A Philosophical Consideration of Children's Participation in Elite Sport
RIGHTS AND WRONGS: A PHILOSOPHICAL CONSIDERATION OF CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN ELITE SPORT Gabriela Izabela Tymowski A thesis submitted to the University of Gloucestershire In accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Environment and Leisure Decem ber 2002 OXSTALLS LEARNING CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE Oxstalls Lane Gloucester GL2 9HW ;l Tel: 01242 715100 I Abstract The experiences of some children participating in the demanding and intensive world of elite sport appear to compromise one of the primary aims of both childhood and parenthood, which should be for children to arrive on the threshold of adulthood with their futures open and unlimited. A body of evidence in the medical and socio-psychologicalliterature contends that child athletes participating in elite sport are being harmed physically, psychologically, and socially by the intensive training and competition practices required of athletes in sports such as women's gymnastics, figure skating, and others. Participation by children in the highest levels of sport change attitudes and impels behaviours in ways that are unique in their extent and devastating in their consequences. As the varying and often conflicting agendas of athletes, parents, coaches, agents, and sporting bureaucracies come into conflict, considerations of care and regard for the athletes become down played or even ignored, resulting in these young athletes being harmed, and their futures compromised. Children are characterised by their vulnerability, naivety, and inability to formulate their own life-plans, necessitating a degree of parental paternalism in their relationships with adults. This paternalism is justified by the child's dependency on others for protection, and for developing the necessary skills for self-sufficiency and self-determination secured through their burgeoning autonomy as they advance towards adulthood.
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