Women's Participation in Sports: Obstacles and Facilitators

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2016 Women's Participation in Sports: Obstacles and Facilitators

Tiifu, Faizah

Tiifu, F. (2016). Women's Participation in Sports: Obstacles and Facilitators (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28721 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3221 master thesis

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Women’s Participation in Sports: Obstacles and Facilitators

Faizah Tiifu

A THESIS

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ANTHROPOLOGY

CALGARY, ALBERTA

AUGUST, 2016

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors participants identify to influence their participation in sport. This ethnographic study used three primary data collection methods: autoethnography, interviews, and participant observation. Two non-probability sampling methods- purposive sampling and snowball sampling methods were used to select participants for the study.

Seventy participants took part in the study: 25 participants were observed and 45 were interviewed.

To analyse the fieldnotes and transcripts, I used inductive coding methods including frequency count, ordering, sorting, and categorisation. The factors which influenced participation in sports belonged to two categories, facilitators and obstacles. The facilitators were: interpersonal factors, intrapersonal factors, policy and physician recommendations, and environmental factors. The obstacles were: financial issues, non-support and inadequate time. Results show that there were more facilitators than obstacles influencing women’s participation in sports.

Acknowledgements

I would like to use this opportunity to recognise contribution of some very important people towards my thesis. First and most importantly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Charles Mather for his support during my studies at the University of Calgary (U of C). Your guidance and support throughout my studies, and shared love for sports, has made my time at the U of C very memorable and truly meaningful. Your time, concern as well as effort invested in me, interest in my studies, constructive comments and feedback, and welcoming personality, all motivated me to write this thesis. I could not have had for a better supervisor. Words are not enough to say how much I appreciate everything you have done for me. I am eternally grateful to you. I would also like to thank my examining committee, namely, Dr. Naotaka Hayashi, and Dr. Gerry Oetelaar for their insight into my work, for their contribution of ideas, and for pointing out several directions for my work to extend to in the future. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Caesar Roland Apentiik, Dr. Mary Lao, Uncle Jima Santenye and Jason Probe for all your academic and moral support. This thesis, would not have been without the backing of the participants. These participants welcomed me with open arms and provided me with useful and valuable data on the factors influencing their participation in sports. A big thank you to all my participants. Finally I will like to thank my lovely and supportive family as well as my good friends in Ghana and Canada for your prayers and encouragement. You have always motivated and supported me in whatever I choose to do in my life.

iii

Dedication

To my family

Table of Contents

Abstract ...... ii Acknowledgements ...... iii Dedication ...... iiv Table of Contents ...... v List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………. ix List of Figures…………………………… …………………………………………………..…x List of Symbols, Abbreviations (Please refer to appendix A figure one for more details)……...... xi

CHAPTER ONE ...... 1 1.1 Introduction ...... 1 1.2 Research Question ...... 10 1.2.1 The Research Question ...... 10 1.3 My Personal Experience (I) ...... 11 1.4 Justification of Study ...... 12 1.5 Organisation of work ...... 13

CHAPTER TWO ...... 15 2.1 Introduction ...... 15 2.2 General Overview of the Anthropology of Sports ...... 15 2.2.1 Anthropologist and their Contributions to the Study of Sport ...... 17 2.2.2 The Body in Anthropology of Sport ...... 21 2.3 Sports Studies...... 22 2.4 Meaning of and Application Sports ...... 23 2.5 Literature on Anthropology of Sports and Sports Studies ...... 30 2.5.1 Ethnographic Background ...... 30 2.5.2 Participation ...... 31 2.5.3 Habitus………………………………………………………………………………………33 2.5.3.1 Socio-Cultural Studies of the Body ...... 34 2.5.4 Nationalisation ...... 35 2.5.5 Globalisation ...... 39 2.5.6 Feminism ...... 42 2.5.7 Volleyball ...... 43 2.5.8 Autoethnography ...... 45 2.6 Conclusion ...... 46

CHAPTER THREE ...... 47 v

3.1 Introduction ...... 47 3.2 The study design and methods ...... 47 3.3 Sampling ...... 48 3.3.1 Site Selection and Access ...... 49 3.3.2 Making Contacts and Selecting Participants ...... 49 3.3.3 Team Selection ...... 50 3.3.3.1 Volleyball ...... 51 3.4 Sampling Unit and Size ...... 51 3.5 Data Collection ...... 52 3.5.1 Secondary Data ...... 52 3.5.2 Primary Data ...... 53 3.5.2.1 Interviews ...... 53 3.5.2.2 Participant Observation ...... 56 3.5.2.2.1 Nature of Participation…………………….……………………………………….57 3.5.2.2.2 Non-Involvement………………………………………………………………....57 3.5.2.2.3 Passive Participation….………………..…………………………………………57 3.5.2.2.4 Moderate Participation……..……………………………….…………………….58 3.5.2.2.5 Active Participation…………………………………………………………….…59 3.5.2.2.5.1 Playing Volleyball……………………………………………………………59 3.5.2.3 Autoethnography ...... 61 3.6 Study Area ...... 62 3.7 My Personal Experience (I) ...... 63 3.8 Data Analyses ...... 65 3.8.1 Frequency Count ...... 66 3.8.1 Ordering and Sorting………………..………………………………………………………67 3.8.3 Categorisation ...... 68 3.9 Practice and Theory in the Field ...... 69 3.10 Observer Effect and Reality on the Ground ...... 70 3.11 Ethics…………………………….……………………………………………………………..71

CHAPTER FOUR ...... 72 4.1 Introduction ...... 72 4.1.1 Demographic and General Information of Participants ...... 72 4.1.2 Conceptual Framework ...... 73 4.1.3 Data Analyses ...... 74 vi

4.2 Facilitators to Women’s Participation in Sports ...... 74 4.2.1 Inter-Personal Factors ...... 75 4.2.1.1 Physical Factors ...... 75 4.2.1.2 Social Factors ...... 80 4.2.1.3 Economic Factors ...... 85 4.2.2 Intra-Personal /Psychological Factors ………………………………………….………… 86 4.2.3 Recommendations ...... 93 4.2.3.1 Doctors Recommendation ...... 93 4.2.3.2 Policy Recommendation: Sports Policies/Programs ...... 93 4.2.3 Environmental factors ...... 95 4.2.3.1 Media ...... 95 4.2.3.2 Availability and accessibility of facilities ...... 96 4.3 Obstacles to Womens Participation in Sports ...... 99 4.3.1 Financial Influences ...... 99 4.3.1.1 High Club Fees and High Cost of Services and Equipment ...... 99 4.3.2 Non-support…………………………………...……………………………………………101 4.3.3 Inadequate Time ...... 104

CHAPTER FIVE…………………………………………………………………………106 5.1 Introduction ...... 106 5.2 Variations on the Level of Influence ...... 106 5.3 Stakeholder Involvement ...... 107 5.4 Impact of Gender and Ethnicity on Sports Participation……………………………….110 5.5 Factors influencing Play ...... 114 5.6 My Personal Experience (II)……………………………………………………….… 129

CHAPTER SIX ...... 132 6.1 Introduction ...... 132 6.2 Summary ...... 132 6.3 Recommendations ...... 142

REFERENCES ...... 145

APPENDIX A ...... 167

vii

APPENDIX B ...... 179

APPENDIX C ...... 180

APPENDIX D ...... 182

viii

List of Tables (Please refer to Appendix A for more details)…………………………………....167

TABLE 1: Demographic and General Information of Participants ...... 167

TABLE 2: Interpersonal Factors ...... 169

TABLE 3: Intrapersonal Factors ...... 170

TABLE 4: Environmental Factors ...... 172

TABLE 5: Obstacles To Womens Participation In Sports...... 173

TABLE 6: Non-Support ...... 174

TABLE 7: Time ...... 175

TABLE 8: Number Of Sport Played And Type Of Type Of Team Sports ...... 176 Table 9: Various Sports Participants Played And The Risk Level (Approximate Percentages) 176

List Of Figures (Please Refer to Appendix A for more details)…………..……………………167

FIGURE 1: Participants ...... 168

FIGURE 2: Interpersonal Development ...... 170

FIGURE 3: Intra-Personal / Psychological Factors ...... 171

FIGURE 4: Environmental Factors...... 172

FIGURE 5: Financial Challenge ...... 173

FIGURE 6: Non-Support ...... 174

FIGURE 7: Inadequate Time ...... 175

FIGURE 8: Newspaper Publication ...... 179

FIGURE 9: Volleyball Court Dimensions ...... 180

FIGURE 10: Indoor And Sand Volleyball ...... 181

FIGURE: 11 Consent Form ...... 182

List of Symbols, Abbreviations (Please refer to appendix A figure one for more details)

Abbreviations Definition

M MALE

F FEMALE

PO PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

PL PLAYERS

O OFFICIAL

GM GENERAL MANAGER

C COACHES

FI FEMALE INSTRUCTORS

MG MANAGERS

FAM FAMILY

RF REFEREE

REL RELATIVES

FR FRIENDS

PA PARENTS

R RECREATIONAL

E ELITE

SR SCORE CARD RECORDER

CHAPTER ONE 1.1 Introduction

The public health policy of Canada includes physical exercise as a means of promoting fitness and preventing sickness. At the national, provincial, and civic levels governments promote sport participation to keep citizens healthy (“a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”) and happy (Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) 2011). Canadians who are physically inactive stand a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and depression (Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) 2007). “Doing sports” regularly improves the quality of life of participants as well as decreases the risk of chronic diseases, disability and premature death (CNA 2011).

Physical inactivity can be very costly to both the state and the individual. For example, in Canada, the cost of chronic diseases in terms of treatment and productivity incurred by the government is $90 billion dollars per annum (Mirolla 2004). The number of Canadians who have chronic health conditions is one-third of the national population

(Health Council of Canada, 2007). This figure is projected to increase from 4.2 million in

2005 to 9.8 million by 2036 (Statistics Canada 2006). A challenge that health administrators, professionals, and policy makers encounter is how to implement effective solutions, to curtail the increasing cost burden of managing and preventing diseases (CNA

2011).

Sport is a generic term. In the social sciences, researchers have crafted a variety of definitions conforming to a diverse array of theoretical orientations that social scientists

bring to the study of sport (Coakley and Dunning 2000:150). In this study, I prefer to follow the anthropologist Kendall Blanchard who defines sport as a:

“physically exertive activity that is aggressively competitive within constraints imposed by definitions and rules. A component of culture, it is ritually patterned, gamelike and of varying amounts of play, work, and leisure. In addition, sport can be viewed as having both athletic and non-athletic variations, athletic referring to those activities requiring the greater amount of physical exertion” (Blanchard 1995:59).

Alongside Blanchard’s definition, this study also follows the view that sport is a human activity in which the body is the object of most intense scrutiny – it is trained, disciplined, modified, displayed, evaluated, and commodified. The sporting body is the focus of not only the person who inhabits it but also spectators, trainers, and “owners” (Besnier and

Brownell 2012:444). The idea of the body being socially constructed affects the way it is viewed in terms of health, nutrition, fitness, disease, drugs and drug testing, violence and power, and many other things that affect our lives. It affects the way people view the world, their desire, pleasure, and pain, and their quality of life (Coakley and Donnelly 2004).

This study focuses on women in sport, and it is based on a first principle that

“women’s sport” is “an expression of the right to equality and the freedom of all women to take control of their bodies and participate in sports publicly, regardless of nationality, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion” (Talleu 2011:7). The study looks at women who regularly participate in sport, and seeks to document their motivations for participation. Statistics Canada (2013) defines “regularly” to mean that the respondent participated in a sport at least once a week during the season or for a certain period of the year.

The potential to use sport as a tool to reach personal, community, national and international development goals has been acknowledged by sport participants, academics, members of the private sector, non-profit and non-governmental organisations, government agencies, UN agencies and international organisations, the media, and the general public. All of these actors have an interest in using sport to address developmental challenges (sportanddev.org). For example, The United Nations (UN) (2000) used sports as a practical and viable tool to help achieve their eight Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs). The goals were to reduce poverty (MDG1), hunger (MDG2), child mortality and disease (MDG 3), and to promote education (MDG4), maternal health (MDG5), gender equality (MDG6), environmental sustainability (MDG7) and global partnerships (MDG8)

(United Nations Office on Sports for Peace and Development (UNOSDP) 2014).

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has programs focused on social integration and identity-building of minorities. These programs seek to unite nationals with different passions, politics, religion, and culture. The IOC initiatives also emphasise integration of other marginalised groups (e.g., street children, child soldiers, and people suffering from HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune

Deficiency Syndrome), local economic development, and the creation of jobs. The IOC tries to sends positive messages which influence behaviour (promote self-esteem and interpersonal skills among people, supports mental and physical health and so on).

Similarly, the WHO (World Health Organisation) uses sport as an instrument to raise awareness of communicable diseases, mobilize hard-to-reach groups, and contribute to improving mental health (sportanddev.org). More central to this study, the Canadian

Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) uses sport as a platform to create opportunities for women to participate and lead

(sportanddev.org).

Sport has the ability to draw people together. Sport is used to fight discrimination, unite people and discourage marginalisation of certain groups. For example, in Fiji, the federal government uses rugby as a tool to help alter the negative perception of people living with disabilities. Sport can be used as a medium to disseminate messages for the purpose of peace and reconciliation (Cummins and Roopanarine 2012). In Sierra Leone, for instance, Catalyst for Peace, a US-based NGO, implemented communal activities

(Canedo et al 2015:82) through a programme called Fambul Tok – Krio for "family talk"

– has incorporated football into its efforts to help reconcile divided communities after the civil war (Cummins and Roopanarine 2012). Finally, The Street World Cup organised by an NGO uses soccer to empower and educate them them on their rights (Blakeley 2012;

(Street Child United 2016) is used to give greater protection and opportunity to frequently marginalised and criminalized street kids (Cummins and Roopanarine 2012).

Sport can be used to promote development. Sport is used as a tool for social and economic development, and the promotion of positive values at home and abroad. (Sport in Canada: Canada.ca). Sport is a major business, which has great potential to generate huge revenues from ticketing, merchandising, screening rights and tourism. Individual athletes become wealthy philanthropists and development advocates. For example, Didier

Drogba, a professional Ivorian soccer player (Rollin 2016), runs a charitable foundation championing development causes in Cote d’Ivoire. South African national rugby team

Captain John Smit is one of the several international sports celebrities who have partnered with 'Brothers for Life' and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Emergency Fund) to campaign for HIV prevention, (Cummins and Roopanarine 2012: UNICEF 2010).

Sport has been used to challenge inequalities (gender, employment and funding opportunities, social and economic), and oppressive forms of gender relations (Coakley and Donnelly 2004:48). For example, in 1984 Algerian athlete Hassiba Bourghiba, who won an Olympic gold medal, dedicated her victory to all oppressed women, and asked for freedom for all (Jarvie 2006:120). She used sport as a platform to expose and resist

“expressions of sexism and homophobia” (Coakley and Donnelly 2004:48).

Sport serves as a platform for promoting peace. The Olympic Truce (a tradition established to guarantee the safety of sports participants during the Olympics games (OG) and after the OGs where participants return home to their countries out of harm's way) is one of the ways that Sport can be used to promote peace, development and international cooperation (Gary and Rubin 2012). The Truce is relevant today considering the global context within which sport and the Olympics games exist. The IOC revived the Olympics truce during the 2012 Olympics games, with the view of protecting the interest of athletes and sports in general. The Olympics truce is also used to search for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to conflicts the world over (Olympics.org). Similarly, the United

Nations (U.N.) has become increasingly committed to communicating its vision of global human rights for development and peace through the implementation of athletic programs that promote peacemaking initiatives, tolerance and reconciliation while decreasing tensions, inequity and prejudice (Giulianotti 2011; UNOSDP 2014).

Regardless of all these positive attributes, sport can be counterproductive. Sport can serve as a tool for violence, hatred, and intolerance. Violence in sport is a form of social conflict. Conflicts take many forms in any given society (Blanchard 1995: 56).

Violence involves the use of excessive physical force, which causes intentional harm or has the potential to cause harm or destruction (Coakley and Donnelly 2004:187). Player and spectator viciousness occur in verbal attacks, gesturing, “Missile” throwing, property destruction, and physical attacks. These sometimes lead to injury and death (Madensen and

Eck 2008: Brennan 2014). Violence may be sanctioned/legal or unsanctioned/illegal depending on the society and sports discipline. For example in the sport of ice hockey, fighting is sanctioned and encouraged. The most vicious and aggressive players are handsomely paid and greatly appreciated (Coakley and Donnelly 2004:187).

There are several institutions which encourage the use of sport as a way to promote good health. The Canadian Sports Policy, effective from 2012 to 2022, sets a direction for all governments, institutions, and organizations to make sure sport has a positive impact on the lives of Canadians, Canadian communities, and the country. This is to be achieved by providing the participants with the opportunity to play sport for fun, health, social interaction and relaxation (Sport in Canada: Canada.ca).

Other institutions that are promoting sports participation as part of a health and development policy include The Sports Information Resource Centre (SIRC 2013) which offers the complete sports information solution. The SIRC identifies, organises and distributes a range of sport and fitness information, products and services particularly designed to meet the research needs of coaches, athletes, students, teachers and medical

practitioners (Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI) 2009). Again, the

Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) encourages engagement in physical activities as a way to promote good health (CNA 2011).

Engagement in sports in the 20th century was dominated by male participation

(Appleby and Foster 2013; Messner 1994: 65). This situation (of male dominance in sports) continued to the next century. In the nineteenth century, “modern” sport emerged in Europe and was linked with masculinity, nationalism and colonial aspirations (Besnier and Brownell 2012). For the greater part of a century, sport was conventionally associated with masculinity and defined as a masculine domain (Server 2005; and Appleby and Foster

2013:14).

Historically, men have dominated sport, and dominant ideologies have excluded women (Appleby and Foster 2013; Messner 1994: 65 Server 2005 Besnier and Brownell

2012). To scholars like Kozak and Kozak (2013:107), gender is a social and cultural construct that discriminates against women in many sectors, including leisure involvement.

The ideology of the natural difference between men and women, influences women participation in sports (Messner 2011). For instance, female athleticism is defined to strengthen the perception of male superiority and emphasise female inferiority (Theberge

1991:387).

More recently, in Canada and other nations women have become much more active in the field of sport. This has been facilitated by various national and international programs and projects. In Canada, the community action project for women provides

women the opportunity to participate in a sport that is safe, inclusive and fun (SIRC 2013;

Motivate Canada 2014). CAAWS (2013) programs seek to create opportunities for girls and women to participate and lead in sports, by way of community action projects, trained female youth facilitators leading young women and providing them with opportunities to participate in sports (SIRC 2013).

Internationally, the Title IX legislation of 1972 in the United States of America, dramatically increased opportunities for girls to participate in school-based athletics. Since then, the number of female athletes has increased by more than 800% (Salkind 2006:125).

Mission 7 of the Olympic Charter is “to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women” (Olympics Charter 2015:18) resulting in increases in women sport participation from 38.2% in 2000 to 44.2% in 2012 (Olympics Factsheet 2016).

Likewise, the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 of the UK requires that providers of goods, facilities or services must not discriminate against actual or potential users based on sexual orientation and applies to all individuals and organisations who provide any kind of services free or paid (Brackenridge et al 2008:65).

Notwithstanding the above efforts, there are pronounced inequities when it comes to sports, and women do not participate to the same level as men. Organised sport remains the institution that perpetuates gender inequality (McDonagh and Pappano 2008:247; Van

Zoonen 1994:150). There is a gender gap in sports participation. In 2010, approximately one-third of Canadian men and one-sixth of Canadian women regularly participated in sport (General Statistical Survey (GSS) 2013). There are pay inequities between male and

female athletes. For example, in a sport like Golf, the total prize money for the 2014 PGA tour, was over $340 million. This was more than five times that of the (Ladies PGA) 2015 tour of $61.6 million. Similar discrepancies exist throughout professional sports (WSF

2011).

Sport contributes to gender, race and class inequalities and not very much work has been done to resolve the problem (Messner 1989). Talbot (2002:282) identified the neglect of scholarly articles to address the issue of sexual and structural prejudices, as well as discrimination (in the form of media biases, homophobia, legal challenge of exclusion in sports and sports organisations), as a factor which limit the opportunities for sportswomen

(Pirinen 2002:101) resulting in women’s lower participation levels (Pedersen 1996:191).

There is a failure by the male dominated leadership to revise and address the structures which suppress women giving an unfair advantage to male athletes (Talbot

2002:282). Male dominance has immensely influenced recent thinking on hierarchies in the area of gender and society (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005:829). Pirinen (2002:95) notes that non-appreciation and undermining of the achievements of sportswomen discourages women to participate in sport.

Women continue to lag behind men when it comes to sport performance and participation. Rather than a matter of athletic inabilities, the difference in performance is largely rooted in a lack of opportunity (Pirinen 2002:102-103, Theberge 1991:387 and

Talbot 2002). Alongside limited opportunities for female athletes, there is limited representation of women in sports governance, administration and management (IOC Fact

sheet 2016; Lenskyj 2010; Talbot 2002). In order to realise the policy of using sport to enhance the health and development of individuals and communities, it will be vital to find out how to enlist more women into the ranks of sports participation. As part of the effort to increase the number of women who participate in sport, and to determine why the number of women participants continues to lag behind men, this study seeks to discover what motivates and what hinders women in their attempts at participating in sport.

1.2 Research Question

In this study, I used several methods to collect field data. I asked participants about the facilitators and obstacles to their involvement in sport. My objective was to get at the things of which they are directly aware. In addition to this, I participated among and observed participants which provided a sort of triangulation, and a check on what they said in response to my questions. In this way, I gained access to the “hidden” factors or attributes of which participants might be unaware.

1.2.1 The Research Question

My research question was “what are the obstacles and facilitators to women’s participation in sports?” Obstacle (obstruction, hindrance, and impediment) refers to something that interferes with or prevents action or progress. An obstacle can be something, material or nonmaterial, that stands in the way of literal or figurative progress. Facilitators are activities that make it easier to help forward an action, process, etc. through careful 10

planning. This will produce an outcome (e.g., learning, productivity, or communication) by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision to help bring about growth. Obstacles and facilitators are etic terms which involve studying the participants from an outsider (researcher) perspective. In my study, I focused on getting the emic terms from my research participants, and then categorising or analysing those concepts in terms of the etic concepts.

1.3 My Personal Experience (I)

My personal interest in sports is based on how my parents and other family members nurtured me as a child and youth. My continuous interest in sports has influenced my choice of this topic to provide me a field experience and a deeper understanding. I have always been interested and engaged in play and sports. Volleyball is my favorite sport and was the first organised sport I played in junior secondary school at age 12. I have been involved in several competitive sports at from the amateur to the national/elite level. I have participated in team sports (e.g., volleyball and soccer), field events (e.g., high jump, long jump), and track events (e.g., 100m, 200m, 400m, 800). I chose to focus on volleyball for this project because it is a sport with which I am most comfortable and familiar.

1.4 Justification of Study

The anthropology of sports is a cross-cultural sub-discipline that focuses on analyses of sports-related-social problems (Blanchard 1995:23). Although physical anthropologists for decades have done studies on body types, morphology, and functions, less work has been done in the area of cultural, social and psychological settings with regards to the way individuals live and also perform (Malina 1972). There are virtually unlimited opportunities for additional research to be done (Coakley and Dunning 2000:150).

Researchers like Birrell (2005:61) and Coakley (2009:39) have reiterated that the study of the sociology of sports uses feminist theory to understand power and gender relations.

Women are deprived because of inequitable access to sports facilities and limited opportunities to participate in sport (Bailey et al 2005). While there appears to be a recent movement at the governmental level related to empowering women through sport, a lack of academic research on inequity still prevails (Giles and Lynch 2012, Fisher et al, 2013).

The roles women play in the contemporary world have changed but dated perceptions of what women can and should do remain (Hoiness et al 2008). According to

Smith (2010:98), issues of gender are core to social life and this fact makes the concerns of masculinity and femininity essential. Critical feminist theorists have stressed the importance of critiquing and changing the culture and (Pfister and Kristin 2013:208) body

(physicality) of sport so that they represent the perspectives and experiences of women as well as men (Maguire 2002:207; Coakley 2001:39) with the aim to expose gender inequalities (Jarvis and Watts 2012:67).

