FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, HUNTING, GOLF, CLIMBING,
TENNIS, JUDO, HANDBALL, ATHLETICS, FISHING, KARATE,
OLYMPIC SHOOTING, CYCLING, VOLLEYBALL AND SWIMMING.
There are a total of 3,520,192 licenses.
In mass sports there are PROFESSIONAL LEAGUES where clubs gather to
organize their own competitions, in Spain, the Professional League of Football, the
most important competition of clubs in our country.
In other sports, these competitions depend directly on the national
Federations: FEB (Spanish Federation of Basketball) or the RFEA (the Spanish
Federation of Athletics) or the RFTET (the Spanish Federation of Tennis)

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5.1.3. AT AN AUTONOMOUS LEVEL
 THE REGIONAL EDUCATION MINISTRY
 TERRITORIAL FEDERATIONS
The different autonomous regions have authority in the promotion of sport and
physical activity.
1.1.1. AT A PROVINCIAL LEVEL
 COUNCILS (SPORTS SECTIONS)
 TERRITORIAL OFFICES
1.1.2. AT A LOCAL LEVEL
 SPORTS BOARDS
 SPORTS CLUBS
 POPULAR SPORT
And finally, the town halls promote the popular sport as a means of favoring health
of citizens.
6. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AFFILLIATED
AND THE POPULAR SPORT.
The structure of sport needs the regulation by governments for followers or
people who practice it, professionals or amateurs…
Most of the people who practice sport are not only passive spectators of the
great sport events. Normally, the person who does sport likes watching it.
At the same time the typical supporter of a club can do sport although
occasionally and this is something that happens more frequently nowadays.
Each person chooses depending on his own necessities,
motivations and interests.

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Summing up, to get the promotion of sport would be the main aim
of our society, the respect for our body, the importance of effort and enjoy
a spectacle make that sport is present in our society something difficult to
understand 100 years ago.
The sooner we start to do sport, the greater the tendency to do it
in an autonomous way during our life.
Therefore, practice sport, enjoy watching it and make of the
physical activity your lifestyle.