Unfortunately, sports research that concentrates on participation is minimal

(Kilpatrick et al 2005:87). This thesis is rooted in the idea that women’s “participation in sports is a feminist issue deserving of research and theory development (Harrison and Fahy

2005:702).” This ethnographic study seeks to find out the factors participants identify that influence their participation in sports.

1.5 Organisation of work

In the second chapter of this study, I will cover theoretical models and ethnographic background. The theories in the study include feminism, habitus, globalization and nationalization. Using these theories, I seek to address the questions of how (Molnar and

Kelly 2013:10) and why (Horn 2008:116) various factors influence women's participation in sports. I will discuss the successes and limitations of the theories in relation to explicating the obstacles and facilitators to women’s participating in sports (Tenenbaum and Driscoll 2005:712).

The third chapter of this theses covers the methods I employed in the study. I used the non-random sampling techniques of snowball sampling and purposive sampling to select 70 participants for the study. The primary data collection instruments I used were autoethnography, participant observation and interviews. In the methods section, I will discuss my study area, personal experience, data analyses, practice and theory in the field, observer effect and reality on the ground, and ethics.

In the fourth chapter of this theses, I will present the results of the study. The first section of the fourth chapter gives demographic and general information about the participants. The second section consists of two headings. The first heading is the facilitators to women’s participation in sports which I will place into the sub-headings of

“inter-personal”, “intra-personal”, “recommendations” and “environmental factors”. The second heading is the obstacles to women’s’ participation in sports and these fall under the sub-headings of “financial challenges”, “non-support”, and “time”.

In the fifth chapter I will discuss the research findings. Topics will include variations in the levels of participation, stakeholder involvement, facilitators, obstacles and fringe factors influencing women’s participation in sport. I will also show how my findings are connected to the theoretical and ethnographic literature, and provide a summary of the main research findings.

CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This chapter provides background information on the research topic. The first section provides a general overview of the anthropology of sports with sub-headings of anthropologists and their contributions to the study of sport and the body in the anthropology of sport. The second section provides a description of sport studies. The third section of the chapter sheds light on the meaning and application of sport. The fourth heading provides literature on relevant subjects to the anthropology of sports and sport studies. Finally, the fifth heading provides concluding thoughts for the chapter.

2.2 General Overview of the Anthropology of Sports

The anthropology of sport refers to “the application of the methods and perspectives of anthropology to the study of sport. It is grounded in the basic tenets, distinctive methodologies and theoretical assumptions of anthropology. The anthropology of sports is also tied to the idea that sports are an institution and a component of culture” (Coakley and Dunning 2004:151). The anthropology of sport involves the collection and analysis of data, which require a theoretical orientation as well as systematic methodology. The relationship between theory and method is that they are interdependent (methodology is always linked and operates around a theoretical idea) (Blanchard 1995). The anthropology of sport deals with problems of social, and cultural change (Coakley and Dunning 2004:150). Understanding

sport as an institution and an element of culture is important to informed participation in modern democratic society (Blanchard 1995).

Like all the social sciences, researchers working in the anthropology of sports operate within paradigms, models, and theories to help understand their subject matter.

Adopting an anthropological questions, researchers frame fundamental questions around a wide range of theoretical models (Coakley and Dunning 2004:150). Researchers in the anthropology of sport tend to employ a distinctive framework within which to address among other things, specialised problems like gender and sport, sport and ritual, and violence in human society (Blanchard 1995:23). The anthropology of sport is primarily a behavioral science closely related to cultural anthropology (Blanchard 1995:23) and tied to the knowledge that sport is an institution and a component of culture (Coakley and

Dunning 2000:151). Cultural anthropologists believe that play, sports, and physical activity are universal features of cultures, past and present. Following this rationale, the study of sport should enable researchers to access the quality and nature of social problems of particular cultures (Blanchard 1995; Chandler et al 2007).

The anthropology of sport involves networks among people, issues, institutions, and powers that outline both the practices and production of anthropology and sports.

Anthropology and sports together produce an understanding and experience that rely on local communities, but whose importance are best understood when located in much broader and more complex cultural environments (Moore 2004:37). The anthropological study of sport can add to the existing sociological and historical knowledge of sport and also contribute to other fields of enquiry focused upon sport (Carter 2002).

2.2.1 Anthropologist and their Contributions to the Study of Sport

Sometimes referred to as the father of anthropology, Sir Edward Burnett Tylor was the first social scientist to recognise the importance of games as a subject of scholarly investigation. Tylor (1832-1917) was an evolutionist preoccupied with knowing the origins of things, and finding out the first examples of major attributes or traits (Gale 2008). He believed that sport could provide clues about prehistoric culture contact (Blanchard

1995:9-10).

Before the 1950s, sports researchers made important anthropological contributions.

They wrote about sport among small scale societies, and pre-literate people. During this period, there were few occasions that articles on sport appeared in anthropology journals

(Blanchard 1995; Chandler et al 2007). Early researchers in the field like Stewart Culin in1907 (also referred to as the “game scholar… in the field of anthropology,”) published his work titled Games of the North American Indians, in the the Bereau of American

Ethnology. His work was published by Government Printing Office in Washinton D.C.

(Dyck 2004). Karl Wuele in 1925 (a German scholar who did an ethnologic study of the origin and development of sports) had his work published in the Oceania journal (Coakley and Dunning 2002:146; Blanchard 1995:14). Other published works include Raymond

Firth’s (1931) study of A Dart Match in Tikopia, his work was published in the Oceania

(Dyck 2004). Lesser’s (1933) work on the Pawnee Ghost Dance Hand Game was published in the American Anthropologist (Boughter 2004:95), Opler’s (1944) description of the

Jicarilla Apache ceremonial relay race was published in the American Anthropologist

(Blanchard 1995; Chandler et al 2007; Klein 2014:74).

The 1970s marked the formation of sports associations such as the North American

Sociology of Sport in the 1970 and The American Association for Anthropological study of Play (TAASP) founded in 1974. During the 1970s, occasional sport articles appear in anthropology journals, and a few sport ethnographies are published (Klein 2014:75;

Chandler et al 2007). Academic journals with a sport focus emerge (e.g. Sociology of

Sports Journal and The Journal of Sports History) but there are no anthropological journals at this time that concentrate on sport (Carter 2002).

Perhaps the most important work in the 1970s was Geertz’ analysis of the Balinese cockfight. Geertz work on "deep play" is the first example of an interpretive approach toward play or sport. In his study, Geertz argued that the cockfight was an embodiment of the lifestyle, passion, culture, tradition, ritual, and beliefs, of the Balinese people. The cockfight was a display of social, political, and economic class and status. Honor meant much more to the Balinese than the money they gambled, making the stakes in the fights very high. The men of Bali were psychologically, emotionally, metaphorically, and physically attached to their prize fighting cocks. They invested their time and resources on their most priced assets-their cocks. Cocks were identified with and also a reflection of their owner (Geertz 1972).

Since Geertz’ study of deep play, anthropologists have become more interested in the study of sport. Notwithstanding, the number of researchers remains fairly small.

Notable sport anthropologists include John MacAloon, Joseph Alter, Eduardo Archetti,

Susan Brownell, Noel Dyck, and Alan Klein (Lithman 2004:19; Klein 2014).

MacAloon (1981) played a pioneering role in the anthropology of sports. His book

“This Great Symbol: Pierre de Coubertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games” has had a major impact in sport studies (Klein 2013:76; Maguire 2013). His style of anthropology is somewhat unconventional in that contains equal parts “anthropology, history, and social thought” ((Maguire 2013). MacAloon continued his study of the

Olympics (e.g., 2006a, 2006b, 2008) and ultimately the IOC made him a founding member of the IOC Research Council (IOC’s Olympics studies center) (Klein 2013:76; Maguire

2013).

Brownell was indirectly influenced by MacAloon’s anthropological interest in the

Olympics. Her primary interest was formed by her family’s attention to China and her personal participation in sport. Brownell played sports at the collegiate level in the United

States of America. While doing her field work in China in 1995 she also competed for the

University of Beijing. In her ethnographic work (1995), she documented how athletes related to their bodies based on Foucault’s 1977 idea of “discipline”. Her published work concerning the ethnographic study of Chinese Sports became the first of its kind in China.

Brownell (1996, 1999, and 2000) merged her 1995 study to her interest in gender. After

China won the bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, Brownell launched a project in 2008, which sought to understand the games in the context of a rapidly changing China. She went on to replace MacAloon at the IOC’s Research Council (Klein 2013:77).

Alan Klein launched a seven-year study of bodybuilding in 1979 after watching the documentary film Pumping Iron (1977). His study occurred at several locations including

Gold’s Gym in Venice, California. Originally, he planned to do an ethnographic study of

narcissism. Ultimately, he decided to interpret his findings in terms of hegemonic masculinity. Klein became known as a sports anthropologist when his work started appearing in journals in the 1980s (1985, 1986, 1987, and 1989) and as a monograph in

1993. Subsequent ethnographic work focused on dependency models and cultural resistance (Klein 2013:77).

Eduardo Archetti moved from his native country Argentina to study anthropology in France, where he received his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology. He choose to remain in

Europe at the University of Oslo, where he pursued a career in development studies. In the midst of his career, Archetti developed a research interest in masculinity and soccer

(Archetti and Romero 1994; and Archetti 1996). He explored the complex interchange between nationalism and masculinity (Archetti 1998), by documenting the text of same- sex (soccer and polo) and cross-sex (tango) relations from the mid-1990s into the early

2000s. He also used his soccer sensibilities to delve into soccer violence and nationalism

(Klein 2013:7).

Joseph Alter is best known for his superb ethnography of Indian wrestling (Sax

2011:189; Klein 2013:7). Part of his motivation for conducting this research was a desire to challenge the anti-athletic posture of American anthropology. His study focused deeply on the symbolic significance of Indian wrestling to views of the body. He also studied the relationship between male celibacy, and nationalism in post-colonial India (Klein

2013:79).

Noel Dyck is a Canadian anthropologist who built his career on studying Native

Americans. Although sport was a second area of interest, Dyck has contributed

significantly enough to be identified as a sports anthropologist (2000). As a proponent of sports anthropology, Dyck strived to gain disciplinary respect for the study of sports and games. His work focused on children and sports (2006). But his manifesto for the rise of sports anthropology was laid out in the introduction of his edited collection (Games and

Cultures), in which he noted that: “anthropological treatment of sport have become increasingly sophisticated and better known within the fields of sports studies” (Dyck

2000:16) (Klein 2013:81).

2.2.2 The Body in Anthropology of Sport

Anthropological theory opens the door to viewing the body in novel ways (e.g., in terms of nationalism, globalization, and gender) (Appleby and Foster 2013:13).

Approaches to viewing the body as something more than a biological entity have emerged as a result of changes in “theory and practice”. Researchers have considered the sporting body in terms of migration of labour, colonialism, and globalisation (Besnier and Brownell

2012:443).

Migrant labour of athletes and trainers are facilitated by a transnational network of agents (recruiters, managers, institutional authorities, members of the public and individuals) in several locations (Besnier and Brownell 2012). Throughout the 1990s, universities, clubs, and teams began searching for athletic talent worldwide (Besnier and

Brownell 2012). This increase in interest is attributed to the emergence of globalisation and inspired by the growing corporatization and commodification of sport. A situation

which has gradually turned the competition for athletes into a matter of lots of money (Bale

1991, Bale and Maguire 1994; Kelly 2006; Taylor 2006).

Historical studies have established a link between modern sport and colonial projects (Guttmann 1996). For instance, through “Sportisation” (a process where the ideals and practices of colonial centres spread to colonial territories) a term coined by Elias and

Dunning (1986) the British used sport as an educational and instructional tool for the indigenous elite, to establish indirect rule for their various colonies (Carter 2002:407).

Globalisation studies of sport deal with the migration of athletes across geographic territories and political divisions. Sport migration has the link to historically based power relations between regions (Carter 2010:407-408). Marginalised regions use electronic media to reach out to the advanced regions. Increased access to television, satellite broadcasts, and media firms has led to athletes becoming worldwide icons, who represent and embody a specific understanding of people, places, and cultures that patrons would otherwise never have anticipated (Whannel 1992). For example, LaFeber (1999) has suggested that Michael Jordan, the professional basketball player, and his team, the

Chicago Bulls (both local), were made into globally recognized icons through the media.

2.3 Sports Studies

Like all emerging disciplines, sport studies is subject to moderately rapid change, making it difficult to give it a concise definition. For example, whereas “sports studies” refers to folk games played in medieval England, the same name (sports studies) may be

given to games with a radically different structure and content. Also, some courses labelled

“sports studies” maintain a substantial part of natural scientific studies of the sport also referred to as “sports science” (Malcolm 2008: XII). In some cases, the term “sports science” refers to “sport, leisure and culture” or “sports culture and media.” Variations like these make decisions over what sub (discipline) to include difficult and consequently the resultant inability to have a universal definition (Malcolm 2008: XII).

It is clear that sport studies is a multidisciplinary area of study (Malcolm 2008: XII) and a major field of enquiry (Kelly 2006). A list of labels for describing sports studies includes anthropology, economics, psychology, geography, sociology, history, management and business, politics and policy, physical education and health, and research methods (Malcolm 2008: XII). In this study, I am going to be referring to work from both the anthropology of sports and sports studies.

2.4 Meaning of and Application Sports

Sport has different meanings for different people and across societies (Laker

2001:4). The way one engages in sport is influenced by one’s cultural or ethnic background

(Sever 2005:4). Sport serves as one of the most contested and celebrated institutions in our society (Appleby and Foster 2013:1). As a result, it is difficult to fully understand contemporary society without acknowledging the place of sport within society (Jarvie

2006:2).

Sport is a generic term that analysts have defined in a variety of ways to suit various situations. Sport serves as an institution and is also an element of culture and plays a vital

role in the informed participation that characterises contemporary democratic societies

(Blanchard 1995).

Engagement in sports in the 20th century was dominated by male participation

(Appleby and Foster 2013; Messner and Sabo 1994: 65). This situation (of male dominance in sports) continued to the next century. In the nineteenth century, “modern” sport emerged in Europe and was linked with masculinity, nationalism and colonial aspirations (Besnier and Brownell 2012). For the greater part of a century, sport was conventionally associated with masculinity and defined as a masculine domain (Server

2005; and Appleby and Foster 2013:14).

The practice of sport is related to a number of assumptions about leisure and work, which are often lived differently by men and women (Sever 2005:4). Scholars have discovered an association of some sports (e.g., gymnastics, dance, and figure skating) with beauty and grace that observers mostly regard as feminine (Koivula 2001). Conversely, sports like football and boxing are associated with violence, aggression and physical contact, and are regarded as masculine (Koivula 2001). Further cementing the gendered ideology of sport is the presence of scantily clad young women as ‘card girls’ at boxing matches and cheerleaders at football games (Oates, 1987). These gendered categories and practices are immersed in social ideas which are influenced by what the members of society consider should be done (Appleby and Foster 2013:14). Such persistent beliefs limit opportunities for sport participation for both male and female athletes (Coakley 2009).

Sport is a unique feature of social reality, an activity that combines the serious with the frivolous, playfulness with intensity, and the ideological with the structural. These

features influence the athlete’s abilities to play (Frey and Eitzen 1991:504). Similarly, sport related capacities of athletes are affected by a complex interplay of genetics, social context, and physical environment. Cognitive development, including the maturity and the growth of internal mental capabilities and functioning, such as thought processes, memory, motivation and self-perception is essential to sport engagement, and skill improvement.

All of the above factors need to be included in any attempts on the part of sport leaders to create appropriate sport programs (Weise-Bjornstal et al 2009:99). Decision makers must be cognisant that the sporting body is not the focus of only the person who inhabits it but for all spectators, trainers and owners (Besnier and Brownell 2012).

Various researchers have advocated for academic analysis using several lenses including gender and sport, sport and society, and feminist sport studies (Fisher et al 2013;

Frey and Eitzen 1991:504; Coakley and Donnelley 2004:48). Sport can be a site for empowering, challenging, and addressing oppressive gender relations, and also a means to expose and resist expressions of homophobia and sexism (Coakley and Donnelley

2004:48).

Leisure choices are discretionary, with both positive and negative impacts which contribute to health and well-being (Mannell 2007). There are numerous barriers (Women

2000 and Beyond 2007:3; Women’s Sports Foundation 2007) and benefits (Women 2000 and Beyond 2007:2) to women’s participation in sports. Sports serves as a platform for patterned behaviors, social structures, and institutional relationships, which provide unique opportunities to learn and understand complex social life. Involvement in sport can be at the primary (passive) and secondary (active) levels making sports supreme to other

institutionalised settings (Frey and Eitzen 1991:503-504).

Worldwide, there has been an increase in participation in sports ever since the

1950s (Silvers and Mandelbaum 2012:357; Hoffman 2012:183). Overall female participation in sport has been increasing since the 1960s ((Watt 2003:31-32; Hill 2011;

Nauright 2012:237) with much work to be done to achieve equity (Marjoribanks and

Farquharson 2012:65). Even though there are inequalities in relation to women’s participation in sport, there has been a significant change on the Canadian sport terrain.

Human Rights cases have empowered women to participate, leading to increased access to sports. For example, there have been opportunities for women to participate at the highest levels (Olympic and Paralympic levels). Having an understanding of regular engagement in sports has helped to create management practices aimed at increasing sports participation (Wood 2011:2). This change has led to women leading “national sports organisations as senior administrative staff” (Environmental Scan 2010:18).

The benefits of sport participation vary between age groups, genders, and levels of competition. Sport participation can yield physical, mental, economic, emotional, and social well-being (Appleby and Foster 2013:2 Mannell 2007). It is the desire for these benefits that projects a powerful influence on sport participation (Weise-Bjornstal et al

2009:97).

Sport is an integral part of modern social life. Proponents argue that it can function as a tool for peace, and unite together people from different historical, economic and religious backgrounds (United Nation 2005; Appleby and Foster 2013). In United Nations’ policy and planning, sport has an important role to play in the pursuit of a safer, prosperous

and peaceful world. Proclaiming 2005 as the international year of sports and physical education, Kofi Annan admonished all governments, international organisations, and community groups to use sport to improve people’s lives (United Nation 2005).

Other benefits associated with sport include: provision of coaches and athletes with professional opportunities (Weise-Bjornstal et al 2009:97); challenging and changing dominant ideologies (Appleby and Foster 2013); achieving and maintaining physical health and having fun; and positive social interaction with peers and other competitors

(such interactions enhance individual qualities like leadership and moral development)

(Weinberg and Gould, 2011).

According to Sever (2005:7), international measures to promote women’s participation in sport include conferences and declarations (e.g. Brighton, UK in 1994,

Windhoek, Namibia 1998 and Montreal, Canada in 2002). Various organisations have focused on producing champions and expanding the conspicuousness of women in sports.

These organisations, established in the United States of America (USA), include the

National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) founded in1899 and

Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) founded in 1974 (Harvey et al 2013:57; Appleby and

Foster 2013:12). In Canada, the National conference on Women and Sports was established in 1974 and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and

Sports (CAAWS) was formed in 1984 (Harvey et al 2013:57).

Different interest groups have made efforts to close the sports participation gap between men and women. Cortis (2009) notes attempts to address the barriers to women’s participation in sports through women centred organisations, events and exercise spaces.

These efforts have provided several opportunities for women to engage in sports resulting in women feeling more confident and comfortable in sport and fitness environments (Cortis

2009).

Women only events give women the opportunity to develop physical skills, health, and confidence associated with engaging in sports. Women cantered gyms/spaces have increased in popularity and are associated with increased participation rates (Appleby and

Foster 2013:13). Marketing for these places has sent mixed signals – advertisement refer to women athletes as strong Cinderella, and Mermaid. Such labels undermine empowering women through physical activity (Crofts et al 2012; Appleby and Foster 2013:13). Curves, acclaimed to be the first “women only” fitness centre, opened in 1992 in the United States of America, and now has gyms in over 90 countries worldwide (Appleby and Foster

2013:12).

According to Weise-Bjornstal et al (2009:98) three global models to increase participation are currently in place. The first model concentrates on talent development and is common to the USA (United States of America) and Australia. The second model focuses on developing elite athletes - this model is represented in Russia and China (Weise-

Bjornstal et al 2009:98). The third model centres on increasing participation based on intrinsic motivation and is found in Uganda and the Dominican Republic. The first and second models are organised around and common to western countries whilst the third model is more common to developing countries (Weise-Bjornstal et al 2009:98). Despite the fact that differences exist among the models in terms of access, opportunity, structure, leadership and training, the important issue is that, all the models contribute towards

generating interest in sports participation (Weise-Bjornstal et al 2009:98).

In 1972, the United States of America passed Title IX, a law that banned any form of sexual discrimination in educational institutions whether in athletics or academics

(Harvey et al 2013:57). Federal regulations like Title IX have greatly increased the general level of women’s’ participation in sport and also created opportunities for female athletes in schools and public settings (Appleby and Foster 2013:13).

Notwithstanding select interventions to increase women’s participation, challenges still exist for female sport participants. Belief that sport is inappropriate activity for women tends to influence whether or not they participate (Appleby and Foster 2013). The association of sport with masculinity and the labelling of participants as lesbians can demotivate women from participation (Appleby and Foster 2013; Server 2005). Scholars have shown that homophobic stereotypes are strengthened through the chronic underrepresentation of women (King 2007). Social-class hierarchies create inequalities, and also reinforce race and gender inequities ((Besnier and Brownell 2012; Appleby and

Foster 2013).

Researchers also express doubt concerning whether women will continue to engage in sport as they age as a result of factors such as work, parenthood, confidence, and the environment (Appleby and Foster 2013). In Canada, for example, women stop participating in sport as they age at a rate of 17% over the past 13 years (Statistics Canada

2013:8). The differences between gender participation still remain, with more males participating on regular bases than women. Even though there is a narrowing gap, women’s participation is lower than men. Statistics Canada (2008) suggests that women’s

participation in sport dropped from 26% in 1998 to 21% in 2005 (5% decrease) and over the same three-year period the decline for men’s participation in sports was from 43% to

36% (7% decrease). Women’s initial participation levels are significantly lower than males. Therefore, this study seeks to help determine the factors that encourage or discourage women’s sport participation.

2.5 Literature on Anthropology of Sports and Sports Studies

For the purposes of situating this study within literature from the anthropology of sport and sport studies, this latter part of Chapter Two will summarise relevant theories and concepts. The discussion will fall under the following headings: ethnographic, participation, and habitus (which includes the sub-heading the socio-cultural study of the body), nationalisation, globalisation, feminism, volleyball and autoethnography.

2.5.1 Ethnographic Background

Ethnography is essentially the description of a group of people (Agar 1982).

Ethnography involves a holistic (general) approach to the study of cultural systems

(knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, values and other mental predispositions), preferred behaviors and structural (social) relationships (Whitehead 2012:3). An ethnography is an all-inclusive description of a group of people by a researcher immersing him or herself in the study scene, for an extended period of time in order to comprehend how members understand their culture (Agar 1982).

Fieldwork is an essential attribute of ethnography. Fieldwork is vital in collecting primary data. To some anthropologist, fieldwork is nearly synonymous with ethnography

(Whitehead 2012:3). For example, Agar (1980) refers to fieldwork as: “doing ethnography.” Fieldwork is a form of inquiry that requires a researcher to be immersed personally in the ongoing social activities of an individual or group participating in the study (Wolcott 1995). The goal of ethnography is “to grasp the native’s point of view…to realize his vision of the world” (Malinowski 1922:25). According to Guba and Lincoln

(1997:198), the several hypotheses, theories, and interpretive frameworks brought by outside investigators “may have little or no meaning within the emic view of studied individuals, groups, societies, or cultures.” The primary reason for doing fieldwork in ethnography is to achieve emic validity (having an understanding of the study participants from their own system of meaning) (Whitehead 2012:3).

Ethnographies with regards to sports have been undertaken by a number of scholars. Their study involves observation, interviews and participant observation. For example, both Loic Wacquant (2004) and Susan Brownell (2005) immersed themselves into the world of training and competition that respectively characterized boxing in the slums of Chicago, and track and field in the universities of China.

2.5.2 Participation

Females generally are at risk of not benefiting from sports because of a lack of participation (Crouter 2011). Women are deprived because of inequitable access to sports facilities and limited opportunities to participate in sports (Bailey et al 2005). There is

limited support in terms of funding and media coverage for womens’ sport (Parliamentary

Committee Council of Europe, 2005). Media support for men’s sport is greater than for women’s sport. This situation tends to undermine women participating in sports (Duncan and Hasbrook 1988). Alongside dealing with problems related to stereotyping, women athletes can expect less financial reward than their male counterparts - there are pay inequities (WSF 2011) and extremely unequal funding (Women's Sports Foundation

2011). Liang (2011) argued that due to socialization, parents seek out male coaches for their daughters because of a general belief in the superiority of male knowledge in sports.

Theberge (2000) suggests excellence in sports has been narrowly defined in terms that generally suit male athletes and hence, the perpetuation of male authority (Watson 1993;

Messner and Sabo 1994). Due to the nature of socialization and stereotyping, it seems that women equally hold to the belief that men know more about sports (Burke 2001). The notion that women face challenges because sports is predominantly a man’s world is supported by Woodward’s (2008) experience of not being welcome in the boxing gym because she was a distraction.

Canada Statistics indicates there has been an increase in sports participation especially with regards to leisure sports (Environment Scan 2010). Increase in participation comes with no corresponding increase in facilities. According to Nolais (2014) both coaches and soccer players have concerns about inadequate facilities with an increasing number of registered soccer players (Nolais 2014). The Sport Matters Group (2011) has identified accessibility and availability of sports facilities as one of the factors influencing female participation in sports. The Environment Scan (2010) speculates that sports are an

expensive venture and access is largely restricted to wealthy people. For example, in sports like hockey the cost is very high due to registration fees, uniforms, equipment, and facility costs. A recent case involving women field hockey players in Calgary underscores many of these challenges (Nesom 2014). There are also injuries associated with sports participation (Delaney and Madigan 2009:112), including violence perpetuated by fans of winning and losing teams (Lewis 2007:2).

2.5.3 Habitus

Bourdieu described habitus as embodied cultural capital that a person expresses in the form of skills and habits - an unconscious disposition the person accumulates overtime.

Socialization is one of the ways that an embodied cultural capital is attached to the body

(Bourdieu 1977:72-95). Wacquant (2004:16) demonstrates habitus by describing the body as a seat, the instrument and the target. (He conducted an experimental ethnography in

Chicago’s black ghetto about boxing. Through participation he acquired the ‘’pugilist habitus’’ and developed a greater understanding of the art of practice in boxing). Before one attempts to partake in sports it is important for one to build body capital, gaining habitus is a sign of readiness to participate in sports (Wacquant 2004:127). In Wacquant’s

(2004:16) view, one needs to acquire a set of ‘’bodily and mental schemata’’ and also to construct the ‘’theory of practice’’ to effectively participate in sports (Bourdieu, 1977).

Borrowing from this approach, I sought to understand and describe my lived experience through active participation in sports. In this regard, my research followed the dictates of

Mauss, (1979) that, to attain a disposition to do sports as in the case of any other technique

of the body, the work done by the individual will be for practical collective reason (that underlines accepted theories of social action). In societies where athletes excel, the benefit is not for only the athlete but also the community as Brownell explains (1995:15).

Developing his ideas further, Mauss (1979) posited that there are instances where a

‘’physio-psycho-sociological’’ congregation of series of action may be habitual or ancient in the life of the individual and also in the history of the society. The idea of a habitual

“physio-psycho-sociological” comportment might help account for why women do not participate in sports to the same degree as men – the larger social habitus does not include a prominent role for women in sports participation.

2.5.3.1 Socio-Cultural Studies of the Body

Body culture involves all those bodily practices, techniques, outlooks, habits, methods of perception, sensitivities, discipline, and patriotism, moral feelings, participation in rituals and procedures of public action demonstration that influence political and public culture (Brownell 1995).

Theories of the body have changed throughout history. These changes arise as a result of changes in conceptions of the body, conceptions which can also vary “across and within bodily crafts”, depending on the complex of rules and techniques that defines them, the social properties of their practitioners, and thus the specific form of' human excellence' they promulgate (Wacquant 1998). Although power relations in-terms of state, class and gender shape the culture of the body (Brownell 1995), social studies of the body exclude actual studies of the body. There is limited work done to incorporate practices where social

structures become embodied (Wacquant 1995). By devoting their time to training, athletes convert bodily labour to bodily capital, and they profit from this capital in the form of winning their fights (Wacquant 1995). The body has both physical (reaction of spectators and the media) and mental (boosting ego) inferences which determine whether the athlete is in good shape (Woodward 2008). Gaining the required traits and embodiment (habitus, mental and physical schemes) is necessary for success (Wacquant 2004).

The body, like most instruments of production, can be refurbished, retooled and significantly restructured in a social factory such as the gym (for converting the human bodies into simulated fighting machines). The body can be remodeled in terms of shape and volume into a new body. Body remodeling is achieved through regimented exercise and special diet (Wacquant 1995). Training the body (Brownell 1995) involves athletes thoroughly (re)fitting their bodies (corporeal instrumentality, aesthetics, and ethics), and thus, their selves. These actions (practical fusion of action and thought which includes a combination of commitment, pain, pleasure, mental and physical toughness, of the body and soul) help to intensify material, sensual-emotional, and moral immersion within the professional setting (Wacquant 1998).

2.5.4 Nationalisation

Sport has different significance, implication, and symbolic meaning to different classes, and categories of gender, people, societies, communities, religion, countries, and fans (Carter 2002). Bairner (2001) recognises that both gender and class play important roles in the formation of a particular version of a national identity. Political states use sports

nationalism and citizenship to stamp their authority and to advertise their countries to the world. They employ sport as a means of communicating to other states that their polity is more than just a national government (Besnier and Brownell 2012). Foucault (1977, 1978) theorised that understanding the global landscape of sports with greater awareness of the state goes beyond national governments. The state uses sport to integrate, modernise and empower its members (Foucault 1977, 1978; Besnier and Brownell 2012).

Sport symbolises national competencies where countries battle for national supremacy through international competitions (Carter 2002). Symbolically, national identity as well as national sentiments can be manifested through major sports events. In places like Catalonia in Spain, Brittany in France, or Taiwan, groups of people use sports to create a sense of cultural independence. Success in particular sports has symbolically linked specific sports to specific places. For example, athletics is linked to Kenya, football is linked to Brazil, ice hockey is linked to Canada or Sweden, golf is linked to Scotland, sumo wrestling is linked to Japan, cycling is linked to France, baseball is linked to Cuba, and hurling is linked to Ireland, and their achievements in sports contributes to defining the identity and greatness of the nation (Jarvie 2006:115).

There is an explicit assumption that nationalism is a uniform global identity based on the fact that nationalist formations are informed by locally and historically specific power relations. This leads to a process of sportization which is intimately tied to the construction of modern national identities (Carter 2002). Bairner (2001) makes it abundantly clear that the construction of a “national sport” based on a seemingly

“universal” sport, such as soccer, is not a straightforward matter. He shows that the creation

of a national sport requires an assumption of homogeneity among the populace. Thus the formation of a national sport is more problematic as a result of internal fractures rather than outside threats to a national identity.

The state uses sport as a symbol to form and manifest national identities and to assert dominance. It follows that athletes are political representatives and embodiments of the state and as such the state rewards them (Brownell 2012). Mentore (2005:211-218) argues that sport practice can reflect the strengths and weaknesses within a society and the factors that make the society an integrated whole.

Sport can serve as a vehicle for the integration of immigrant and other minorities into dominant society (Besnier and Brownell 2012). Some scholars have critically examined how sport helps to construct and perpetuate the dominant form of and the seemingly counter-hegemonic role of women in sport (Carter 2002). Competitions, for example, demonstrate the complementary nature of men and women and show the need for equal opportunity for women to be part of the nation Mentore (2005:211-218).

The relevance of sports to nations cannot be overemphasised; it is the basis for calls from interest groups for more equal opportunities to participate in sports. Gaps in status between men (dominant) and women (dominated) highlight the association of nationalism and gender bias. Sports serve as a platform where the integration of nationalism and masculinity becomes more visible (Nauright 2010:281; Coakley and Dunning 2000:243).

Sport can be a means for for national reconciliation. Japan and Korea resolved major differences when they co-operated and co-hosted the 2002 World Cup of Soccer.

During the tournament, Japan eliminated visa requirement for short-stay visitors from

Korea and Korea lifted a ban on playing Japanese music. Sport can also harness national identity, reconciliation and national politics. The relationship between sports and power extend from athletic bodies to social bodies in complex, intertwined patterns that penetrate and crosscut local specificities (Carter 2002). Sport is a prime instrument for the socialisation of children to both nationalism and gender (Dyck 2010). According to Alter

(1992) in the field of play child participants learn to display the national character. In soccer, the styles of play reflect national ideologies. For example in soccer, the Brazilians play a style called samba which reflects ‘’individualistic creativity’’ whereas Germans are methodical in their play, evoking comparisons with a well-oiled machine. These play styles reflect national values based on “historical, socially negotiated representations” (Carter

2002:8). In regards to style, the nationality of a team coach influences his ideals and philosophy.

In Ghana, fans frequently claim that foreign coaches who enhance the national style of play find greater success than those who introduce a style inconsistent with the national style. After gaining independence in 1957, the first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah supported athletes and sport to establish a national identity, and gain recognition abroad as an emerging country. Ghana experienced early successes in the Commonwealth and All

African games in athletics (track and field), boxing, and football/soccer (Boateng and

Maier 2015).

Jarvie (2006:116) identifies arguments made in relation to the contribution of sports in the making of nations to include sport as: a cultural form; a substitute for political nationalization; a contribution to both ethnic and civic forms of nationality; a means of

promoting national reconciliation; a safety outlet of emotional energy for frustrated peoples or nations; a way to build national identity and patriotism. Nations denied national sports representation have at times vested great national sentiment in specific clubs like the Barcelona Football Club (‘Barça’).

2.5.5 Globalisation

Early studies of sport occurred in various disciplines ranging from philosophy, economics, physics, and biology, to history and sociology. An anthropological approach expands on the Western-centric approach to sport studies, and provides a look into the roles sport plays in the evolution of global, national, and local formations of culture and power

(Carter 2002). Globalisation has resulted in increasing commodification and corporatisation of sport, and competition between teams and sports for athletes involving huge amounts of money (Bale and Maguire 1994). Marketisation and commoditisation provide leverage for powerful nations to assert their dominance over their sport competitors by, for instance, buying the best athletes from the dominated countries and sometimes offering those athletes citizenship. There are instances when international corporate entities sponsor and own clubs in other countries, make all management decisions, and secure profits which they return to their home countries thereby leaving host countries further impoverished (Nauright 2012:54). The above global pattern has not favored most women’s’ national and local teams as most corporate entities prefer to sponsor national men’s’ teams. Both the commodification and corporatization of sport reduce especially women’s’ participation because for instance in some countries facilities

for sports are provided because of men’s’ participation. If the best male athletes leave the country, no organizations provide facilities, and without facilities women will not be able to participate. In cases where facilities are limited, organizations give priority to male athletes and women athletes have to make do with a “trickle down” approach to sport funding.

The above scenario characterizes sport in developing countries such as Ghana. Due to what Bale (1991:189) described as “brawn drain”, men’s’ football teams in Ghana possess inferior quality players and this has reduced spectatorship. Instead of watching local league matches, fans prefer to stay home and watch the English Premier League

(EPL) where most of the Ghanaian top players ply their trade. Local leagues face serious challenges due to inability to raise funds as a result of reduced quality of play resulting in poor stadium attendance that mean fewer facilities, and as indicated earlier, this lack of facilities has a trickle-down effect on accessibility of facilities for women in sports. Due to globalisation, national teams go into a stage of “dependent development” an example is the English soccer teams as a result of the presence of foreign players in the league system denying most of the local clubs eventually has a negative effect the national team (Maguire

2013:200).

Another aspect of the globalization of sport has been the rise of global administrative bodies that oversee and regulate various sport events. Globalisation has also impacted on local sport participation by way of administrative practices. Carter (2002) documents the rise of global administrative bodies such as the International Federation of

Association Football (FIFA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and

International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) (Vanderhoof 2011) that oversee and regulate various sports. Similarly, MacAloon (1984) discusses how the modern Olympic movement highlights the diffusion of sports forms and organisation across the globe. These organisations also continue empowering males (e.g., the amount of money FIFA gives to mens’ soccer teams during the World Cups is greater than the amount they give to womens’ teams). Such inequities sometimes serve as deterrents to female participants and thereby compromise efforts to create equality between the sexes (Grainey 2012:23).

Agergaard (2008) posits that the migration of athletes is a phenomenon that goes back to the modernization of sport with rules, competition, and a governing body developing in the wake of Industrialization in the 1860s (Magee and Sugden 2002). Sports migration is another form of capitalism (Besnier and Brownell 2012) a common phenomenon where athletes move to other places where they can make a living playing their sport. Bale and Maguire (1994) revealed that both male and female athletes migrate to play their sports (Agergaard 2008). The immigration of foreign athletes to particular cultural contexts is part of a global flow of personnel related to other global flows of technology, economy, media, images and ideas (Appudurai 1995). Scholars have developed different ways of categorizing sport immigrants. Maguire (1996) organises sport immigrants into five categories: pioneers, settlers, mercenaries, returnees and the nomadic cosmopolitan. Magee and Sugden (2002) use six categories for sport migrants: the mercenary, the settler, the abortionist, the nomadic cosmopolitan, the exile and the expelled.

2.5.6 Feminism

Play is a source of significant theoretical insight in anthropology and other disciplines (Huizinga 1970). Sport plays a vital role in people’s lives by teaching the gendering of bodies, social opportunity, performance, self-display, interpersonal relations, geographies, history and hierarchies of social lives (Kidd 1996). There is a link between feminism and women sports (Lenskyj 2010) and discourse on the subject shows that there is not gender equality in sports (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005:829).

Feminist research is explicitly directed towards comprehending evolving social factors affecting women (Harrison and Fahy 2005:702) and also provides a framework for understanding the contribution of women in sport (Birrell 2005:61). This study is rooted in this idea, and holds that women’s “participation in sports is a feminist issue deserving of research and theory development (Harrison and Fahy 2005:702).” Many scholars in the study of sociology of sports use feminist theory to understand power and gender relations

(Birrell 2005:61 Coakley 2009:39). According to Smith (2010:98), issues of gender are core to social life and this fact makes the concerns of masculinity and femininity essential.

Critical feminist theorists have stressed the importance of critiquing and changing the culture and (Pfister and Kristin 2013:208) body (physicality) of sports so that they represent the perspectives and experiences of women as well as men (Maguire 2002:207;

Coakley 2001:39). The aim of feminist theory is to expose gender inequalities (Jarvis and

Watts 2012:67) and imbalance in terms of ‘’funding, programs, facilities, media coverage of women's sports’’ (Messner 1988:207) and pay inequalities (Women’s Sports

Foundation 2011).

In a related vein, the United Nations (2003) has created policies barring any forms of discrimination against women. Similarly, the mission of the IOC is to create gender equality in sports. Rule 2, Point 7, of the Olympic Charter states that “to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women” (Olympic Charter, 2015).

Additionally, there have been legislations through the Millennium Development Goals, the

Beijing Platform for Action, resolutions of the Olympics Committee, the Brighton

Declaration on Women and sports, the Montreal tool kit (Women 2000 and beyond 2007), and title IX among others, that attempt to create equity and equality for men and women participating in sports (Women’s Sports Foundation 2011).

Furthermore, the IOC and bodies belonging to the movement reserves about 20% of its decision making positions for women and it funds women especially from developing countries and offers assistance programs for athletes, managers and coaches (IOC

Factsheet 2016). The IOC has developed both educational and training programs targeted at women in Sports to empower them to take up leadership positions within the administrative structures in the NOCs and National Sports Federations (IOCs Factsheet

2016).

2.5.7 Volleyball

Volleyball is one of the most successful and popular competitive and recreational sports in the world (Official volleyball rules 2013-2016:7; Schmidt 2015). Volleyball is fast, exciting and full of explosive action (Official volleyball rules 2013-2016:7). It is

among the biggest five international sports in the world, and also the largest international federation worldwide- Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) with 220 national governing bodies (Schmidt 2015). William Morgan invented volleyball in 1895 (FIVB rules 2013-2016:7).

Volleyball is played by two teams playing on the opposing sides of a court divided by a net. (There are different forms available to suite different needs). Play begins with serving the ball to the opposite side and play continues until the ball is grounded. The team that makes the point has the right to serve the ball. Volleyball is unique amongst net games because the ball is constantly in the air with a regulated amount of internal passing before it must be sent over the net to the opponent’s side of the court (FIVB rules 2013-2016:7).

Volleyball is a team sport and the participants in volleyball include: players, coaches, referees, spectators, commentators. The game relies on volley passing across divided courts. It involves ball passing, service, attack, jumping power, rotation, explosive action and defense (FIVB rules 2013-2016:7). Volleyball rules have changed significantly over the last 20 years and the expectation is that it will continue to grow with the corresponding growth in spectatorship and advertisements (Schmidt 2015). It was added as an Olympic medal sport in 1964 Men’s and women’s events were included at the same time. Women played for the first time in the 1962 Olympics (IOC 2015; Schmidt 2015). For Court dimensions and net height vary for men and women, please refer to Appendix “C” for more details.

2.5.8 Autoethnography

Autoethnography is a method of scholarly enquiry that follows the tradition of ethnographic study. Autoethnography includes personal narratives, lived experience, and reflexivity that researchers use to create “studies of a personal nature” (Ellis 2004; Ellis and Bochner, 2000). The goal of autoethnography is to promote and inspire scholars to recognise questions and problems in research (Wall 2006) as well offer encouragement of

“imagination, intuition, self-reflection, and the tacit dimension as valid ways in the search for knowledge and understanding” (Douglass and Moustakas, 1985:40). Overall, autoethnographers have tended to concentrate upon the phenomenological and interactional dimensions of sporting experience and to focus on feelings as an embodied form of consciousness (Denzin 1984). Autoethnography is a relatively new methodological approach in sports research within the social sciences (Denzin, 1997; Ellis et al 2011).

Even though autoethnographic reports are presented as personal narratives, the research approach is more than just telling stories. Autoethnography is based on multiple sources of evidence, and the approach provides scholarly and justifiable interpretations of data and reports. Researchers complement their accounts with other data that triangulates or collaborates their accounts. Methods of data collection include interviews, reflexive writing, documents, artifacts gathering, and participant observation (Duncan 2004).

Challenges or potentially negative aspects of autoethnographic study include: over reliance on personal writing style; lack of self-honesty; and scholars’ failure to realise and link their personal experience to larger theoretical concepts (Parks 1997).

Autoethnographic investigation has not yet enjoyed the popularity, respect, and admiration

of its ethnographic predecessors. The use of the self as a source of data has opened the approach to criticism for being self-indulgent, introspective, and individualized (Holt

2003).

As a women athlete who has motivators for participating in sports, the use of autoethnographic approach as a method for the collection of primary data is influenced by two major reasons. The first being that I will acquire embodied knowledge of my research participants’ world of experience – by doing what they do I can ground my analysis of interview and observational data. Secondly, I can use my relevant previous experiences as an athlete as another source of insight into my research question and my findings.

2.6 Conclusion

The purpose of this study is to discover the factors influencing women’s participation in sports. The previous material provides a general context for this study, and helped frame the research questions: What are the factors influencing your participation in sports? The next chapter (method) will provide details about the collection and analysis of data.

CHAPTER THREE

Methods

3.1 Introduction

My purpose in this study is to identify and analyse the factors that influence women’s participation in sports. Employing an ethnographic approach, I wanted to discover the emic concepts of my participants. To achieve this goal, I followed Spradley

(1979:3) who advocates “learning from people” rather than “studying the people”. I participated in and observed various sports and sporting activities. In this chapter I will present the research techniques that I used for the study. The topics I will cover include: study design and method, sampling, sampling units, data collection, study area, my personal experience, data analyses, practice and theory in the field, observer effect and reality on the ground, and ethics.

3.2 The study design and methods

This ethnographic study involved the use of participant observation, interviews and autoethnography to document the factors influencing women’s participation in sports. For this study, I worked in gyms, volleyball courts, fitness clubs and offices.

Participant observation of consenting participants occurred before, during and after games and training sessions of teams - normally between 3:00pm - 6:00 pm on match days and 4:30 pm to 11:00 pm on training days. Participant observation occurred from Monday to Saturday for one and a half to three hours per session. In the month of May 2015, I did

8 days making up a total of 24 hours. I did 11 days in the month of June adding up to 33

hours (9 hours of games and 24 hours of training/practice). For the month of July, participant observation occurred 12 times making up 36 hours (9 hours of games and 27 hours of training/practice). Finally, in the month of August, participant observation occurred 7 times making up a total of 21 hours (6 hours of games and 15 hours of training/practice). In total, 114 hours was used for participant observation (90 hours for training/practice and 24 hours for game session).

I tried to conduct interviews at times that were convenient for participants. Most interviews happened between the hours of 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. mostly on weekdays. Out of the 45 interviews (including conversations), 41 occurred on weekdays (2 on Mondays,

11 on Tuesdays, 7 on Wednesdays, 18 on Thursdays, and 3 on Fridays) and 4 occurred during weekends (4 on Saturday and none on Sunday).

3.3 Sampling

I used two non-probability sampling methods. The first method was purposive sampling following the steps that Spradley (1979:47) outlines. I started by doing ethnographic reconnaissance. Ethnographic reconnaissance “involves the technical procedure of hanging around, doing static and dynamic analyses of location, noting performance roles, suppressing assumption of knowledge and being open to reconceptualization, but it rarely involves any consequential participation (Anderson

2011:70).” The exploration got me acquainted with a lot of likely participants from which

I selected qualified individuals to ask to participate. Following Wolcott (2008:188) I selected participants based on their knowledge, time, availability and willingness to

intensively participate. The second method was snowball or chain referral sampling in which select participants linked me up with other potential participants. At the end of the selection process, a total of 70 participants qualified and were selected to be part of the study (45 for participant observation and 25 for interviews).

3.3.1 Site Selection and Access

Prior to starting fieldwork, I concentrated on selecting suitable sites, making contacts and gaining access to these sites. In selecting a site, I considered factors that made it suitable and conducive for data collection. Using community entry techniques such as contacting the heads of various institutions, department, facility and clubs, I was able to gain access to management and other stakeholders to discuss my study and to ask whether

I could use their facilities and get their full involvement in the study. After gaining access to the selected sites, I used purposive sampling and snowball sampling to contact and select participants.

3.3.2 Making Contacts and Selecting Participants

I consulted with athletes and management who were prospective participants and asked if they could suggest people who might be interested in participating and if they could suggest locations where I might be able to access suitable study participants. I followed up on the leads they gave me and got in touch with other prospective participants.

The initial individuals I contacted showed me their facilities, activities and schedule of teams and introduced me to individuals who further linked me with other participants,

clubs and facilities. Additionally, I talked with certain friends about my research topic and they were able to link me up with individuals and teams that fit the study. Through snowball referral, I was able to locate other suitable participants. After I selected the facilities and participants, booked and confirmed appointments, I started the fieldwork.

3.3.3 Team Selection

Even though the selected participants showed me some of the volleyball teams I could play with, using the Internet to search for a team was also very helpful. From Internet searches I learned of a variety of clubs throughout the country and the city. There were specialist clubs, general interest clubs, clubs for men, clubs for women, coed clubs, clubs for children, clubs for adults, and “all ages” clubs. Several organisations were city wide while others were administered at a local community level. I relied on a website from a local association that provided information about Calgary sports and clubs including events, bulletins from individual clubs, Calgary information, community services, and local businesses (www.calgaryarea.com). Drawing from these different options, I chose study participants, sites, and teams. To select a volleyball team to play with, I focused on finding a team with qualities that suited the study. I wanted to find a women’s team that played on a regular schedule, was accepting of new members, was affordable, whose game and training times fit my schedule, and that did not require tryouts.

3.3.3.1 Volleyball

Indoor Volleyball is the CSSC’s (Calgary Sports and Social Club) largest gym sport. Previous experience is not a requirement, and teams are open to players from all ages and level of skill. The rationale for such relaxed rules is to attract as many participants and emphasise having as much fun as possible rather than being competitive. The CSSC promotes Volleyball as a vehicle for exposing people to the challenges and benefits of teamwork as well as communication. The CSSC also provides social opportunities and encourages players to meet up with teammates and other players for food and drink specials at one of the CSSC's many Sponsor Bars around Calgary. Venues for games include grass, beach and indoor volleyball courts, making it possible to play the sport throughout the year. Registration, tournaments, social events, and community information are accessible online (www.calgarysportsclub.com).

3.4 Sampling Unit and Size

The sampling unit was made up of elite athletes and recreational athletes, fans, sponsors, teachers, coaches, officials, managers, players, media, scouts, family and friends

(please refer to appendix A). Participants were either competitive or non-competitive and

18 years or older. The authors of the 36th Bethesda Conference define a competitive athlete as “one who participates in an organised team or individual sport that requires regular competition against others as a central component, places a high premium on excellence and achievement, and requires a form of systematic (and usually intense) training

(Lamberti et al 2012:292).” Alternate forms of sport participation are non-competitive

(Lamberti et al 2012:292). I collected data over a period of 3 months (from May 4 to August

17). A total of 70 participants took part in the research (45 interviews and 25 participant observation). Please refer to Appendix ‘A’ Figure 1 for further details.

3.5 Data Collection

In the field, “data collection methods, technique, and analyses are the fundamental elements of ‘doing ethnography’ (Bickman and Rog 2009:544).” Social researchers generally rely on primary and secondary sources of data (Ranjit 1996). This ethnographic study relied on secondary data to supplement the primary data (Gill and Phil 2010).

Secondary data came from books, articles, journals and the Internet. I also used three primary data collection techniques 1) interviews, 2) observation and 3) autoethnography.

3.5.1 Secondary Data

Secondary data, according to Whitehead (2005:3) “is simply a reference to existing data, as compared to new data that are being collected, or have been recently collected”.

Prior to going to the field to collect primary data, I embarked on an extensive exploration of data already existing on the study topic, and on comparable populations and settings. In this study, relevant secondary data came from books, articles, journals and the Internet.

3.5.2 Primary Data

Primary data collection techniques included interviews, observation and auto ethnography. In ethnography, primary data collection occurs primarily through fieldwork

(Whitehead 2005). Fieldwork requires the researcher to be personally immersed in a current social activity (Wolcott 2005; Blommaert and Jie 2010). In my fieldwork, I recorded and documented my observations and also the interviews and conversations with participants. The fieldwork exposed me to activities, ideas, and views of how things are done in this cultural setting with respect to my own culture. For example, Ghanaians are more flexible and permissive of not meeting schedules. I was somewhat surprised to see that people were keen to “be on time” and meet their schedules.

3.5.2.1 Interviews

Interviews provide the opportunity to learn the insider perspective. As Boellstorff et al (2012:93-94) elaborate, interviews provide

opportunities to learn about people’s elicited narratives and representations of their social worlds, including beliefs, ideologies, justifications, motivations, and aspirations. These are part of any culture. Through interviews, we learn about secrete histories, internal power struggles, and unofficial customs. Interviews allow researchers to study social dynamics and cultural conventions from a range of perspectives that may not see the light of day in group interactions.

Interviews furnished details of how members of the study scene were influenced by their society, culture, and other athletes. Researchers use interviews to search for more public data and conversations to search for more private or personal data (Gustavsson 2007:229).

The purpose of interviews is to collect factual data in an objective manner. The idea of interviews is to set up a channel to transfer objective data from respondent to interviewer.

During interviews, the researcher’s task is not to influence the interview with any distorting direction (Gustavsson 2007:229). Responses from interviewees also brought to bear what they said in relation to what appears to be practiced during participant observation. For example, during participant observations it appeared participants received a lot of support from their parents who appeared excited and thrilled watching their children play (there was an abundance of hugging, taking videos and pictures together, cheering) During interviews, however, most participants said that their parents’ presence was inconvenient and put pressure on them.

Interviews were non-standardized, made up of open-ended questions, probes and follow-ups. Responses to open ended questions provided information from the emic perspective. Participants were generally enthusiastic and readily provided information for the study. An important part of understanding is to get the meaning that people find in and give to their actions in the world (Boellstorff et al 2012:93-94). Interviews helped uncover information and explanations that would otherwise have remained untapped or misunderstood from observation alone.

During scheduled interviews, I audio recorded participants with a digital audio recorder. Before and immediately after each interview session I checked the audio records for quality, and voice clarity. I listened to the entire recording after the interview session.

I took notes for two participants who did not want to be audio recorded. I also took notes of conversations with participants.

I carried a notebook to take notes on friendly conversations and for recording interactions with participants, before, during and after play. I expanded these fieldnotes into larger, more detailed summaries after each field session. Immediately after interviews,

I transcribed audio recordings, a practice that was extremely helpful at preventing work from piling up. The duration of the interviews ranged between 29 to 57 minutes. I arranged interviews to occur from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, and asked the interviewees to select a convenient time within that range.

Spradley (1979:59) insists that it is important for the ethnographer to clearly reiterate the purpose of the interview to each participant. At the start of interviews, I explained the purpose of the research and assured participant confidentiality. I offered explanations when participants needed clarification. I had very intimate conversations with some participants. The purpose of conversation is to collect factual data in a subjective manner. The idea of conversations is to get other peoples’ personal feelings and opinions.

The aim of the researcher in a conversation is to get participants to open themselves and to convey their factual thoughts (Gustavsson 2007:229).

There were times when participants said things they felt they could not say in public out of fear of peoples’ response. For example, a transgender participant told me her ordeal of peoples’ response to her altered identity and how sport was a site to address the challenges associated with the change. Boellstorff et al (2012:93-94) postulate that, one- on-one interviews provide an opportunity for truly private discussions that can reveal beliefs and opinions difficult to access, offer participants a safe way of sharing behind-the- scenes understandings of identity while maintaining anonymity with regard to community.

3.5.2.2 Participant Observation

Participant observation was the second primary data collection instrument I used.

According to Spradley (1980:57) “ethnographic fieldwork involves alternating between insider and outsider experience, and having both simultaneously.” Playing volleyball gave me the opportunity to observe participants and concurrently observe myself in relation to the participants. Participant observation occurred on different days and times based on the game schedule.

Playing with the participants gave me an insider perspective. As an insider, I participated in the routines on and off the playfield. Routines included warm up, play, warm down, and socializing after play. The researcher can be part of the cultural scene yet outside the cultural scene she studies (Spradley 1980).

My preference was to use unstructured focused observation. The method involved using Spradley’s (1980:82-83) descriptive question matrix (the matrix presents observational categories of phenomena likely to occur in any setting of human interaction) as a guide to document my observations. The matrix helped me capture information about factors that influence participation but that participants fail to mention (perhaps because they took its impact on their participation for granted). For example, stakeholder support was not valued by some of the participants in the interview - participants frequently spoke about their parents as a nuisance. However, during my observations I saw that parents appeared to play a vital role in influencing regular participation.

3.5.2.2.1 Nature of Participation

Participant observation and recording occurred throughout the fieldwork. In the beginning, I observed as a non-participant. From here I progressed from observing activities as a passive participant, to moderately participating, and finally I became an active participant. I observed athletes as a non-participant, passive, moderate and active participant, and played volleyball as a moderate and active participant.

3.5.2.2.2 Non-involvement

At this stage I observed from a distance and did not participate in play activities. I just observed. During observation, I tried to pay critical attention to detail, and get a sense of the new cultural scene I was studying. These observations gave me an idea of what to expect in the field and how to create a research program. After this first stage, I moved on to become a passive participant.

3.5.2.2.3 Passive Participation

‘Passive participation’ involves being present at the research scene and not participating in activities (Spradley 1980:59). I acted as a spectator and found a spot in the sports facility from where I observed and documented participants’ activities/practices. I took field notes on the appearance (apparel, equipment, and gear), verbal behavior and interaction (e.g., whether they were speaking to each other, the time length of interactions).

This particular technique of observation is effective for documenting group data and

focusing on patterns of group behavior (Adler and Adler 1994:384). Passive participation yielded clues about attitudes and rules of participation, the structure and functions of the facilities, including the periphery services they rendered. For example, most of the fitness centers provided complementary services such as courses or lessons on proper dieting, resting, how to use new equipment, and appropriate ways to play sports for optimum benefits.

After gathering general information, I started making more specific observations.

I observed and recorded information about infrastructure, equipment (apparel and gear), nature of support from stakeholders, availability of training facilities, and access to training facilities, attitude of stakeholders and participants, and group social activities. I also tried to note differences between male and female coaches, officials and managers in terms of behavior toward women athletes, and the motivations of participants to play sports. Passive participation occurred on different days and time ranging from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm on game days and from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm on training days.

3.5.2.2.4 Moderate Participation

After passive participation, I had a rough idea of the things I needed to do to participate. I got my game apparel and gear. In the initial stages, I psyched myself up and then started to act as a moderate participant. Moderate participation occurs, according to

Spradley (1980:61), “when the ethnographer seeks to maintain a balance between being an insider and an outsider between participation and observation.” I participated and observed participants in order to get their emic perspective in relation to my etic perspective toward

what inspires participants to take part in sports. Initially, I was overwhelmed by both being new to the team and do to the fact that I had not played volleyball for several years. I was in pretty bad shape. From relevant previous experience, I knew I had to be very careful to avoid injuries and complete physical breakdown. I played it safe and cautiously because I did not want to truncate or miss any minute of the fieldwork. With time, my conditioning improved, and at that point I became an active participant.

3.5.2.2.5 Active Participation

Being a player immersed me in the team, and gave me a better understanding of why participants behaved the way they did and what factors influenced their participation.

For example, playing gave me insights into the disappointment participants showed whenever the final whistle was blown at the end of play. This understanding grew as my physical condition improved and I became a more active player. Like my participants, I realised time was short and I always wished we could play more.

3.5.2.2.5.1 Playing Volleyball

Despite the fact that I had already selected the participants for the study, I had to still go through formalities when the team manager introduced me to the team. The team manager told them I would be playing with them as a new team member as well as a researcher. She told them about the purpose of my research and asked them to support me.

She also asked the players not to be bothered by my presence and to go about their regular activities. Her vouchsafing worked wonders and went a long way to help me. Participant

observation relies on the principle of interaction and the exchange of viewpoints between social actors. According to Atkinson and Hammersley (1994:248), research provides the opportunity for the ethnographer to collect unstructured data by assigning meaning to the functions of human activities.

In time, I built rapport with my teammates and with the individuals I selected as participants. I learned to act like them, and to see the world in their terms. For example, I started to wear the standard apparel and gear. As a volleyball player in Ghana, I rarely wore kneepads. The only time I wore them was when we played other teams and the District,

Regional and National Sports Councils provided the pads. We always returned the kneepads after play. Kneepads were not easily accessible in Tamale and were very expensive. In Calgary, getting the standard playing gear got me ready and made it easier to blend in. Playing with the participants helped me to cultivate knowledge and gain understanding into participants’ actions and reactions that I observed and that they spoke of during interviews. The knowledge I acquired helped me fit in and also had a positive impact on data collection.

For the most part, participants were helpful and forth coming. I used a combination of a structured observation checklist, field jottings on demographic information and free- hand notes to document observations. I used the checklist while interacting with participants at the beginning or/and the end of their training or match sessions. During these episodes, I introduced the research to the participants. I showed them the consent forms (please see Ethics Form in Appendix D). In some cases, participants wanted to read the documents themselves, while in others I read out the consent information at their

request. In either case, I took pains to ensure the content was clear to the participants. Most of them complained the consent was bulky. However, the participants asked me questions whenever they were unclear about issues of consent. I answered by referring to the consent form.

I recorded some observations on the spot in the form of condensed notes. In contrast, I documented some observations after playing and leaving the social setting. As a standard of practice, directly following observations I wrote expanded notes from the condensed fieldnotes. In the beginning of the fieldwork, I made expanded notes in the field.

As I became more involved, I took only condensed notes in the field that I expanded at the end of each observation session. This method ensured that I captured details while information was still fresh in my mind.

3.5.2.3 Autoethnography

Autoethnography was the third primary data collection method I used. The term autoethnography (Kirk et al 2006:471) refers to writing about the personal and its relationship to the culture, frequently in first-person voice (Ellis 2004:37-38).

Autoethnography is a method of research (Hayler 2011) that serves as a source of cultural analyses through personal narrative (Boylorn and Orbe 2013:16-17).

Participant observation and interviews gave me an understanding of what influenced individuals’ decisions to play and participate in sports. According to Bain

(1995) autoethnography is an excellent means of enquiry into sports, physical activity and health. Autoethnography provides a more intimate understanding of participants’

experiences and motivations (Ngunjiri 2010). For example, being a member of the team I confirmed what my participants said about the importance of socialisation in their participation in sports. As a team member, I attended birthdays and graduation ceremonies of teammates and contributed with my fellow teammates to buy presents for those we were celebrating. I came to understand why participants grumbled and complained about having inadequate time to practice or play in a match. When I started to play, I felt I was barely given enough time on the field of play – I spent too much time on the bench. These feelings helped me gain a better understanding of why participants complained when playing time had elapsed. In sum, autoethnography enhanced my reflexivity (self-reference or reflection) and attainment of subjective knowledge (personal knowledge gained through experience of sporting activity (Bain 1995).

3.6 Study Area

Calgary is a city in the province of Alberta, in the country of Canada (The Free

Dictionary 2003). A cosmopolitan centre, Calgary owes its rapid growth to the oil industry.

Calgary has a population of over 1.2 million (Howell and Hudes 2015). Calgarians have passion for sport. There are approximately 320,000 amateur sport participants engaged in about 85 different sports activities administered by over 400 sport organisations (Calgary

Sports Council 2008). (Please see. Appendix ‘A’ Table 9 for the various sports engaged in by participants in this study). In my study, I found out some sports are more popular than others. Indoor volleyball is the most popular sport in terms of patronage. For example, the sports that draw the largest number of female athletes are volleyball (56% of participants

played indoor volleyball), fitness exercise (41% of participants were involved in fitness exercise), and soccer (34% of the participants played soccer). Volleyball is an indoor and outdoor team sport (Crossingham and Kalman 2008), and can be “played indoors, outdoors, on sand courts, on grassy fields, or even in a pool (Taneja 2009:342).” The indoor and outdoor versions of the sport differ by way of playing surface: “Indoor volleyball is played on a wooden floor called court. Outdoors, it is played on grass or sand.

A game of volleyball is called a match (Crossingham and Kalman: 2008).” According to the Calgary Sports and Social Clubs (CSSC) (2015), indoor volleyball is one of the most popular sports and the largest gym sport in Calgary. I played indoor volleyball with the study participants. The popularity of indoor volleyball is partly due to the weather which makes it impossible to play outdoor volleyball year round (Mar 1979:17). Volleyball offers a wide range of opportunities for men, women and children of all ages to compete either for recreational or professional purposes. Irrespective of the level of play, volleyball can help to build both individual and team skills like ability to communicate with others

(Taneja 2009:342).

3.7 My Personal Experience (I)

Due to being an elite athlete in Ghana, I have experience playing various sports.

Hence, I already had basic technical skills and physical aptitude for volleyball, but I lacked conditioning or fitness. I was out of shape and the first few weeks were hectic. In the first month (May), I had very severe but tolerable distress throughout my body. My direct physical involvement provided me with a direct link into the study participant’s reality.

Personally, I felt pain on every part of my body. Based on my experience, I expected pain because of the long break I had taken from sports. I was not fit. I knew with time and continuous play I would experience less soreness, and become better conditioned. I did not stop playing. For the first week, the feeling of discomfort was intense. This discomfort reduced marginally on the second week and continued to marginally reduce until the 6th week at which point my condition was vastly improved, and by week eight I rarely felt stiffness and soreness from playing or training. I also experienced increased flexibility, strength and endurance. At this point I began to enjoy play. However, through the entire process I played cautiously to avoid injuries and gradually, I increased the intensity and duration of play with my improved (but not perfect) physical condition. My previous experience in sport helped me to psychologically prepare for the fatigue and stress associated with re-starting play. To help me endure and minimise the pain, I used ice on the sore muscles right from the first day of play, rested a lot, and continued with active recovery (continued to play while treating the pain). By the end of the study, the soreness had graduated from severe but tolerable pains to very mild pains.

During the initial stages, play was not fun and I found myself waiting for the day to end. Pain and discomfort decreased week after week and by the end of the second month

(June) I was in fairly good shape. By the third month (July-August), my cardio-vascular fitness was much better and unlike before, I barely got totally exhausted. At this point, it became more fun and like most of the participants’ I felt like time and duration of play became shorter. We never wanted it to stop. By the end of the study I was physically and mentally comfortable with the demands of training and game play. When I was done the

research, I thanked the participants for their support and they thanked me for being part of the team and told me I was always welcome anytime I wanted any information or to play with them. I recorded all of my experiences from this period in my personal diary.

3.8 Data Analyses

To analyse the fieldnotes and transcripts from observations, interviews, and autoethnography I used inductive coding methods. I used domain analysis to search for larger units of knowledge and thereby ‘discover cultural meaning’ in the ethnographic interviews (Spradley 1979:92) and notes from observations (Spradley 1980).

I started my analysis of field data by rough cleaning (editing) to reduce and eliminate errors and thereby enhance the reliability of the data. The purpose of data editing is to generate data that is accurate, or consistent with the research question alongside other information in the study (Shukla 2010:39). Social researchers are compelled to ensure rigor. Rigor involves the use of verification strategies which are essential and self- correcting during the conduct of research. Morse et al (2002) have argued that the use of rigor guarantees that both researchers and the consumers/other scholars will accept and see such studies as trustworthy. A way of gaining validity and reliability is through the use of quality data (Chapman 2005:1; Cwikel and Hoban 2005). Data cleaning improves data quality by correcting detected errors and eliminating bad records to ensure that there is compliance to applicable standards, rules and conventions (Chapman 2005:1). Quality data

(Morse et al 2002) will ensure the validity and reliability of the data (Babbie 2001:140-

143).

From the very beginning of data collection I did data cleaning. I cleaned the raw data of irrelevant observations and items participants spoke of during interviews which were not relevant to the study. For example, a participant praised her dog for being good company but the participant felt a need to socialise with humans and that was why she was in the gym. I deleted the information about the dog and left socialising as the motivator for participation. After editing, I coded the data using frequency count, sorting, ordering, and categorizing. My objective was to examine the data for meaningful units and patterns.

3.8.1 Frequency Count

I did a frequency count by reading and rereading my field notes and transcripts.

Then, I extracted and coded the terms that my participants used. I then summed the frequency of mention (how many times participants mentioned the term) and divided by the number of participants to get a percentage. The terms meant different things to different participants. As a result, the terms have varied significance to the participants. Some participants mentioned the term once, while others mentioned it many times.

The percentage of responses reveals the factors participants identify as influencing their participation in sports. I read and reread the transcripts and field notes and extracted from them all the factors that participants identified. I listed first the factors on a sheet of cardboard. I then ranked the factors on the basis of their frequency of mention, and this helped highlight the most influential and least influential factors impacting on participants’ participation in sport. For the purpose of demonstration, the frequency counts comprise responses from 70 participants in which participants identified more than one factor that

influenced their participation in sports.

In this analysis, I summed the frequency of mention for listed items and then divided by the total number of participants (70) to get an idea of the percentage of participants who recognised those factors. The above listed factors made up the included terms, which I eventually organised into major categories (cover terms) for the factors influencing participation in sports by virtue of their semantic relations. Please refer to appendix A Figure 2 to 7 for more details.

3.8.2 Ordering and Sorting

To order the data I used headings that corresponded to terms from participant responses. These headings or cover terms included intrapersonal factors, interpersonal factors, environmental factors, financial influence, time and non-support. Under each heading/cover term (for example intrapersonal factors as demonstrated below), the listed items - included terms were placed under the correct cover term. I repeated the same process for each of the cover terms. I continuously sorted the cards into piles, and repeated the process until every listed item was sorted and I could not create new piles.

Like all the included terms, participants used the terms “fun”, “excitement” and

“enjoyable” interchangeably – the terms provided the same contextual meaning. In my analyses, the included term “fun” also meant “excitement” and “enjoyment”. I employed the same process to arrive at the five included terms shown below. The included terms

“passion”, “confidence”, “fun”, “happiness” and “focus” were linked to the cover term

(intrapersonal factors) through a semantic relation (is a kind of).

I further analysed sorted included terms by counting and arranging them based on the frequency of occurrence of the listed items, which I then converted into percentages and ranked into the most and least occurring factors.

3.8.3 Categorisation

Categories refer to entities that the human mind creates so as to make sense of different experiences, by putting things into groups, attributes as well as phenomena on the grounds of how similar or different they are (Ellen 2006:1). Categorisation acts as a means by which each unique experience is converted into a more restricted set of learned and meaningful categories to which humans respond (Varela et al 1992:176). Hence, the way in which categories are related to each other serves as a means by which cultural patterns are produced (Ellen 2006:1). Categorisations are used in “all human cultures” (Eastman and Carter 1994:74).

Categorisation of data involves assigning numbers to key variables such as age, sex, and team. Responses that participants gave with regards to the factors influencing their participation in sports were further categorised and sorted into facilitators and obstacles.

To categorise the key variables, I used different codes. Coding involves sorting out and categorising data for further analyses. It includes making data readable by numeric or non-numeric means, and can be used as a basis of building theory from interview material

(Curtis and Cate 2011:286). As shown in Figure 1, codes in the forms of numbers were

attached to key variables. During data analyses, 1 stood for sex, 1M stood for male and 1F stood for female participants. I created two cards for this particular category: 1 for Male and 2 for Female. I used the same process to analyse the other key variables. Please refer to Appendix “A” Table 2-7

The second method of categorisation involves grouping the ordered factors - the cover terms into facilitators and obstacles. For example, intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental factors all fell under facilitators to participation in sports. Please refer to

Appendix “A” Figure 2-4 for the facilitators and Figure 5-7 for the obstacles.

3.9 Practice and Theory in the Field

Based on my literature review prior to setting out into the field, I had some expectations about the study scene. For example, I thought that the athletes would vary in terms of cultural or ethnic background, class, and age. For the most part, the field site met these expectations. Notwithstanding, I had other expectations based on my prior personal experiences that were not met. The facilities, rules and communication athletes’ use in volleyball were not new to me, but what I experienced varied from what I was familiar with during play. Even though I thought I would be a little tense or nervous at the beginning of my fieldwork, I was still surprised at the intensity of tension, discomfort and challenge

I found fitting in during my initial stages of play. As an experienced volleyball player I had a developed skill set, and it was still largely intact. The reason why I was unable to effectively and freely operationalise basic drills from the onset still eludes me. Back in

Ghana, there were situations where I stayed out of play for even longer periods of time but

whenever I returned to the sport I played well (and then suffered the consequences (pain and stiffness) later). I did everything I could to fit in (mentally and physically psyching myself up), but the stress and tension associated with playing lasted for some time.

3.10 Observer Effect and Reality on the Ground

The “observer effect” occurs when “participants… give false or misleading information in the researcher’s presence (Schensul and Diane 2014:334).” Even though by formally introducing me to the team, the team manager encouraged the volleyball players to go about their activities as if I was not there, the behaviour of some of the players was at times contrived. During my observations I got a good sense of the behaviour of some players and I found they behaved differently or adjusted their behaviour whenever I played with them. It seemed that the athletes could not disregard my presence, or could not behave

“normally” when I was participating. This problem was more pronounced with some of the younger participants. The majority of participants, and particularly the older ones did not seem bothered by my presence. I did not notice a difference between their behaviour when I played with them and their behaviour I documented from my observations. The observer effect had a noticeable impact on 7 out of the 70 participants. As a solitary observer, I felt I did not too heavily intrude on my participants’ play. As time went on, the observer effect diminished as rapport and trust increased and my participants became comfortable with my presence (Schensul and Diane 2014).

Despite the development of rapport and trust, I still had the feeling of being an outsider. I did not naturally belong as I did with my home team in the city of Tamale, in

the Northern Region of Ghana. One day, most of the team attended the birthday party of one of our members. We sat around tables in groups of six, and my teammates engaged in animated conversation, including a considerable degree of gossiping. Some of the athletes said things about the team manager who formerly introduced me to the team. I thought they would show some discretion but they were comfortable with my presence.

3.11 Ethics

Ethics are core to research and provide a means of protecting participants and researchers. Authorisation for the research came in the form of participant consent. I assigned numbers to participants as a means of protecting their identities. I had ethical clearance for this research from the University of Calgary, granted as part of my supervisor’s (Professor Charles Mather) project (Number: 7298). Participants were assured of confidentiality and read the terms and conditions of participation. They signed the consent form before the study began.

CHAPTER FOUR

Results

4.1 Introduction

In this chapter I provide the results from my data collection. I will present the results in two sections. The first section gives demographic and general information about the participants. The second section is made up of two headings. The first heading is the facilitators to women’s participation in sports. The heading consists of the following sub- headings: inter-personal, intra-personal and environmental factors. The second heading is the obstacles to women’s participation in sports, and it consists of the following sub- headings: financial challenges, non-support and inadequate time.

4.1.1 Demographic and General Information of Participants

The demographic characteristics of participants in the study include sex, age, and level of sport participation. In total, 70 individuals participated in the study. There were 5 individuals who self-identified as male, while 65 participants self-identified as female. The youngest participant was 18 years old and the oldest was 81 years old. Professional/elite athletes totaled 20 participants, while 50 of the participants were recreational/amateur athletes (Please refer to Table 1 for more details on the level of participation). The age range for the elite athlete was 18 to 30 years. This result concurs with findings that athletes are at optimum performance or most competitive in their youth (Barnett and Blanco

2013:258). The age range for the recreational athletes was from 18 to 81 years. (Please refer to Appendix “A” Table 1 for more details).

4.1.2 Conceptual Framework

Sports participation occurs at the elite or recreational level. Elite athletes compete at the national and/or international level. Elite athletes include professional athletes, who receive regular remuneration for their participation in elite sporting activities (Paoli and

Alessandro 2013: XXV). Recreational athletes compete sub-nationally (Paoli and

Alessandro 2013: XXV). Participation in sports is both active and passive. Active sports participation involves “doing sports” and passive sports participation involves “watching sports” (Putnam 2000:113). Participants who belong to the “active sports” category have higher levels of involvement and different motives for participation (Page and Connell

2014:175). The term “participation” refers to regular engagement in sports: daily, weekly or monthly (Byers et al 2012:148). Participants played various sports that ranged from high risk to low risk in terms of motivation and sensation (please refer to Table 9). High-risk sports are associated with higher motivation and sensation than are low-risk sports

(Zuckerman 1994:159, Kerr 2014:53).

There were 45 active female participants and 25 passive participants. Of the 45 active participants, 20 were elite participants (2 coaches and 18 players), and 25 were recreational players (Please refer to Figure 1 and Table 1 in Appendix “A” for more details). Participants were involved in a range of sports: 53 participants were involved in various sports and 17 were involved in a single sport. Also, 12 participants were involved in non-team sports whereas 58 participants were involved in team sports. Please refer to

Table 8.

4.1.3 Data Analyses

I used inductive coding methods on the field notes and transcripts that I generated from observations and interviews. Domain analysis is a method of searching for larger units of knowledge in an attempt to ‘discover cultural meaning’ in ethnographic interviews

(Spradley 1979:92) and observations (Spradley 1980). Cultural domains are ‘’a set of items, behaviors, beliefs, or events defined by a cultural group as belonging to the same category of things-a basic unit of meaning that shapes how people conceptually organize their words (Schensul et al 1999:6).” Domains are the first units of analyses of cultural knowledge. The domain structure includes cover terms and included terms. These are linked by semantic relationships, which give cultural meaning to the patterns, objects, interaction, and events obtained from the field as indicated by Spradley (1979, 1980) and

Thyer (2009:441).

4.2 Facilitators to Women’s Participation in Sports

There is an international consensus that participation in physical activities can offer a great deal of benefit to individuals, communities and nations (Bailey et al 2005). I placed the factors that my participants identified as facilitating their participation in sports into four categories: 1) interpersonal, 2) intrapersonal and 3) recommendations and 4) environmental factors.

4.2.1 Inter-Personal Factors

Inter-personal factors influencing female participation in sports included physical, social and economic factors.

4.2.1.1 Physical Factors

The physical motivators that influenced participation include: the desire to be strong and powerful, trying to achieve a nice outward appearance, getting into good physical shape, being or getting fit, and fulfilling doctor’s recommendations. The social factors include: interacting with others, learning and sharing ideas, finding and providing support, and finding friends. The economic motivators to participating in sports include: the cost of in involvement, the lack opportunity to participate in sports, and the nature of support from stakeholders.

Recreational female participants were influenced by all five physical factors I listed above while elite participants cited four of the factors – they excluded doctor’s recommendation as a motivator for playing sports. The two types of participants differed in terms of strength and power - 25 (50%) of recreational and 20 (100%) of elite participants played sports in order to increase or maintain their strength and power.

Achieving a nice outward appearance was more important to recreational participants (40 out of 50, 80%) than elite participants (13 out of 20 – 65%). Getting and remaining fit was equally important to both groups of participants - 40 (80%) of recreational athletes and 16

(80%) of elite athletes said they participated to be in good physical shape/condition, while

46 (92%) of recreational athletes and 20 (100%) elite athletes played to gain and maintain

fitness. Some recreational athletes (5 out of 50 - 10%) claimed that they played sports due to their doctor’s recommendation. Please refer to table 2.

Strength and Power: For many athletes, producing great power is not sufficient for championship performance. My participants expressed attitudes comparable to Lamb

(1995), namely, that champions must be able to sustain power output in an efficient and skillful manner for the duration of their competition. Responses from participants indicate that they participate in sports to harness and maintain strength and power in order to excel both off and on the field of play. Participants said strength and power would help them win competitions, acquire and keep jobs, do field work and succeed in their domestic and occupational activities. According to Dela, a 22-year-old elite athlete, “being in good physical shape is um…. I would say ….non-negotiable for me…see, I have applied to the police academy in my home country… I have to be ready for the training when I gain entry…’’. Similarly, Suhuyini (age 32 years) said “I believe if I do all the hard work here, it will be easier for me in the field as a geographer. This is the way it works…. there is no short cut to climbing mountains, sampling and carrying rocks… I take yoga and fitness classes regularly to gain the needed strength and power.” Like my participants, strength and power helped me to achieve success and win competitions as an elite athlete.

Nice Outward Appearance: Outward appearance mattered more to the recreational participants than to the elite participants. The recreational participant was conscious of a potentially negative impact that poor physical appearance might have on others. Participant 8, a recreational participant 31 years of age said “I need to eliminate anything extra that my body does not need… Just to look good ….it is summer… I need

to be able to wear particular clothes…and feel good.” In contrast, elite participants associated physical appearance more closely to the desire to intimidate opponents. Elite participants noted that even though outward appearance played a minor role in winning, it intimidates their opponents and increases their chances of success. According to Wunnam, a 21-year-old elite athlete, “It’s nice to have a cool look. This might sound ridiculous but

I believe um ….my ripped abs could intimidate my opponents you know…… I get intimidated by competitors with ripped bodies.” Nice outward appearance refers to physical appearance. For the recreational athlete having a nice body means being able to wear certain clothing in the summer and on other occasions. The elite athlete uses a nice body as a tool to intimidate opponents. I was not in any way interested in having a nice outward appearance. It did not matter much to me and barely contributed to my success as an elite athlete. I was never intimidated by the physical appearance of my competitors. My fieldwork led me to the understanding that, nice outward appearance motivates involvement in sports.

Good Physical Shape/Condition: Good physical shape/condition means more stamina and endurance to efficiently execute an activity with ease. Participants suggested that being in good physical shape was important because it provided them with the proper and well-adjusted muscles to perform certain exercises for the entire training period. Kisu, a 37-year-old participant said one will not be able to complete a marathon if one is not well conditioned to endure and go the full distance. Participants suggested that injury is less likely when the body is well conditioned.

Participants identified the need to be in good physical shape as one of the factors influencing their participation in sports. Being well conditioned is necessary for being more competitive and to win. I trained to get in better condition and good physical shape to be able to perform optimally in order to excel in the field of play. As an elite athlete, I played several sports and being well conditioned helped me to build stamina and also to endure.

Being in good physical condition mattered more to the elite participant than to the recreational participant. Both types of participants expressed their desire to always want to win whether they were on or off the field. Maintaining a position in one’s sport and respective team requires being in excellent physical shape. One of the recreational participants, Tumteeya (70 years of age) noted a need “to build back stamina… I easily get tired for less work done… I try to walk for between 30-60 minutes every morning”. For this participant, getting in shape was a way of improving on field performance, and ensuring her position. In a similar vein, Shamseeya, a 24-year-old elite participant was concerned about her conditioning relative to other players, and whether her position on the team was secure. She said, “I hear the first year players joining the team for the fall term are very good so I have to be very fit to justify and defend my position. I need to remain in good physical shape and improve my skills.” Another elite participant, Madi (27 years old) stressed how conditioning was tied to performance and securing a place on the team:

“My school team is very strong… hee hee hee… in order to maintain um… my position, I need to have a terrific um… physique. I don’t want to be benched based on my performance so I need to… to build more strength… you know… then I can give more power spikes… hee hee hee.”

Fitness: Fitness implies good overall health, which includes both mental and physical well being (total well-being) and good nutrition. Responses from participants show that generally the need to get and stay fit was of paramount importance to their participation in sports. Forty-six recreational participants and every elite participant said they play sports to have total well-being and also as a way to a healthy lifestyle. For example, Kakra, a 29-year-old participant said, “sport is a way of living a healthy lifestyle.”

Participants suggested that engagement in sport was a sure way of becoming fit and also maintaining a good fitness level.

However, participants had varied understandings of the concept of fitness. Whereas

Sanatu, a 47-year-old participant suggested that being fit meant living a healthy lifestyle and living comfortably in her body, 42 participants defined fitness in terms of increased immunity against disease, ability to do a lot more with their own bodies, and the ability to physically achieve their dreams. Additionally, participants claimed they were motivated to regularly participate because they had a need for competition and a desire to beat their competitors. Being fit was a way to fulfill these needs and desires. Participants thought of playing sports as a complement to proper nutrition, and getting enough rest – fitness is a component of a larger way of life. Kubura, a recreational participant that was 42 years old claimed that “fitness is a part of my healthy lifestyle……fitness um……it’s a cool way to live.” The connection between fitness and accomplishing goals is clearly evident in the words of Bushira (19 years of age) an elite participant who said “I am preparing for a national wresting justifier back in my home country (Iran) so keeping fit is a way of increasing my winning chances.”

Having both physical and mental well being mattered a lot to me as an elite athlete.

During competitions, being mentally and physically present helped me succeed and the vice versa. During major competitions I always made sure I was mentally ready for major matches. For example, to be mentally ready, I normally just liked to be alone and to convince myself that I was up to the task in my individual sports discipline- high jump.

4.2.1.2 Social Factors

Participants identified four major social factors that influenced their participation in sports. First, 42 out of 50 (84%) recreational athletes and 13 out of 20 (65%) elite athletes participated for the sake of interacting with others. They sought to build social skills, develop discipline, and build self-esteem both within and outside the field of play.

Sharing with and learning from others was a second factor expressed by 45 out of 50 (90%) recreational athletes and 17 out of 20 (85%) elite athletes. Making and interacting with friends was a third major factor for 36 (72%) recreational athletes and 10 (50%) elite athletes. Finally, providing support to friends was the fourth motivating factor for 48

(96%) recreational participants and 18 (90%) elite participants. Please refer to appendix

“A” Table 2.

Interaction: More than 80% of the recreational participant’s talked about the value of playing sports in terms of the opportunity to interact with others. Participants gave varied benefits they stood to derive from interacting with others. Participants indicated that they had equipment and facilities, and CDs to help them exercise alone at home. They also said they could afford and use the equipment and personal trainers at home but they were greatly

influenced to participate at the gym because they enjoyed being with their friends and colleagues. Twelve participants added that they enjoyed going for coffee, sitting, and chatting after class. On some days they get to welcome new members which they very much love to do. The benefits they identified range from building social skills, developing discipline, and building general confidence. Interactions occur before, during and after play. The importance of interaction is well represented by the thoughts of Salimatu, a 57- year-old recreational athlete who got involved with sport in part to help her daughter integrate with a larger social network. She explained that

My daughter was … very undisciplined as she battled with her health condition (down syndrome). Ever since I brought her here to play. She has been of her best behaviour. I believe interacting with others have a positive impact on her. Now she is slightly more disciplined and listens to me a bit more at home too… and she is happier… um… the benefit is priceless. Sport provides connection to the larger social world, and this connection can have a positive impact on one's personal disposition and emotional status. Consider the thoughts of Samira, a 49-year-old recreational athlete who says “I mostly come here just to meet and interact with my friends whenever I feel lonely and kind of depressed.”

Learning and sharing ideas: Participants claim they play sports because it gives them the opportunity to learn and share ideas from peers, role models, fitness instructors, coaches and other athletes. Sports serves as a platform for patterned behaviors, social structures, and institutional relationships which provide unique opportunities to learn and understand complex social life. Involvement in sport can be at the primary (passive) and secondary (active) levels making sports supreme to other institutionalised settings (Frey and Eitzen 1991:503-504).

In the words of Zuleha, a 37-year-old Manager, “We are offered health talks by experts on healthy lifestyle… dieting, resting and doing what’s right for the body. We are always told, to achieve the desired results, we are encouraged to particularly participate regularly in the right way to obtain the maximum benefit we also relay this to the athletes.”

Sport participation exposes athletes to new ideas and ways of doing things. Anatu, a 22- year-old elite athlete explains “I like the educational part because there is always something new to learn… we learn the most effective and latest techniques for training to obtain optimum performance in competitions.”

Friends: Results suggest that when it comes to sport participation, recreational athletes are more influenced by the desire to develop friendships than are elite participants.

Participants from both groups said they made their friends through sports. Ikimatu, a 20- year-old recreational athlete said “almost all the friends I made during childhood up until now were made in the field of play.” Having friends was a great source of motivation to play sports especially during winter when the athletes had every reason not to participate.

Thirty participants said they played sports because their friends played sports. Angmour, a

25-year-old recreational athlete provides a great example: “I come to play sports because all my friends come here… even though I am loving it here, I don’t see myself coming to play all by myself.” Sport also provided the perfect context for participants to meet and make new friends. One of the elite athletes, Lawaaba, (25 years of age) noted, “I get to meet and make new friend from the world over. Apart from winning that is the next exciting thing that I always look forward to.”

Support: Results suggest that giving and receiving support to and from teammates

is very important. Both recreational and elite participants suggested that teammates and athletes who train together inspire and encourage each other. Support occurs in the form of meeting among participants who have the same interest. A sense of togetherness encourages them to keep in touch by regularly participating in sports. For example, Sheila, a 43 year old fitness instructor at a recreational fitness club said that “so for me to get into sport… it was a sense of community, teamwork, family a secondary family and support and it teaches you social skills and how to get along with other kids and problem solving and so it teaches you a lot.”

Coaches’ support and understanding of participants greatly influenced participation especially at the recreational level of play. Elite athletes were interested in the quality and experience of the coach. All (20) of the elite participants suggested that what counted most was the competence and professionalism of the coach. For example, Laila, a 21-year-old participant said that “all I need is a qualified coach who is passionate and can push me to my limits. A committed and skillful coach will do it for me.” Contrasting the position of the elite participants, recreational participants were very selective when it came to the type of person they wanted as coach. They emphasised that the ideal coach has good interpersonal skills, is competent, and is female. A suitable coach is a deciding factor as to whether and how regularly recreational athletes will play. Amina, a 29-year-old recreational participant said “I was irregularly playing with my team because the coach was overly enthusiastic, he made us do too much and I had fatigue all the time. I have been regular for the past seven months ever since we had a new coach… she listens, understands and is approachable.”

Thirteen out of the seventy participants were immigrants (they have been leaving in Canada between nine months and six years). Four of these immigrant participants had challenges adjusting to their new environment, especially with regards to the way men and women freely worked together. For example, Nuo a 31-year-old Saudi Arabian immigrant participant said “I prefer female coaches… they are definitely more… um nurturing and I like that. I am more comfortable working with women…that is what I am used to.”

Participants from countries characterized by rigid gender segregation, preferred female coaches. According to these participants, the training (enculturation) they had growing up in their home countries required that men and women did not mix in many spheres of their life. These participants indicate that they find it difficult to depart from that way of life even though they find themselves in a different environment (Calgary). For example, Majida a 33-year-old recreational participant originally from Chad said, “I can talk to female coaches with so much ease. I cannot do same with male coaches. I am simply not used to working with men.” Similarly, Antuo, a 22-year-old participant originally from

Yemen said, “where I come from, it is wrong for men and women to work together. We women work with women… men work with men.”

Responses from coaches indicated that coaches participate because they enjoy coaching and encouraging others. Achieving goals and objectives are not the only ways to measure success. Coaches suggested they were cautious about team dynamics and also individual differences. They treat players differently based on skill set, age, and level of experience and area of interest. Coaches also indicated that aligning their goals with their athletes’ goals and expectations was an effective way for achieving success and

satisfaction. According to 44-year-old coach Raja, “as an attentive coach, I am always in tune with my athletes… I try to meet their… it is easier coaching the female teams."

Coaches suggested that knowing what athletes want and desire, and helping them to satisfy their wants and desires is very important. Coaches indicated that it is these wants and desires that serve as motivators for participants to engage in physical activities.

Coaches noted that providing the services their participants require is a way of maintaining participation and encouraging participants to keep playing regularly. For example, Sinach, a 47-year-old recreational coach said, “I try to provide the services my athletes ask for…..they tell me what they want and I try to give them that. This I will do if the exercise is not harmful to the athlete”. For me, I had the full support of my coaches, and conditional support from my parents. The condition was that, I will only be allowed to play when I did very well with my academic/school work.

4.2.1.3 Economic Factors

Participants identified three main economic factors that influence their sports participation. Every elite participant (20 out 20 - 100%) cited financial benefits as a motivator compared to 5 out of 50 (10%) of recreational athletes. Elite athletes sought fame, social connections, and influence. A majority of athletes (37 out of 50 -74% of recreational athletes and 17 out of 20 - 85% of elite athletes) cited social support as an important facilitator to their sport participation. They were encouraged to play by their coaches, family, peers, and other members of their community and school who saw

potential in the athletes and took care of their expenses. Asana a 26-year-old elite participant said “I play hockey because I love it… it is my favorite sport... My school provides all my jerseys and protective gear… I personally would not be able to afford… you know what, the government, school, community and everybody else love hockey so they invest a lot in it. So for me, nearly everything is paid for.” Yinimi, an 18-year-old elite athlete said “my parents encourage me by bringing me here three times in a week. They pay for my membership… I have been doing this regularly for a year now.’’

Social-economic factors are sometimes interlinked. Participants indicate that an athlete’s class, and position in the social hierarchy is reflected in the type of sport the athlete plays, or the type of tickets an audience member acquires to see a sporting event.

Participants noted that important members of society get VIP tickets and seats in the stadiums. Additionally, participants noted that having money meant being able to hire private fitness instructors and buy the most current equipment. According to Darima, a 42- year-old recreational athlete,

“being able to pay to participate in sports like golf is not possible for the poor. Where I come from in Venezuela, it is difficult for the middle class to afford… to play golf it is for the very rich ones who use it to show off and announce their wealth… I love to play golf but it is very difficult to join them it was too costly for me… I just want to play and not to show off.”

4.2.2 Intra-personal / Psychological Factors

Participants identified five major intrapersonal factors that influenced their participation in sports: 1) passion, 2) getting or feeling confidence: 3) having fun or excitement; 4) deriving happiness or pleasure; and 5) honing mental focus or alertness.

The first major factor was passion: 45 out of 50 (90%) recreational participants and

16 out of 20 (80%) elite participants said they loved playing sports. Getting or feeling self- esteem (confidence, assertiveness, self-discipline, and independence) was another factor that 45 out of 50 (90%) recreational athletes and 14 out of 20 (70%) elite athletes identified.

All (50 out of 50 or 100%) recreational athletes and 12 out of 20 (60%) elite athletes participated for the sake of fun (excitement: enjoyable). A large majority (40 out of 50 or

80%) of recreational athletes and 14 out of 20 (70%) elite athletes participated to achieve happiness (fulfilled: pleasure). Finally, 42 out of 50 (84%) recreational participants and

16 out of 20 (80%) of elite participants participated in order to achieve or build focus

(concentration: mental alertness, commitment, improved academic performance). Please refer to Appendix “A” Table 2 for more details.

Passion: Most recreational participants (45 out of 50 or 95%) indicate they were mostly self-motivated and had the passion to play sports. Participants spoke about their love of sport and that playing sports was second nature to them. Elite participants (16 out of 20 or 80%) were also self-motivated, but they recognized other stakeholders and successful athletes from the past as motivators because they too were passionate about sport. Regardless of what category of athlete to which they belonged, participants noted that their passion for sport drove them to master their skill, enhance their talents, and thereby excel. According to Wunam, a 49-year-old recreational athlete:

It’s very much that I don’t want to give up at all and I think that… um that it is the competitive spirit in me and stubbornness… hahaha… in a good way. Most females need to be stubborn, tenacious and believe in yourself and this is what I wanna do and I don’t really care of what that person thinks. I am doing it to impact my life. If they don’t like that, it is their problem and not my problem… you have to be a strong person to do that. You do have to have

a strong personality and if you don’t have that it will beat you down. This is what… I love and know to do best. Haja, a 37-year-old fitness instructor explained “skill can be taught, passion can’t. See, you can’t teach people to do this or that if there isn’t any passion but… um… you can teach them if they are passionate about it.” Finally, 29-year-old Latifa a recreational participant said that “My first love is sports, it is my passion and I will do everything I possibly can to excel in what I most cherish. Including winning. Sports is now second nature to me… I feel like there is something missing if I don’t play sports.” Just like my participants, sport has always been my passion. I enjoyed sports as an elite athlete. I love sports and do everything for the opportunity to play. For example, I focused on getting good grades in school because then my parents would allow me to play sports. Even though now I do not actively engage in sports, I am always in tune with what is happening in the world of sports.

My personal experience made me have a better understanding of participants who suggested passion drove them to engage in sports.

Self-esteem: Building confidence and self-esteem was a major factor that influenced the women to play sports, or at least to continue to play sports. In the words of

Phina, a 22-year-old recreational participant, “I am here for the simple reason that I want to overcome my timidity, be more expressive and to be a more functional member of my acting class”. Among the sample, 45 out of 50 (90%) recreational participants and 14 out of 20 (70%) elite participants indicated that since they started playing sports they had become more confident, assertive, independent, and self-disciplined. In some instances, by playing on the team recreational athletes were following company policy that was partly aimed at using sport to enhance employee self-esteem. Elite participants also suggested

that winning in sport was tied to high self-esteem. Self-esteem was critical for success both on and off the field of play. According to Lydia, a 60-year-old recreational athlete, self-esteem was essential for success in the male dominated field of coaching: “even though I am a competent female coach, and very qualified, it was my confidence that got me the opportunity to coach the men’s soccer team in my junior high school.” Dok, a 21- year-old recreational participant suggested that at “major competitions, everybody comes prepared. However, it is the little things like confidence in self and team that makes all the difference… if I had to choose between being physically fit and having confidence, I will go for confidence first and choose being physically fit second. My mind controls my actions and body.” Another recreational participant, 25 year-old Tipok said “for me confidence is like the icing on the cake… if you don’t have it, then you better forget it.”

Finally, Samia, a 33-year-old participant said that “in the past I had challenges associating with others. My teacher encouraged me to get involved in team sports… um initially I did not want to… I am glad I tried it out because it has helped me tremendously. Now I have the confidence to talk to people, including you.”

Fun: The fun and thrill that athletes experience motivates them to compete. All of the recreational athletes, 50 out of 50 or 100% said that fun was a major factor. Nnaa’s comments about lacrosse are a good example of how fun is a vital part of doing sport: “I play lacrosse for the fun of it. I love to play lacrosse because it requires speed and I love speed… speed excites me.” The fun of playing sports is a counterpoint to other facets of life that are not fun. As an example, Haram, a 44-year-old recreational player said that “it is exciting to know I can play at my own pace and strength… makes me enjoy playing…

every other thing I do is pressure related… my job… kids… divorce process.” Younger athletes, those between the ages of 18 and 39 said that high risk or extreme sports that were wild, thrilling, and dangerous were the most fun - the greater the risk, the greater the fun, excitement and thrill.

Group training and playing on a team could be intrinsically fun. Among recreational participants, 27 out of 50 (54%) suggested they could use CDs, personal trainers and fitness instructors, and equipment at home. However, training alone is not as much fun as playing on a team, where one gets the pleasure of community, and the enjoyment of socializing with friends. Roughly a quarter of recreational participants (13 out of 50) said they initially got into sport as a means of losing weight, but they kept playing after reaching their weight loss goal because it was fun.

Fun was also a motivating factor among elite athletes (12 out of 20 or 60%), who indicated that fun, excitement and enjoyment provided additional encouragement. Tia, a

59-year-old elite athlete who was also a coach said that she believes in work and fun.

Athletes enjoy the benefits of exercising if the drills do not come across as work, or a chore.

Making training and competition fun is an effective way to get people to regularly participate in sports. She has focused on this strategy for the last five years and the results have been very impressive. She said, “I encourage my athletes play with exciting exercises to help them relax and enjoy what they do… I don’t want them to have a feeling that it is a chore… right… in this way we all win because… I enjoy working with them too.” I played because of the fun associated with it.

Happiness: Happiness was a driving force for 40 out of 50 (80%) recreational

participants and 14 out of 20 (70%) elite participants. Participants said that playing sports made them joyful or happy. Some said meeting people who were less fortunate or experiencing difficult life situations (e.g., poor health) inspired them to work harder in order to avoid encountering similar situations. Participants also talked about being inspired to regularly participate after meeting other people who appeared to be in better shape.

Meeting people who were doing well made participants happy and hopeful that if they worked harder they could achieve the same sort of well-being. Another concept that emerged from the data was that playing sports is a sure way of living life to the fullest and being happy. Athletes noted that coaches and instructors emphasise that sport should be part of enjoying life and being happy. Azuma, a 51-year-old recreational participant made a clear connection between sport participation and happiness when she said “swimming is my favorite sport and it makes me happy.” Similarly, Asibi, a 59-year-old recreational participant said that “playing golf simply makes me happy… at least for the period that I actively play… um… yup. I am normally fulfilled and content any time I get to play and even happier when my team wins matches”. For Fati a 64-year-old recreational athlete

“living in sports is a happy way of living… recommended way to go about… releasing stress and pressure. No one can teach this happiness I am talking about... You need to play to experience it. It is only then anyone could understand the feeling I am talking about.” I am most happy anytime I get to play volleyball and jumped at any opportunity to play.

Focus: Attaining and maintaining the ability to focus was another important factor.

A majority of the participants (42 out of 50 or 84% of recreational participants and 16 out of 20, or 80% of elite participants) claim that sport helped them focus and concentrate on

other aspects of or activities in their lives. They felt they had better focus or attention doing work at home or in the office when they regularly trained or competed. Research participants who were also students said sport participation meant improved academic performance and a greater capacity to focus on doing one task at a time.

Recreational participants cite the focus they obtain from training as a motivation to continue to participate in sports. Lamisi, a 22-year-old elite participant said “I need to have very sharp reflexes… be attentive, because in my event, 100m and 200m I can’t afford to lose a second.” Tani, a 32 year old recreational participant said “I am encouraged to participate more because I believe it is the reason for my improved academic performance… my absorption and retention rate has increased… (I associate myself with this) in this way I sit less hour learning and the rest of the time I use playing.” For Talata, a 22-year-old recreational participant, “being mentally tough is a pre-requisite to excel. I am in good physical shape but mostly, my success is based on how much I focus… I need focus to win… I love to win.” Finally, Lariba, a 48 year old recreational participant said,

“I like solitary sports because I do think a lot when I run… that’s is when I plan and make my best decisions. Though it might sound odd, I have maximum concentration when I run for an hour or so.”

4.2.3 Recommendations

Participants noted two sorts of recommendations that motivate their participation in sports: 1) doctor’s recommendation, and 2) policy recommendation.

4.2.3.1 Doctors Recommendation

Recreational participants claimed that they participated in sports because of physician directives to engage in moderate and regular exercise. Sport participation could be part of a response to poor or worsening health, and in these cases physicians frequently monitored the participants. A good example is Zuwera, a 63-year-old participant who went into some detail about her physician’s directions:

I got depressed, ate more and got so obese. I decided to seek help from the hospital and my doctor put me on different treatment regimes, alongside these, he recommended… change of lifestyle and eating habits… asked me to do more physical activities on regular basis. I report fortnightly to my doctor… to check on my progress and to modify the training schedule if the need be.

4.2.3.2 Policy Recommendation: Sports Policies/Programs

A total of 45 out of 50 (90%) recreational participants and 14 out of 20 (70%) of elite participants were influenced to play sports as a result of sports policies and programs.

Fifteen (30%) recreational participants suggested that sport participation was mandated by school or company policy. They ended up falling in love with physical activity and continued to play when they left their school or company. For instance, Ayisha, a 55-year-old participant said:

I started playing sports late in life. I was introduced to Badminton in my late 40s when I joined a marketing company in British Colombia. Even though I am now on voluntary retirement, and I now pay from my pocket to play… I love it here and enjoy playing with the new friends I have made here.

A select number of individuals in this study began participating in sport because the policy of their place of employment or education demanded they participate. Despite being

“forced” to participate at the onset, some of the research participants continue to play sports, and in some cases they continue to play despite having left the institutions whose policies first demanded they participate. Meeting the institutional policy was helped by the fact that the facilities where the participants played sports also hosted a health program on fitness, nutrition, rest, and leisure activities. Such additional programming helped the participants achieve their fitness and health goals. The comprehensive health programs are facilitators of sport participation. Study participants rated the programs highly because instructors and coaches were certified. Knowing that they were working with certified experts boosted participant confidence in the programming and in their potential to achieve a healthy and active lifestyle.

Related to their appreciation of certified programming and instruction, study participants also noted that their own interests in being active and playing sports was rooted in their educational experiences as children. Early lessons in physical education classes imparted a belief that sport and exercise were an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Rafia, a 27-year-old recreational athlete said “it was compulsory for all students to play sports during physical education period in school and since then I never looked back. This is how

I also got into sports.” A second participant said “in my home country at the senior high

school level, physical education is a compulsory core subject that we had to study… we did theory and followed up with practices… since leaving high school I have continued to play sports.”

4.2.3 Environmental factors

The environmental factors influencing women’s participation in sports fell under the following headings: media and availability/accessibility of facilities.

4.2.3.1 Media

In total, 35 out of 50 (70%) recreational athletes and 16 out of 20 (80%) elite athletes acknowledged that media influenced their decisions about participating in sport.

Respondents described several roles that media played to influence their participation.

Although 39 out of 50 (78%) of the recreational and 4 out of 20 (20%) elite participants said they were appalled by the way television portrays female athletes, nearly all participants (49 out of 50 (98%) recreational participants and 20 out of 20 (100%) of elite participants) credited television portrayals as a positive influence on their decision to participate in sports. Please refer to Table 2, Appendix “A” for further details.

The media highlights sport participation in advertisements, televised competitions and televised exercises. Additionally, participants said they learned about the importance and benefits of participation alongside learning about sport products (equipment, clubs and apparel). Participants were excited about the exposure of outstanding athletes to the general public - participants were convinced media exposure helped make the public more 95

accepting of female athletes and women sport in general.

Despite the expressed positive role of media, 36 out of 50 (72%) recreational athletes and 10 out of 20 (50%) of the elite athletes said that they were initially discouraged from participating because they feared others would stereotype them and call them names.

Associations of toughness and roughness with a fit and healthy body in the media countered negative messaging. Athletes were compelled by seeing accomplished female athletes on TV, the internet, CDs, cover pages of top magazines, and newspapers. Popular media is a means of promoting standards of behavior and practice. These thoughts from

Hawa, a 46-year-old recreational athlete, capture participants understanding of media as a means of establishing standards:

I was in Edmonton a year ago and it disgusted me the way athletes peed on the play field so I complained about it. I was very happy to read in the news that it was against the by-laws and they will start to effect arrest. I was there on holidays a month ago…all that crap has stopped I am happy and impressed with how effective the media has been in instilling discipline is the recreational facility. That is the way to go. Please refer to appendix B.

4.2.3.2 Availability and accessibility of facilities

Availability of and access to facilities were important factors for both recreational and elite athletes. Every recreational athlete in the study group (50 out of 50 or 100%) and

12 out of 20 (60%) of elite athletes referred to facility availability and access during interviews. In the simplest terms, without availability and accessibility of facilities athletes cannot participate. Related to not encountering difficulties securing facilities, participants claimed no difficulties acquiring equipment, gear and apparel.

The experiences of Samia, a 46-year-old recreational participant reflects the general findings. She noted that “when I relocated to Calgary from Newfoundland, I did not have any friends yet so through the internet I located this sports club because it… um has exactly the facility that I had interest in… I have unrestricted access… how awesome is that… hee hee hee.” Another recreational athlete named Wunnam said “as a new person in Calgary, I checked online for the closest volleyball club and I found this community club. It is convenient because is close to my work and house. I don’t have the time to travel to a far place to participate…. Every now and then I am on call to work and so it makes sense to do things around here. But for this club I would not play any sports.” Part of the ease with which players can access facilities is evident in the fact that many found the club and facilities via the Internet.

All of the research participants said they had more than enough equipment and access to facilities. However, 30% of the elite participants complained that some of the facilities they used were obsolete. In the case of soccer and volleyball, for instance, at any given time there were more than enough balls in the equipment bag. Participants also indicated that as long as one had the financial capacity one could always find facilities or acquire equipment. More important than access to the recreational athletes was the proximity of facilities to their place of residence. Elite participants were more concerned with the pedigree of the facility, the quality of equipment, as well as the quality of the management and other players.

The case of Zakia, a 19-year-old recreational athlete highlights both the abundance of facilities and the question of proximity of facilities to the athlete’s residence. She

explained “I used to play sports during school holidays only. Now that this new club was built around my area, I also started playing here during school days.” Another recreational athlete named Rakia was keener on finding facilities nearer to her home. She noted “I work in the NW and close at 5:00 p.m. so I am okay with this club which closes at 11:00 pm so twice or more days in a week I am able to play sports here.” The primacy that elite athletes place on quality of facility, equipment, and team is well represented by the following quote from a 19-year-old elite participant:

I am interested in a place with world class equipment, in good shape and well maintained and coaches, dieticians and counselors to help me maintain my status in the national team and to achieve my dream of getting sports scholarship to college. I don’t have to (worry about being injured) as a result of (using poor) equipment. So for me it is a question of the quality of the facility and not the proximity of it.

In contrast, some recreational athletes were more focused on sport activities that were inexpensive and easy to carry out precisely because they did not involve all of the

“trappings” or potential complexities that the elite athletes desired. One of the recreational athletes said “I love to ride the bicycle because it is an easy way of being physically active.

It is cheap, and does not require coaching and specific time of riding… I ride whenever I can and want. I don’t have to book a place or wait for any one.”

4.3 Obstacles to Womens Participation in Sports

The obstacles to women’s participation fall into three categories: 1) financial influences, 2) non-support, and 3) inadequate time.

4.3.1 Financial Influences

Athletes have to purchase or pay for several essential items in order participate in their sport. Financial factors that athletes identified as influences in their decision to play sports included purchasing club memberships: 15 out of 50 (30%) of recreational athletes and 5 out of 20 (25 %) of elite participants did not play regularly due to the cost of club membership fees and participation fees. The cost of equipment, gear and apparel was prohibitive of participation for 13 out of 50 (26%) recreational athletes and 2 out of 20

(10%) elite athletes’ participants. The cost of transportation hindered the participation of

12 out of 50 (24%) recreational athletes and 4 out of 20 (20%) elite athletes. Finally, 8 out

50 (16%) recreational and 6 out of 20 (30%) elite participants said miscellaneous costs for diet/drinks, supplements, and jerseys were an impediment to their sport participation.

Please refer to Table 5 in Appendix “A”.

4.3.1.1 High Club Fees and High Cost of Services and Equipment

Participants complained about the cost of acquiring the services of professionals.

Paying for those services effectively truncates regular sport participation because it diverts money from paying facility and equipment costs. A majority of recreational (48 out of 50, or 96%) and a minority of elite athletes (3 out of 20, or 15%) indicated that club fess and

membership dues were expensive and 37 out of 50 (74%) of recreational participants said that they participated only when they had money to pay for the dues. More than 40% of recreational participants and 10% of elite participants identified the cost of paying personal trainers, private coaches, and facilities as deterrents to their participation. Roughly two- thirds (33 out 50, or 66%) of recreational participants suggested that the cost of equipment, gear and apparel could be daunting and could deter regular participation. Participants also identified high transportation costs (fuel and bus passes) as a factor that hindered their participation in sports. Hibba, a 56-year-old recreational participant said, “I normally pay for the all-access annual membership… mine expired in March but I was only able to renew it in June and it cost me $1040 for the annual payments for the entire family. So between

March to May, we did not participate in any sports.” A 58-year-old recreational participant named Hayom said “I use the daily participation pass which cost me $10:25. That is really expensive given the fact that I am currently unemployed. This has limited my participation opportunities so I play when I can afford.” For 42-year-old Delicia (a recreational participant) it was all about the high cost of equipment and rental facilities. She said, “I like to rent equipment… whenever I can. It is very expensive renting these days. I have reduced participation due to money issues… the best way is to buy them to guarantee regular participation… but this is not the case.. the used and cheap gear are so hard to find… I have checked several times at value village and several garage sale but damn… it’s impossible to find.” Another recreational participant, 57-year-old Delphina said

“buying the apparel and protective gear cost me so much for my two kids playing hockey.

Hence sometimes, I have to stop participating (in order) to… pay for my kids to play.” Ira, a 49-year-old recreational participant also sacrificed her own participation in sport in order

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to look after her children. She explained that “my twin girls practically forced me to buy them some sports memorabilia at the sports sale. I was totally unprepared for that spending… such things deter me from coming to play… I cannot come here without them so I am compelled to stay home school is on holidays… myself, I am an impulse shopper so anytime there is sports sale here, I run into financial trouble… so I do not come here whenever they have sales.” In sum, irregular participation results from insufficient funds to cover costs.

4.3.2 Non-support

Perceived lack of support is one of the factors that study participants identify as a hindrance to their participation in sports. Responses from participants show that 37 out of

50 (74%) recreational and 1 out of 20 (5%) elite participants were influenced by stakeholder disapproval; 13 out of 50 (26%) recreational and 1 out of 20 (5%) elite participants were influenced by discrimination (stigmatization, stereotyping, and biased media coverage); and 17 out of 50 (34%) recreational and 2 out of 50 (10%) elite participants were influenced by restrictions imposed by national health insurance which does not cover certain injuries. Please refer to Table 6 and Figure 6 in Appendix “A” for more details.

More than two-thirds of recreational athletes (37 out of 50, or 74%) claim that they do not get the support they need from their families, friends, coaches, schools, and community. This lack of support discourages participation. Mira, a 38-year-old recreational participant claimed that her family members strongly express their disapproval

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of her participation in sports. They will decide whether or not to visit her based on whether or not she participates in sports. She said “my entire family think I should rather focus on marriage… I love to swim… so whenever they are around for a visit, I do not play any sports… I resume play when they go back.” Comments from Dira, a 43-year-old recreational participant touched on how the larger community can be a source of non- support: “I come from a small community in Newfoundland and I played with the boys in the same team…. There, you wouldn’t find many girls playing sports… the boys in my team wouldn’t pass the ball to me. I was just in there to make up the numbers… though I played better than most of the boys… this discouraged me from playing.”

Every elite athlete (20 out of 20) claimed to have suffered from discrimination in the form of pay inequities, gender biased hiring practices (male coaches’ preferred), and unequal sponsorship. Recreational athletes have had similar experiences as evident in this response from Sakina, a 37-year-old recreational participant: “I was with national women’s soccer team and my twin brother was with the men’s junior soccer team in my home country (Bangladesh). He was better paid than I was. I think it is unfair. He puts in more effort because he is better motivated… so I quit. Since I have been here, I have just been doing recreational stuff to keep me active”.

Other forms of discrimination that participants identified include stigmatisation, being labelled and humiliated in the larger community, stereotyping, name calling, biased media coverage, over sexualisation of female athletes, negative publicity about female athletes and more attention given to male athletes. Nina, a 41-year-old recreational participant took pains to discuss how others have stereotyped her or labelled her negatively:

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“sometimes I hear people make comments like… are you a man or woman? Others will refer to you as man woman. They ask questions like, why are you so ripped? There is nothing feminine about you. I must confess I am bothered by those comments though I pretend I don’t care… honestly I do”

Participants complained about inadequate and unequal media attention and lack of respect for women athletes and sports. An interview response from Della, a 45-year-old recreational participant illustrates the concern with imbalanced media attention: “the media do proper advertisement of men’s sports and this results in increased patronage at the stadium and more money for them and the cycle continues. I believe if the same effort is put in the women’s sports, it will whip up interest in women sport and it will improve patronage. It is not as boring as they make people to believe.”

Study participants who were coaches complained that though they had the same or even higher qualifications than their male counterparts, they were less preferred and received less pay than their male counterparts.” The inequity is more than a matter of pay; it is a matter of general financial support. According to Delay, a 54-year-old elite participant/coach, “school teams receive sponsorship every year but about 70% for the men and 30% for the women. Before I came here it used to be 27%”. In some cases, individuals make up the shortfalls that arise form gendered funding inequities. Consider this information from Rita, a 55-year-old recreational participant: “In this all women’s facility, it is nearly impossible to get financial support and sponsors for our females only fitness club. We generate income from our own contributions to keep it running.”

Participants lamented the disservice caused by media portrayals of women as sex

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objects. Such depictions hinder the larger social movement toward equality, and play a part in creating the inequities that the study participants experience. According to Ina, a

33-year-old recreational participant “women are portrayed as sexual objects during boxing fights… they are those who carry the score card. I find that degrading. Why can’t the men show the score cards when women box? Have you seen the costume the football women wear? It is crazy.”

Seventeen out of fifty recreational participants and 2 out of 20 elite participants were concerned about the type of health they had. Participants were frustrated that their health insurance did not cover some types of injuries they could pick from playing sports.

As a result, they were compelled to play with caution. Participants indicated that situations like these reduce their drive to be involved in play.

4.3.3 Inadequate Time

Participants identified inconvenience of daily schedules and the time it takes to travel to the training facility as obstacles to their participation in sports.

Domestic activities and work schedules were an obstacle for 20 out of 50 (40%) recreational athletes and 1 out of 20 (5%) elite athletes. According to Mary, a 28-year-old recreational participant: “I have limited play time because I work and have house chores 5 days a week. This occurs in the evenings and that is when my team meet to play. I wish they played in the mornings I would play with them every day but as it stands, I only play twice a week with them on my off-days”.

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Among recreational participants, 15 out of 50 or 30% said that the distance they had to travel to the sport facility was a challenge. In comparison, only one of the 20 elite athletes mentioned the distance to travel as an impediment. Please refer to Table 7.

Tuori, a 52-year-old recreational participant said “I stay in the southwest and driving here takes most of my time. I like this fitness club because of the privacy they provide here so I have no option than to spend most of my time travelling here.”

Participants who only have time for sports in the evenings due to school, work, domestic or other schedules, are sometimes fearful of going home alone. Two recreational participants were particularly afraid of walking alone to the evening exercises and matches

(from 6-11 pm) to participate in sports. The two participants were relatives, and recent immigrants from Pakistan. Their experiences being persecuted at home have conditioned them to be wary of going out during the evening. One of the women, Adisa said

I am not comfortable coming to play here in the night because it is unsafe for a woman to walk alone especially in the night. That is why I was a bacha posh (a woman who dresses as a man in order to avoid persecution for being out alone in public by men) in Pakistan. I always come here when I have somebody with me… see me I dress like a woman… everybody knows I am a woman now. The participants from Pakistan offer a pronounced example of the challenge of balancing work and play schedules. Other participants discussed how distance, domestic and official activities limited their actual playing time. A large majority of recreational participants

(47 out of 50, or 94%) argued that facilities need extended hours of operation. Otherwise it is a waste of time and resources to travel to the facility and then go through a warm-up only to have a limited time to play. Mismatched schedules and prohibitive hours of operation were marked obstacles to participation.

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CHAPTER FIVE Discussion 5.1 Introduction

The purpose of my study is to document the factors women athletes identify as influencing their participation in sports. Participants identified several factors that I grouped into two categories, facilitators and obstacles. Each category consists of sub- categories. Under “facilitators” the sub-categories are interpersonal (physical, social and economic factors), intrapersonal (passion, confidence, fun, happiness and focus), recommendations (doctors’ directives, and institutional policy), and environmental (media, and facilities). The category “obstacles” included financial issues, non-support, and inadequate time (scheduling conflicts). Findings from this study are consistent with Byers et al (2012:148) who found a multiplicity of factors determining women’s participation in sports. The present study results reveal there are more facilitators than obstacles to women’s participation in sports.

5.2 Variations on the Level of Influence

With the exception of doctor’s directives and institutional policy, both recreational and elite participants were influenced by the same factors. Members of the two groups varied in terms of motivation and level of importance they attached to these factors. For example, recreational athletes are mostly influenced by intrapersonal factors and extrinsically motivated whereas the elite athletes are mostly influenced by interpersonal factors and are more intrinsically motivated to participate. Athletes who participate because of recommendations by their physician or government/company policy because of

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a health condition (being overweight, injured, or dealing with sickness) are mostly amotivated to participate. This study shows that participants continue to participate after their doctor’s lift their recommendations and after they have left the institution (private, public, school, company) whose policy initially compelled them to play. Additionally, the level of sport the athletes play, the type of sport the athletes play, and the goals and interests of the athletes moderated or intensified the importance of the factors that influence them to participate in sports. Recreational participants who prefer to indulge in high-risk sports, for example, do so because these sports are more fun. In a similar vein, participants playing low risk recreational sports were motivated by the desire for increased fitness, following a healthy life style and love for non-contact sports.

5.3 Stakeholder Involvement

Even though parents, family, community, school, friends, corporations, management and other interest groups influenced regular sports participation, a large

(70%) proportion of the participants suggest that coaches have the greatest influence.

Coaches encourage and sustain athlete participation. Coaches attribute their high level of influence on participation to being in tune with their athletes, paying attention as well as meeting the individual needs of their athletes, having a clear understanding of their athletes’ abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, having an agenda consistent with the athlete’s goals and interests. Due to the respect they have for their coaches, athletes trust, listen and obey coach directives more than they do other stakeholders. Four of recreational immigrant athletes indicate they are from cultures that

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prohibit male-female contact and such participants indicated they prefer women as coaches.

Elite athletes do not have a preference when it comes to the sex of the coach - their interest is in the competence of the coach.

Findings from the study imply that having more female coaches will increase female sport participation, especially among recreational athletes. The major challenges that female coaches identified were gender inequality and gender stereotypes. These results conform to work by Van Zoonen (1994:150) and Messner (1989) showing that organised sport still remains a platform for gender inequality. Research participants who were coaches complained that there is a low demand for female coaches and higher demand for male coaches during hiring and appointment.

Coach participants claim that at the elite level equally qualified female coaches are rarely considered for head coach positions for men’s teams. The chances of female coaches being hired to coach elite women’s teams are also very slim. More experienced and qualified female coaches are less preferred and receive less pay compared to male coaches.

This outcome concurs with Women's Sports Foundation (2011) who posit that alongside dealing with problems related to stereotyping, women athletes can expect less financial reward than their male counterparts - there are pay inequities and extremely unequal funding.

According to coach participants, at the elite level there is little likelihood a female participant with superior qualification will be hired over a male coach with the same or lower level of qualification. Coach participants also claim that on the rare occasions a

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woman gets the job, media reports make it appear as a diversity hire and depict the professional female coach as a novelty while scarcely speaking to her expertise or competence. This result agrees with Liang (2011) who argues that due to socialization parents seek out male coaches for their daughters because of a general belief in the superiority of male knowledge in sports.

Friends also have a positive influence on athletes’ participation in sports. Friends encourage athletes to play on a regular basis. Most (70%) of the participants suggest they got into sports through their friends. Participants played sports because their friends played.

Some played just to support their friends, who were either fulfilling their dreams or the directives of doctors. As they play in solidarity with their friends, they begin to love and enjoy playing and eventually become regular participants. In turn, these participants introduce other friends to sport and the cycle continues.

Half of the participants said that their families influenced their participation in sports. Parents introduce athletes to sport, and the interest the athletes develop as children persists into adulthood. Mothers are the primary familial influence. They play with their children, and take their children to sporting activities (games, practices). I got into sports because my mother used to play with my siblings and me when I was about 8 years old.

Sport became a regular part of my life. Given these findings, one can infer that women are more likely to participate in sports if they receive financial, emotional and logistical support from their parents and family.

Study participants mentioned other stakeholders (sponsors, managers, teachers, officials) less often (20%) than family members. Recreational athletes avoided sports when

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they had past experiences of institutional authorities using sport as a form of punishment and discipline. When they had an initial pleasant encounter, recreational athletes continued to regularly play sports.

5.4 Impact of Gender and Ethnicity on Sports Participation

A number of the women in this study feel restricted from playing sports because of their culture, religious, and ethnic background. Results in my study are consistent with findings from Sever (2005:4) and Laker (2001:4) that sport has different meanings for different people and across societies and the way one engages in sports is influenced by the cultural or ethnic group to which one belongs. Participants from conservative backgrounds face social pressures to avoid sports – community members frown upon or disapprove of women playing sports. Women in this study who come from restrictive social backgrounds say they only get to play in the absence of family members. The lack of support from family, especially parents, has the greatest impact on women athletes.

These women who hide the fact that they play sports experience a lot of mental stress. On one hand they risk ostracisation from their family members, on the other they have to convince themselves that they are not immoral people, or not committing a crime. In connection with this finding, Pirinen (2002:95) notes that non-appreciation and undermining of the achievements of sportswomen discourages women to participate in sport.

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Participants in this situation say this limits the intensity of their performance - they play with caution in order avoid injury. Female athletes from male dominated cultures are discouraged from playing because they do not have the material and mental support from parents, family, community, school, friends, corporations, management and other interest groups to play. These societies relegate women to roles and places that do not allow for sport.

For participants from conservative Islamic societies like Yemen, Chad, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, it was not possible for women to play as freely as their male colleagues.

My study gathered that women who were thoroughly enculturated in strict societies, had challenges embracing absolute freedom to play sports when they had the opportunity to do so. For instance, for one of the participants who was a “bacha posh,” she could not totally break away from the fear being attacked as a woman walking alone in the evening/night.

She still feels threatened despite the fact she is in Canada. Calgary is secular and more accepting of women freely expressing themselves. Women freedom was respected in

Calgary than her original Country (Pakistan). She felt exposed after taking away the disguise and dressed as a woman in Calgary. Because she worked during the day, she only played in the evenings. During these periods, she only played when she had someone to accompany her.

Again in these conservative, male dominated societies, men regulate womens involvement in sports. Men determine the type of sports these women can play, the way they should dress on, and the time that is appropriate for them to play. These actions limit and restrict the opportunities for women to play. My study discovered that participants

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from strict societies had traditional gender roles (like men being the leaders and controllers of resources in the community) transfer into sports. This knowledge helped me understand why women in theses societies do not participate in sports at the same level as men. This outcome is comparable to findings by Mauss (1979) who has indicated that the idea of a habitual “physio-psycho-sociological” comportment might help account for why women do not participate in sports to the same degree as men – the larger social habitus does not include a prominent role for women in sports participation.

Participants from Calgary and other liberal/secular societies had a different experience. For instance, women were more independent and free to make choices and decisions on their engagement in sports. These participants indicated they do not require permission or approval from men to play sports. Women participation in sports is encouraged and also backed by legislation. These laws are used as deliberate ways to get more women to play sports. Example of policies to encourage women participation in sports include: organisations like the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport

(NAGWS) and Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) in the United States of America

(USA), (Harvey et al 2013:57; Appleby and Foster 2013:12). In Canada, the National conference on Women and Sports (NWS) the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sports (CAAWS) were formed to inspire and increase women’s participation in sports (Harvey et al 2013:57). Unlike the conservative societies, Women in Canada are supported by various organisations to engage in physical activities and are free to play, wear whatever they wanted and made decisions on when to play, decide on where to play, choose who to associate with (male or female athletes and coaches) pick

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what sports they have interest in and select the number of sports they could play.

Contrasting women from the conservative societies, women from the liberal societies found it appropriate to work with anyone (men and women) they were comfortable with.

In Ghana, society is a mix of liberal and conservative mores and values. The urban centers are more liberal and there is more opportunity, support and freedom for girls to play sports. Rural Ghana is more conservative and women have far fewer opportunities to engage in sports. Notwithstanding the fact that there are national policies for equal opportunities for women and men to engage in sports, in the rural areas, women face major restrictions and obstacles. Like all other institutions in the village, sport is highly gendered.

For example, women engage in ampe (a game for two or more people which does not require the use of equipment) and men wrestle. People discourage women from being too physical by giving them male names if they excel in their chosen sports. Local leaders

(usually men) are careful not to be too strict on women participation in sports but are hesitant to grant them absolute freedom. The male leaders in the rural areas have a major influence on what women athletes wear. Women tend to have less time to play sports because they use most of the day doing house work. Domestic chores limitsthe time available for women to play. The opposite holds for male athletes. These findings concur with Laker (2001:4) who suggests that sport has different meanings for different people and across societies and Sever (2005:4) who posits that the way one engages in sport is influenced by one’s cultural or ethnic background.

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5.5 Factors influencing Play

My study discovered there are several factors influencing women’s participation in sports.

Participants choose the type of sports that best suited their interest. The study show there are different factors influencing participation in sports. This result is consistent with the findings by Mannell (2007) who posits that leisure choices are discretionary. Participants have indicated that it is their need to acquire the benefits associated with playing sports that has influenced them to be involved in it. The drive identified by participants to engage in sports concurs with Weise-Bjornstal et al (2009:97) who have theorised that it is the desire for these benefits that projects a powerful influence on sport participation.

Engagement in physical activities does not only improve the physical qualities of the athlete but also enhance as well ensure a good quality of life. Being in good physical condition can help prevent diseases and improve the mental condition of the athlete. This finding concurs with (CNA 2011) and (Encyclopedia.com) who have indicated that, being in good physical condition matters to the participants because it enhances the likelihood of their success on and off the field (their public and domestic activities). Participants have indicated that being fit means living a healthy lifestyle which includes having a sound mind and living comfortably in a healthy body. This result corresponds with findings by Eime et al (2013) who refer to fitness as general well-being that includes both physical and mental well-being. Forty-six out of fifty recreational participants and every elite participant said they play sports to have total well-being and also as a way to a healthy lifestyle.

Additionally, elite participants are motivated to regularly participate because they have a need for competition and a desire to beat their competitors. Being in good physical shape

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and being well conditioned is necessary to be more competitive and winning. Furthermore, maintaining a position in one’s sport and respective team requires being in excellent physical shape and free of injuries. Participants indicated there is a link between fitness and success/winning. Achieving fitness is a way to fulfill these needs and desires

(excelling/winning).

Recreational participants’ play sports to increase their immunity against diseases, and increase the general capacity of their bodies and minds. Participants said playing sports complements proper nutrition, and getting enough rest for best results – fitness is a constituent of a larger way of life and general well being. Responses from participants show that generally the need to get and stay fit is of paramount influence to their participation in sports. Most (90%) of the recreational participants and all the elite participants play sports because they believe it will make them more efficient and effective in their jobs, daily life, school, and that it is an essential part of living a healthy lifestyle.

Participants recognise that mental and physical health complement each other and together they yield a better and more fulfilling life. The mind functions properly in a sound body and vice versa.

Having the opportunity to socialise played an important role in influencing participants’ engagement in sports. Older participants, those between the ages of 51 and

81 socialised a lot after gym/fitness class. For example, participants go for coffee or hung out for a while before leaving the gym. These women play during weekdays and during the day. The other participants (60 years and younger) played mostly in the weekends and evenings. Sports participation can have a positive impact on personal disposition and

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emotional status. In reference to social interaction, participants talked about building social skills, general confidence and self-esteem, and instilling discipline.

Participants also play sports in order to learn and share ideas. One of the ways to learn and share ideas is through peer role modeling. Findings in the study are consistent with findings by SIRC (2013) and Motivate Canada (2014) who suggest that peer role modeling led by trained female youth facilitators supports women through leadership, education, mentorship, and physical activity to achieve self-discovery. Study findings indicate that participants feel that they learn and share information and knowledge from their role models, fitness instructors, coaches, athletes and stakeholders, about the most current techniques and equipment to use for optimum benefits. Through learning and sharing, participants regularly and moderately exercise for best results and to reduce injuries and over exertion of the body respectively. They also learn to eat well and get adequate rest for the finest outcomes.

For a majority (76%) of the recreational participants, making and maintaining friends is a primary motivation to play sports, and many of the athletes claim they got involved in sports through friends. Half (50%) of the elite participants got into sports through their friends. However, making friends is not the foremost social factor influencing them to play, but serves as an additional motivation. In contrast, recreational participants cite friendship as one of the most important social factors that motivates their sport participation. Recreational participants are interested in making new friends, introducing their friends to sports and maintaining friendships that they make through sports. Most of their friends are teammates or people with whom they play sports. In some cases, these

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friendships were formed on the field of sport in childhood and continue well into adulthood.

Support is the final social factor that participants identified as influencing their participation. Participants were motivated to play due to the kind of social support that existed among athletes. They offered both material and emotional support to each other.

Interaction and support occurs both inside and outside the field of play. These kind of activity increases a sense of acceptance, belongingness, community, togetherness and support, and these feelings enhance the likelihood that individuals regularly participate in their sport.

Financial incentives (jobs, cash) and scholarship opportunities are economic factors participants identified as motivators. All of the elite athletes and half of the recreational athletes are financially influenced to play sports. The hope of getting cash, jobs and scholarship opportunities and other commercial benefits such as networks and privileges are the economic factors research participants said had an impact on them playing sports.

Recreational participants regularly play certain sports in order to show class (display how sophisticated they are), achieve popularity among peers and within the community, make connections (with sponsors, corporate bodies and businesses interested in sports), and influence decisions around playing sports (through contributing to the drawing of community sports programs, and play schedules).

Elite participants play mostly for financial gain, scholarships and other opportunities. The hope of getting more money and fame at the national and international level motivates elite participants to play. Elite participants are additionally motivated to

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play by the prospects of becoming famous, rich, and enjoying market opportunities

(becoming brand ambassadors, doing advertisements, getting networked, and doing other commercials). Whereas elite participants are more inspired to play for the fortune, the recreational participants are more inspired to play for job opportunities.

In some instances, research participants link social and economic factors. Tickets for games at the stadium display the class and economic stature of the participant in the social hierarchy. So the wealthier participants normally buy and sometimes offered VIP tickets, and play golf, ski, polo, sailing, tennis and horse riding. Affluent participants have the ability and power to choose the kind of service they required such as hiring private fitness instructors and buying the most current and expensive sports equipment.

The intra-personal factors influencing sports participation are passion, focus, happiness, fun and self-esteem. Passion is what makes participants play sports, even when all odds (high cost, limited time) are against them. Athletes are passionate about practice and competition. They embody their sports – they perform drills and routines as a matter of course, as a sort of second nature. Passion makes athletes coachable, persevere and overcome challenges in times of adversity (injury, non-support). In this regard, a recreational participant noted that “skill can be taught but passion cannot be taught”. The motivation and passion elite athletes have for sport are fostered by success stories of other athletes and their love for sport.

Research participants emphasise that focus and concentration are important benefits they acquire from sport. Alongside building focus and concentration, training and competition eliminate or provide a means of dealing with stress from school, home, family

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and others. Playing sports helps participants forget about their worries and stress.

Participants in non-contact sports like long distance runners and cyclists say they make their plans when they are running and riding at particular times of the day (early in the morning and late in the evening). Such participants say these are the times they are able to focus and make plans.

Participants indicate that they are stimulated to play sports because it gives them so much pleasure. Even though it may be difficult to find in other aspects of their lives, participants become joyful when they play sports. The internal drive they have to play is stronger and more powerful than the inhibitions they have or obstacles there are to their involvement in sports. Participants reiterate that happiness is priceless and playing is all it takes for them to be happy. They jump at every opportunity to play, because it makes them happy to do what they know and also love to do. Feelings of happiness are tied to feelings of confidence and being in control.

Findings from the study show participants are greatly inspired by the fun and thrill they derive from playing sports. Having fun is a major source of motivation for participants to play as often as possible. All (100%) the recreational athletes said fun was a major reason to play sports. Fun also drives younger (18-35 years) recreational participants to play high risk/extreme sports. The wildness, thrills, and dangerousness increase the amount of fun

(the higher the risk the greater the fun). However, all the athletes in the study say that playing sports amounts to having fun. The fun from group training and team sports is a major source of motivation. The fun they experience in team sports is multifaceted, and includes a sense of pleasure from being part of a community, and enjoyment from

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interacting with friends. Those who started playing sports in order to lose weight, continued to play after reaching their goals. Due to the fact it was fun, they did not think of participation as a form of treatment. Among elite participants, 60% indicated that fun, excitement and enjoyment provided additional encouragement to regularly play sports.

Participants are motivated to play sports because it builds up their self-esteem. A majority (90%) of recreational athletes and 70% of elite athletes indicate that since they started playing sports they have become more assertive, independent, self-discovered, and self-disciplined. Those who play team sports noted that they got to experience “team spirit” which in turn built more self-esteem. Recreational athletes talked about sport building their morale and confidence based on the fact that they got to play at their own pace and according to their own abilities. Other athletes did not pressure them to meet external standards, nor discriminate against them, or judge them on the basis of their skill level. Participants appreciated these values and were encouraged to keep playing.

Embracing and accepting their different abilities makes very unskilled participants (who makes up a majority of the recreational participants) feel at ease and confident.

Consequently, participants say they do not feel pressure and they love such a relaxing play environment. High self-esteem was so important in the corporate world that in some instances it was company policy that staff members play sports to enhance their self- esteem. Elite participants also suggest that high self-esteem was essential to success in competition. Participants indicated that involvement in sport has inured to their success in public life in that they now tend to relate well to their co-workers and other important stakeholders (coaches, management, team mates and family). The confidence athletes

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attain from sport has an impact on every aspect of their lives including improved performances at school (ex. debating and acting class), work and home. These benefits motivate participants to regularly play and work harder. The more committed participants are to play, the better they get. This makes participants more confident which ends up boosting their morale and ultimately their self-esteem.

Doctors’ recommendations are another facilitator to participation in sports.

Recreational participants participate in sports because of directives from their physicians to engage in moderate and regular exercise. Participants in this category have health issues that their physicians believe can be improved upon via participation in sports, physical activity and physical therapy. Sport participation is part of a response to poor or worsening health, and in these cases physicians frequently monitor the participants. Participants in this category are unmotivated and not enthused about playing sports - they play because their physicians compel them to play. During monitoring, participants who record improvements in their health linked to their participation in sports continue to play even after achieving their goals and getting cleared by their therapist/physician.

In some cases, participants play sports because an institution (government, non- government, school, and business) to which they belong has a comprehensive health program that mandates their participation. Once a physician clears them, participants fulfill institutional policy by participating in the comprehensive program. The company hires experts who take medically cleared prospective participants and educate them on the need to exercise and the positive impact it will have on both the institution and their personal lives.

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In order to enable the state and individuals to achieve their goals in health (physical and mental) and associated benefits, those institutions provide sports and health programs on fitness, nutrition, rest, facilities and leisure activities. These policies are geared towards empowering staff and students by providing improved health, fun, confidence, physical strength, and self-esteem. In turn, these qualities will increase staff members’ functionality at work, school, and home. Companies benefit from improved productivity and increased output, and as sport participants gain fitness governments look forward to cutting health care costs and saving money

These programs (physical education, fitness exercises) yielded positive results because the institutions hired the services of the best instructors and coaches (certified) and provided appropriate facilities for exercise. Positive results from participation in these programs motivated participants to play regularly as part of a healthy and active lifestyle.

Once they had established a regular regimen, participants continued to exercise and participate in sport even after leaving institutions that mandated sport activity.

The media influences different participants in different ways. Although participants recognize both positive and negative media influence, references to positive media influence far outweigh negative media influence. Participants suggest television has the greatest impact in terms of both positive and negative influence. The media depicts women in sport via televised events, regular programs, advertisements, and commercials, the internet, radio and print. Participants find inspiration from successful women athletes who challenged all the stereotypes and found success.

Participants used terms that reflected the media sources to which they were

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exposed, or the society or culture from which they initially came. For instance, to define the term “desired look”, some participants referred to having a muscular torso while others talked about a rough, tough, and muscular body. The difference in perspective agrees with discoveries by Besnier (2012:498) who details Japanese rugby players’ preferences for

(hoso matcho) “slim macho” bodies that are superior and more desirable than (gori matcho)

“gorilla macho”. Images of sporting bodies appear in various media and influence perceptions of athletes among the society at large, and athletes themselves. Women athletes are motivated to participate in order to achieve media portrayals of ideal bodily forms.

Participants note that even though it is controlled by men who appear to be disinterested in women sports as evidenced by the nature of commentary, limited airtime and coverage, the media has improved the quality and quantity of its portrayals of women athletes and sports. If participants’ expressions of motivation from and excitement at seeing sports in the media are any indication, the media plays an important role in promoting and facilitating sport participation. Participants are keen about seeing media advocating for women in sport by providing coverage of more women athletes, and events featuring women athletes. Citing the enormous popularity and interest in recent UFC match featuring Holly Holm and Rhonda Rousey, select participants argue that women athletes are as capable as men, and can draw the same sort of commercial and audience interest if given the same opportunity and treatment as their male counterparts.

Availability, proximity and access to facilities are factors participants identified as being a positive influence on their participation. The Sport Matters Group (2011) has

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identified accessibility and availability of sports facilities as one of the factors influencing female participation in sports.

For most (80%) participants facilities are available and accessible, and they can play at their convenience. In addition, participants have no issues acquiring the equipment, gear, and/or apparel they need to perform their sport. Like my research participants, I did not have any challenge accessing facilities or equipment. Results contrast the findings by

Nolais (2014) that both coaches and soccer players have concerns about inadequate facilities with an increasing number of registered soccer players. The internet made it easy to find facilities, and the facilities were well stocked with equipment. In the case of soccer and volleyball, for instance, at any given time there was an excess of about 20 balls in the ball bag. Participants recognized that if a person had the money, there were play facilities everywhere – it was easy to find a place in near proximity to work or home. Women are deprived because of inequitable access to sports facilities and limited opportunities to participate in sports (Bailey et al 2005). This statement contrasts with my findings in

Calgary but holds true to most parts of Ghana.

Recreational participants emphasized proximity to their place of residence while elite participants focused more on the pedigree of the facility, quality of equipment, management personnel and the other players. Although Calgary features a wide range of facilities to suit the needs of individual and team sports, a sizeable minority (30%) of the elite participants complained that some facilities they used were obsolete and did not suit their specific needs.

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Playing sport requires money to pay for facilities and services. Participants complained that the high cost for facilities is a deterrent, especially for those who have limited income. Non-affordability and inability to pay truncates regular participation. The

Environment Scan (2010) speculates that sports are an expensive venture and access is largely restricted to wealthy people. For example, in sports like hockey the cost is very high due to registration fees, uniforms, equipment, and facility costs. The people whose services participants say they require include coaches, instructors, physiotherapists, and managers. Other costs that impede participation are membership dues/fees, club registration fees, and transportation (fuel and bus pass/tickets). All these services require upfront payments. Costs for equipment, apparel, and gear can also hinder participation. For example, in ice hockey if participants do not have helmets or hockey sticks they cannot play. Mothers participating in sports complained about having to pay for themselves and for other members of their families. Some mothers say that they save until they have enough to pay registration fees, and thus there participation is irregular since they have to wait until they have saved enough money. Findings in the study are consistent with findings from The Environment Scan (2010) that sports are an expensive venture and access is largely restricted to wealthy people. For example, in sports like hockey the cost is very high due to registration fees, uniforms, equipment, and facility costs. A recent case involving women field hockey players in Calgary underscores many of these challenges

(Nesom 2014).

Participants who have the habit of impulse spending tend to find themselves spending more than their budget can support. They end up with financial troubles,

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especially from sales at sporting goods stores. Athletes who are also parents have the added pressure of providing for their children. Buying sale items and customised items that participants do not need and have not planned for increase the financial burden. Financial constraints prevent athletes from playing as they wish. Additional spending on sport related products like sport drinks, and sport memorabilia increases the cost of participation. Team and non-team athletes interested in owning or renting equipment complain about the cost of buying and both the financial cost of renting and the time they have to wait before rental equipment is available: circumstance of this nature end up truncating play.

Inadequate time is also an influence on sport participation. The distance from sport facilities, from home, school, and place of employment interferes and limits the time available for participation in sports. For participants who are only available to play in the evenings, due to their school, work, domestic or other schedules fear of going home alone after play in the night deter them from participating. In situations where participants emigrate from countries where women are at risk of attack if they go out in the evening, they (participants or/and family members) still harbor fear of being attacked in the night although the participants say they are aware it is a safer environment for women in Calgary.

Fear is due to past experience. For example, two participants who were recent immigrants from Pakistan noted that “back home” in order to participate in sports during the evening they dressed as “bacha posh” (women dressed as men) to avoid attacks. Since arriving in

Calgary, they no longer wear a disguise and sometimes they feel exposed. These participants only play when they can get someone to accompany them to the sports facility.

In sum, participants who are limited by certain commitments (school. jobs home) can only

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play at certain times. As a result, time is a limiting factor.

Participants have indicated that distance, domestic and official/school activities limits their actual play time. The time for play set by the facilities needs to be extended.

Therefore some participants indicate this situation sometimes deter them from playing.

Findings from the study show that participants are not driven to play since they see it as a waste of time and resources to travel to the facility after making a lot of preparation only to have a limited actual play time.

Participants identified a lack of social support as one of the obstacles to their participation in sport. Non-support from stakeholders partly explains the low level of women’s participation in sport. Lack of support is just one aspect of the inequality women experience in male dominated societies. This discovery agrees with outcomes by Grainey

(2012:23) who postulates that sport organisations also continue empowering males (e.g., the amount of money FIFA gives to mens’ soccer teams during the World Cups is greater than the amount they give to womens’ teams). Such inequities sometimes serve as deterrents to female participants and thereby compromise efforts to create equality between the sexes.

Societies/cultures that do not support women’s participation in sports discriminate, stigmatise, and stereotype those women who are athletes (Mean 2013:340). Participants claim that female coaches are less preferred than their male counterparts (with equal or less qualification and achievements), and receive less pay negatively influences and places restrictions on women’s participation. This outcome agrees with Heagreaves (2000:184) who theorises that inequality gaps results in fewer women participating in sports. Female

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sports participants receive less sponsorship packages from corporations and other sponsors.

Participants complain that there is inadequate and unequal media attention and respect for women sports in the media. Limited media coverage is exacerbated by negative reporting. This result agrees with The Parliamentary Committee Council of Europe, (2005) who theorise that, there is a limited support in terms of funding and media coverage for women’s’ sport

Research participants complained that the media shows disregard for women athletes by focusing upon their gender rather than their athleticism, and such portrayals serve to discourage women athletes. Participants said that media presenters do not focus on the talent, but rather emphasise gender. Such portrayals are akin to the treatment of women as sex objects, a practice that participants felt people were not doing enough to discourage.

The selective nature of health support from government health institutions prevents ease of participation or in some cases prevents participation. The national health insurance does not cover every kind of injury. For instance, research participants complain that the health benefits package offered by their employers excludes injuries requiring rehabilitation services such as Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Chiropractic service, and Massage Therapy. In cases where the rehabilitation services are covered, their health insurance only reimburses portions of the fees and total cost involved. Participants also indicate that there is a lot of pressure on the existing athletic therapists. As a result, it takes a while to get booked for the service, especially when there are already a lot of patients.

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Hence, it is difficult for new patients to be taken in by athletic therapists.

5.6 My Personal Experience (II) In this study, I wrote about myself, and my lived experience in relation to my study participants. During my fieldwork, I concentrated on the feelings and emotions of participants. Playing with the participants gave me an insight to the reasons why participants behaved in certain ways. For example, I was affected and reacted in the same manner as other participants anytime the final whistle was blown. Through self-reflection as a participant (insider), I had a good understanding of why participants felt and behaved the way they did. My lived experience collaborates suggestions by Bain (1995) that, autoethnography enhances reflexivity (self-reference or reflection) and attainment of subjective knowledge (personal knowledge gained) through experience of sporting activity. This personal knowledge gained was very insightful. This is because from the outsider (researcher) perspective, inadequate time was a challenge but occurred in a different context/circumstance. In Ghana for example, we (the women) normally play first and had shorter time of play compared to the time available to the men. The women played between 3:00-4:00pm and the men between 4:15-6:30pm. Even though the women could start at 2:00pm, the sun was always scorching and made it too stressful for the players. We had no option because we played an outdoor volleyball.

My study followed the approach by Loic Wacquant to help me understand and describe my lived experience through active participation in sports. In my study, I became immersed in the physical and social activities of my study participants. Playing with the participants equipped me with bodied knowledge and understanding my study participants’

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experience. Autoethnography enabled me collaborate what I observed, and what the participants said influenced their involvement in sports during interviews. Socialisation is a way through which I attached embodied cultural capital to myself. As a team member, I attended birthdays and graduation ceremonies of teammates and contributed with my fellow teammates to buy presents for those we were celebrating. This approach to acquiring habitus, has been suggested by Bourdieu (1977:72-95) who has theorised that socialization is one of the ways that an embodied cultural capital is attached to the body.

Regardless of the fact that I had the relevant previous experience as a volleyball player, I had difficulties fitting in at the beginning. This was due to the fact that it was a while since I played volleyball. By subjecting myself to the routines (warm-up, play, and warm-down) of the team and time schedules. My time as a moderate participant was used to train my body. During training, I experienced some physical barriers. My body was stiff and out of shape. I had limited stamina and could barely endure a round of play. With time, the stiffness and fatigue steadily reduced. My experience is consistent with the findings by Brownell (1995) and Wacquant (1998) who have suggested that training the body involves athletes thoroughly (re)fitting their bodies (corporeal instrumentality, aesthetics, and ethics), and thus, their selves. Through persistent training, my body began to become acclimatised in readiness for active play. My approach concurs with Wacquant’s

(2004:127) suggestion that, before one attempts to partake in sports it is important for one to build body capital, gaining habitus is a sign of readiness to participate in sports. It was only when I acquired the habitus that I actually I started to fit in, enjoy and effectively play with the study participants. At this stage, I started to behave in ways participants did

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without having to think about it. Expressing skills and habits like other team members became second nature to me. For example wearing knee cups before play. Acquiring habitus helped me to successfully integrate into the team. This discovery agrees with

Wacquant (2004) who advanced that gaining the required traits and embodiment (habitus, mental and physical schemes) is necessary for success.

I had my expectations before going to the field. Some of the expectations were met

(ex. availability of facilities). From the emic perspective, I learnt new reasons why some participants play sports (ex. transgender participant played sports to gain acceptance) among others.

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CHAPTER SIX Conclusion and Recommendations

6.1 Introduction

My study examines the factors women athletes identify as influences on their participation in sports. The findings show that there are both obstacles and facilitators which influence their participation in sport. Interpersonal, intrapersonal, recommendations and environmental factors are facilitators to participation in sports while obstacles include financial constraints, inadequate time, and lack of social support. This chapter will provide conclusions and recommendations.

6.2 Summary

The study shows that athletes recognize more facilitators than obstacles to their participation in sports. Apart from doctor and policy recommendations for the recreational participants, both recreational and elite participants identify influence by the same factors.

Participants engage in physical activities to improve their general quality of life and well- being. The level of importance participants give to each influence differs depending on whether they are recreational or elite athletes. For example, recreational athletes were mostly influenced by intrapersonal factors and extrinsically motivated whereas the elite athletes were mostly influenced by interpersonal factors and intrinsically motivated to participate. A few of the older participants were unmotivated to participate. The participants who were following doctor recommendations or institutional policy were all

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recreational athletes. This group of participants are a sub-set of recreational participants/athletes and are extrinsically motivated.

Participants come from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The factors that influence their engagement in sports vary based on their background. For instance, participants from countries where women are prohibited from engaging in activities outside the home lacked social support in their pursuit to play sports. Policies to increase sport participation by women must make room to support individuals from gender restrictive countries and societies.

Level of involvement, type of sport, participants goal and interest moderated or heightened the importance of the factors that influence them to participate in sports. For example, high risk recreational sport (hockey) participation is motivated by the fun and excitement associated with it. Low risk recreational sports (bicycling) participation is motivated by the desire for high fitness level and a healthy life style.

I observed that most women came to play with their families and spouses.

Therefore, it appears that individual participation is more likely to increase when individuals know other members of the group that is playing. They were also keen on encouraging and supporting each other. The positive social interactions and relations continued after the game or training. They went for coffee or sat around and conversed for a while before dispersing. Most of the older women played on weekdays and during the day. The other participants played mostly in the weekends and evenings.

All participants wore the appropriate apparel, gear and equipment. The instructors and coaches were always around and insisted on doing everything “properly” with the right

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tools. In one of our volleyball matches, a participant twisted her ankle. She found ready treatment and care giving because most of the players had knowledge about first aid and knew exactly what to do. This was a novel experience to me, and I was impressed by their knowledge and ability.

For participants interested in team sports and group fitness, the relaxed environment is a major booster to participants between the ages 51-81 years. These activities were mostly patronised by the older participants. The individual sports were mostly patronised by participants between the ages of 18 to 50 years.

Fringe Benefits: Even though participants are influenced by several factors to play sports, the unforeseen benefits associated with playing serve as additional motivation.

Fringe benefits included a mother finding a means of controlling the unruly behavior of her daughter. For the mother whose child had Downs Syndrome, sport was a means of creating and instilling discipline. Prior to sport her child was undisciplined and her behaviour could be disruptive. The daughter’s behaviour improved when she and her mother played sports. The mother attributes her daughter’s improved behaviour to sport.

Her daughter was more disciplined and happier since she was introduced to sports - a priceless benefit.

In the case of the transgender/transsexual participants, playing sports helps to deal with society’s biases (addressing gender issues). A transgender individual discovered social acceptance and support. The transgender participant was comfortable playing sports, because she gained acceptance, and experienced equal treatment from her teammates. The transgender participant said that she was very happy and comfortable

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playing sport with the female athletes. She did not feel discriminated against: she felt she was judged like her teammates based on her play, and skillset. Their assessments of her were limited to her sport related skills and not her choices about her gender.

Women athletes also took advantage of networking and employment opportunities

(creating opportunities), and sport providing people with the physical and emotional wherewithal to carry out academic fieldwork and save lives. For example, one of the participants was an archaeology student, and she described how participating in sports helped prepare her for her career – a career that featured fieldwork, something she termed

“an extremely physical activity”. During fieldwork she has to walk all day and exert herself by digging in excavations. In the same vein, another participant suggested that sport helped prepare her for her field work as a geography student which involves climbing, hiking, and breaking and carrying rocks. Perhaps the most striking claim of sport providing life skills came from a participant in swimming who got thrown in the Bow River during a major flood in 2013. The women swam to safety, and she claims that if she had not been a regular sport participant she would have drowned in the flood.

Some participants noted that participation in sports gave them an upper hand over non-sports participants in the study of sports related disciplines like sports law, sports journalism and sports administration. In sum, the fringe benefits participants identified underscore that sport can fulfill a variety of purposes and roles.

Stakeholder Involvement: Stakeholder involvement covers an individuals or groups of persons who have interest in, encourage, and influence sports participation on a regular bases. Athletes identify parents, family, community, school, friends, corporations,

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management whose attitude and actions as influence to their involvement in sports.

Coaches: Even though stakeholder encourage and influence regular participation in sports, coaches have the greatest influence. Coaches are in constant and direct contact with participants. Athletes trust, listen and respect their coaches more than they do other people. Recreational coaches have the ability to stimulate and sustain women participation.

Successful coaches understand their athlete’s needs, and harmonise their (coaches’) goals with their athletes’ goals. Recreational athletes prefer female coaches because they find these coaches are more nurturing, and have good interpersonal skills. This implies that the more female coaches there are, the greater the chances of increasing and maintaining recreational athletes’ sports participation. Conversely, elite athletes are interested in the competence of the coaching they receive, not the gender of the person doing the coaching.

Media: The next major stakeholder influence on sports participation is the media.

The media plays a dualistic role both encouraging and discouraging female participation in sport. In terms of encouraging participation, electronic and print media promote sport as a path toward physical, emotional, social, and mental well-being. As a discouragement, the over-sexualisation of female athletes makes people from certain cultures and societies question the intention behind getting more females to play sports. These benefits include: gaining acceptance and opportunities, making more money, having a heavy media presence and popularity, as well as access to more sponsorships from corporations.

Parents/Family: Parents who are physically active encourage their children to play sports. Parent influence and support is motivational and logistical. Participants inculcate a sports habitus and children/dependents’ continue to regularly play sports into adulthood.

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Physically active mothers have the greatest influence on their daughters and nieces who regard them as their role models.

Policy and Doctor’s Recommendation: Policies eliminate any options and choices to play sports. This result opposes the assertions that leisure choices are discretionary (Mannell 2007). Engaging in sports contributes to a healthy and productive lifestyle. A healthy population has a positive impact on the economy, society, government, business and institutional activities. Physicians encourage involvement in sports for preventive and treatment purposes. As a form of treatment, doctors recommend to their patients to engage regularly in physical activities whose progress the physicians monitor and evaluate. Participants on both physician prescribed drug and physiotherapy regimens see sport as an alternative treatment option that shortens the time to heal.

Recommendations to engage in physical activity are part of a policy to discourage sedentary lifestyles, which have a lot of negative consequences. The goal to these recommendations (doctors and policy) is to improve general health and well-being, and also reduce health care costs for individuals, families, governments and institutions. In corporations, sport participation increases employee productivity because participants become more attentive, efficient and effective in the workplace. Corporate leadership see sports as a cheap avenue and resource to increase their output and profit. Managers of businesses believe that playing sports will equip staff members with positive values like confidence, teamwork, and increased self-esteem which will lead to higher productivity.

Staff members play inter and extra company sports to help them socialise, get to know each other, interact and share ideas. In both cases of recommendations (policy and doctors),

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participants continue to play subsequent to fulfilling the recommendations.

Challenges: The challenges women face when it comes to participation in sports are financial, inadequate time and non-support. Even though there is availability as well as access to facilities, affordability is a major challenge. Elite athletes who need special facilities have to travel for longer distances and also pay a lot more to have access to the few specialised facilities scattered across the country. This kind of situation translates to longer distances and increased travelling time for athletes who live in areas that lack these facilities. Travel requirements cut into the play/training time for the athletes and increase costs since they will need to buy fuel and pay for other transport services. Similarly, people requiring therapy have the daunting task of locating the few therapist and facilities in the city. Due to demand for services, sometimes people have to wait in long queues for their turn to access the limited facilities. Participants of a single sport are unable to play if they cannot afford or acquire equipment.

Inequalities: The introduction of legislation to create gender equality in sports participation has not yielded the desired effect. High levels of inequalities discourage many women from pursuing careers in sports. All stakeholders have not fully embraced the concept of women as equal sports participants with men. Inequalities in salary, sponsorship, funding, viewership/attendance/spectatorship, and sports consumption exist.

This finding agrees with (McDonagh and Pappano 2008:247; Van Zoonen 1994:150) who have indicated that organised sport remains the institution that perpetuates gender inequality.

There are both structural and ideological inequalities. In some communities,

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women are restricted from sport. Performance and involvement of women in sports will improve when there are guarantee of equal treatment and equitable distribution of resources. Further, there is enormous inequality in media coverage. Mainstream media focuses on sporting events featuring men more than events featuring women. Limited focus on sports featuring women has a corresponding impact on women’s’ involvement in sports.

Changing Gender Norms: There are arguments that sport reinforces the current gender order (Appleby and Foster 2013). Gymnastics has been around for a long time, and includes both men and women. Gymnastics has been an Olympic game for both men and women since 1928 (IOC Factsheet 2016). Participants associate the sport with women and femininity because it is less aggressive and violent. My study agrees with findings by

Koivula (2001) who advances that, gymnastics is a feminine sport (by virtue of an association with grace and beauty) while football and boxing are masculine (due to an association with aggression and violence) (Koivula 2001). However, findings of this study contradict this simplistic dichotomy. Many women play football and other sports that involve contact and demand aggression. My study conforms to findings from UEFA (2014-

15:14) of an exponential increase in the number of female players in soccer (600% to

900%) between 2010-2014. The demographics of contemporary soccer challenges the notion of feminine sports. In this study, soccer is among the top three preferred sports amongst participants.

Increasing Women’s Sports Participation: There are more opportunities for men to occupy administrative positions than there are for women. Higher male participation

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rates is facilitated by the existing policies like that of the IOC which creates more employment opportunities for men. Even though there have been efforts to increase women sports participation in the area of sports administration, there is a challenge with the approach. For example, of now the IOC reserves only 20% of decision-making positions for women (at the National Olympics Committees, International Federations,

National Federations and sporting bodies belonging to the Olympic Movement) (IOC

2016). This situation does not really seek to address the participation inequality for men and women in terms of administration. To achieve a greater impact, administrative positions for women should be increased from 20% to 50%. This increase will make women more visible in leadership positions.

As a result, increased representation of women in leadership positions will have a corresponding impact on women’s participation in sports. Female leaders serve as role models and also inspire other women to engage in sport. Women in leadership positions seek to increase the facilitators and reduce the obstacles to women’s engagement in sport by influencing policy decisions.

Managers and Coaches believe that empowering women will increase their participation in sports. Empowerment is achieved by increasing the number of women in administrative positions at both the national (regional, district and community) and international levels to serve in various capacities (decision makers, officials, secretaries directors and head coaches).

Women’s participation in sports can be increased through gender mainstreaming.

Policy makers should focus on equity in terms of power (e.g., director, president etc.),

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resource allocation (e.g., equipment, funding etc.), and opportunities (e.g., employment, leadership etc.), to achieve gender equality in sports participation. A successful gender mainstreaming program requires an in-depth understanding of the obstacles and facilitators influencing women’s engagement in sport. This knowledge will serve as a guide to make informed decisions during the development and revision of sports policies.

Issues that need attention during policy development and revision are increased budgetary allocations, increased quotas for administrative positions, equal employment opportunities, increased resource development (human and material), and training of sports journalist to be more professional. Participants argue that these issues must be considered right from the planning, formulation, implementation stage to the monitoring and evaluation stages of sports policies, programs and projects.

Managers and leaders in sports encourage men in hegemonic societies to support the gender agenda of achieving equality in participation in sport. Men should advocate for women to get the same opportunity they have to engage in physical activities. They must also challenge oppressive forms of gender relations that deny women the opportunity to play.

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6.3 Recommendations

Policy: For the effectiveness and success of sports policies, federal governments should go beyond just formulating sports policies targeted at guaranteeing equal opportunity for women and men to play sports, to ensuring the most effective ways of operationalising and implementing these policies. In this way all participants (those who self-identify as males or females) will have equal opportunities to benefit from their engagement in sports.

Again, in areas where women are lagging behind in sports participation, more women (certain quota given) should be included in the policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes. It is also important to eliminate the prevailing inequalities, by modifying unfavorable local and global policies. Policies must be considerate of socio-cultural differences. In male dominated societies policies should target creating an equal and equitable opportunity for women to engage in physical activities and exercise according to their (female athletes) interest and ability. The policy should criminalise any form of discrimination and stigmatisation. Policies should target parents and especially more mothers if there is the desire to increase women participation in sports. (Mothers mostly play with their family and serve as role models to their daughters and nieces).

Sponsorship/Scholarship: To maintain and accelerate growth in women’s sports engagement. For example, at the global level, there should be an increase in opportunity for leadership positions from 20% (IOC 2016 factsheet) to 50% to increase female representation in sports administration and encourage participation. An increase in

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scholarships for female athletes will encourage more parents to allow their daughters to play sports.

Professionalism required from the Sports Media Industry: It is important that media practitioners and associations be more objective and professional. Sports commentators should hold both men and women to the same standard. Focus should be on the performance and competence of athletes, and void of prejudices and stereotype. Sports journalist must lay emphasis on the athlete’s abilities and desist from making derogatory remarks. More airtime should be concentrated on women sports participation. To ensure this, the various media houses and associations should embark on intensive education and training programs for sports media personnel. There is the need to train and encourage many women to take careers in sports journalism to serve as advocates for equality for men and women sports as well as role models for other women in sports.

Coaches: Coaches should be properly trained in ways that will make them competent as well as have good inter-personal skills. Recreational male coaches should be trained in ways to enhance their interpersonal skills. The employment of coaches should be based on competence, experience, abilities, and qualification. Stakeholders should be encouraged to employ and pay female coaches on these bases. Also, there is the need for a law to create equal opportunities for employment for both male and female coaches.

Access to Physiotherapy facilities and Services: Expanded accessibility physiotherapy services and facilities is important to encourage sports participants to operate optimally. Fear of picking up injury, and having to travel long distances for treatment, moderates the intensity of participation. This thereby reduces the quality of the

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experience in playing. There is the need to train more therapist and increase the number of specialised facilities across the city. To reduce distance and pressure on the existing therapist and facilities.

Government Subsidies: Subsidies for acquiring equipment would make it easier and possible for those in the lower economic brackets to participate. Subsidies will help those without financial wherewithal cover the cost of registration and membership fees.

Increased Female Representation and More Research Required: It will be an added advantage and a great motivation to have an increased women representation in sports especially in the area of media, technical, administrative and management aspects of sports. This can be achieved through routine training, workshops, high quota allocations, seminars and research at the global and local levels. Additionally, more research, monitoring and evaluation of the existing laws is required to help improve unfavourable policies, maintain suitable policies, programs and projects. Finally, future research on the factors influencing women’s participation in sports in developing countries is vital to compare and contrast the factors influencing women’s participation in sports in the two worlds.

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APPENDICES

Appendix A

Table 1: Demographic and General Information of Participants Total Sex Age Range Level Of Participation Degree of Participation

F M 18-31 31-50 51-70 71-90 Elite Recreational Active Passive

70 65 5 30 20 18 2 20 50 45 25

E R R

20 25 25

Fieldwork 4th May-August 17th, 2015

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Figure 1: Participants 70 PARTICIPANTS

45 INTERVIEWS 25 P/O

25 RECREATIONAL 20 ELITE 25 F RECREATIONAL

20 PL 8 F. MANAGERS 11 STAKEHOLDERS

5 OFFICIALS 1 GM 1 O 2 COACHES 2 GM 3 C 4 C 2 FR 2 FI 1 MG 1F 18 F. PLAYERS 8 FAM 1MG

3 RF 2 SR (F)

6 PA 2 REL

2F 1M

4 F 2M 1F 1M

Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2016

168

Table 2: Interpersonal Factors Item Recreational Elite Total Percentage Percentage Recreational Elite

Interpersonal 50 20 70 100% 100% Factors Strength and 25 20 45 50% 100% Power

Nice outward 40 13 53 80% 65% appearance

Good physical 40 16 56 80% 80% shape

Fitness 46 20 86 92% 100% Doctor’s 5 0 5 10% 0% recommendation

Sports policies/ 45 14 59 90% 70% programs

Interaction 42 13 55 84% 65% Learn and share 45 17 62 90% 85% ideas

Friends 36 10 46 72% 50%

Support 48 18 66 96% 90%

Financial 5 20 25 10% 100% benefit

Support 37 17 54 74% 85% Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2015

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Figure 2: Interpersonal Development

Included Terms Semantic Relationship Cover Terms Strength and power Nice outward appearance Good physical shape Doctor’s recommendation Interaction is a kind of Interpersonal Development Learn and share ideas Support Friends Financial benefit Support

Table 3: Intrapersonal Factors Item Elite Recreational Total Percentage Percentage Elite Recreational Intrapersonal Factors 20 50 70 100% 100%

Passion 16 45 61 90% 80%

Self-esteem 14 45 59 90% 70%

Fun 12 50 62 100% 60%

Happiness 14 40 59 90% 70%

Focus 16 42 58 84% 80%

Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2015

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Figure 3: Intra-personal / Psychological factors

Included Terms Semantic Relationship Cover Terms

Passion Love Urge Confidence Assertiveness Self-discipline Independent Fun Excitement is a kind of intrapersonal development Enjoyable Happiness Fulfilled Pleasure Focus (Concentration Mental alertness Commitment Improved academic performance)

171

Table 4: Environmental Factors Item Recreational Elite Total Percentage Percentage Recreational Elite Environmental Factors 50 20 70 100% 100%

Media 35 16 51 70% 80% Availability/Accessibility 50 12 62 100% 60%

Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2015

Figure 4: Environmental Factors

Included Terms Semantic Relationship Cover Terms

Media Availability and accessibility is a type of Environmental Factor Sports program/policies

172

Table 5: Obstacles to Womens Participation in Sports Item Recreational Elite Total Percentage Percentage Recreational Elite

Financial Influence 50 20 70 100% 100%

Participation/Membership 15 5 20 30% 25% fees Affordability of 13 2 15 26% 10% equipment Transportation 12 4 16 24% 20% Miscellaneous spending 8 6 14 16% 30% Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2015

Figure 5: Financial Challenge

Included Terms Semantic Relationship Cover Terms

High participation fees

Non-affordability of equipment is a characteristic of financial challenge

High transportation cost Miscellaneous spending

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Table 6: Non-support Item Recreational Elite Total Percentage Percentage Recreational Elite

Non-Support 50 20 70 100% 100%

Family and 37 1 7 12% 5% community disapproval Discrimination 13 20 14 26% 5% Restricted health 17 2 19 34% 4% insurance coverage Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2015

Figure 6: Non-Support Included Terms Semantic Relationship Cover Terms

Family and community disapproval

Discrimination is a characteristic of Non Support

Restricted health insurance coverage

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Table 7: Time Item Recreational Elite Total Percentage Percentage Recreational Elite

Inadequate Time 50 20 70 100% 100%

Domestic and Work 20 1 16 30% 5% Schedules Distance 15 1 21 40% 5% Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2015

Figure 7: Inadequate Time Included Terms Semantic Relationship Cover Terms

Distance is the reason for inadequate time Domestic/official activities

175

Table 8: Number of Sport Played and Type of Type of team sports Number of Sport Type of Team

Played

Single Various Team Non-Team

17 53 58 12

Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2016

Table 9: Various Sports Participants Played and the Risk Level (Approximate Percentages) High Risk Sports Medium Sports Item Low/Moderate Sports (11) Item Risk (47) Risk Item No. Percentage 2 3% Volleyball 39 56% Track and 14 20% Basketball field lacrosse 1 1% Golf 2 3% Swimming 9 13%

Ice 7 10% Soccer 24 34% bicycling 11 16% hockey

squash 1 1% Badminton 12 17% skiing 7 10%

gymnastics 1 1%

Fitness 29 41% exercise Zumba 4 6% Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 20

176

Table 10: FREQUENCY OF MENTION

Concept Participants/Informant Times of Mention Total number of Mention Strength and Power (45) 1 4 2 3 7 2 59 35 1 Nice outward appearance 2 5 (53) 2 3 4 2 69 45 1 Good physical shape (56) 1 3 1 2 59 54 1 Fitness (66) 3 5 5 4 93 58 1 Doctor’s 1 2 recommendation (5) 4 1 6 Sports policies/ 3 3 Programs (59) 2 4 71 54 1 Interaction (55) 3 4 1 3 6 2 72 45 1 Learn and share ideas 6 2 68 (62) 56 1 Friends (46) 7 2 39 1 53 Support (66) 4 4 3 2 81 59 1 Financial benefit (25) 2 2 23 1 27 Support (54) 1 4 3 2 60 50 1 Passion (61) 3 4 2 8 84 56 1 Self-esteem (59) 4 3 6 2 73 49 1 Fun (62) 1 3

177

8 2 53 1 72

Happiness (59) 9 2 50 1 68 Focus (58) 2 2 56 1 60 Media (51) 5 2 41 1 51 Availability/Accessibility 15 2 (62) 32 1 62 Financial Influence 11 2 (20) 9 1 31 Non-Support 4 3 (14) 5 1 17 Inadequate Time 9 2 (21) 12 1 30

Fieldwork May 4th -17th August 2015

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APPENDIX B

Figure 8: Newspaper publication

179

APPENDIX C

Figure 9: Volleyball Court Dimensions

CourtDimensions.net

180

Figure 10: Indoor and sand volleyball

By Elizabeth Luster April 25, 2014

181

APPENDIX D

Figure: 11 Consent Form

182

183

184

Question/Concerns

If you have any further questions or want clarification regarding this research and/or your participation, please contact:

Faizah Tiifu

Department of Anthropology and Archaeology/Faculty of Arts

[email protected]

A copy of this consent form has been given to you to keep for your records and reference. The investigator has kept a copy of the consent form.

185