Basketball in Lithuania
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FANS AGAINST VIOLENCE NATIONAL REPORT LITHUANIA DECEMBER 2015 – KAUNAS LITHUANIA This Project is funded by EU Commission in the frame of Erasmus + Sport Collaborative Partnership Programme. Disclaimer The content of this report does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union or of its Member States. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the report lies entirely with the authors. Fans Against Violence 2 National Report – Lithuania December 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4 What is “Fans Against Violence” Project? ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Rationale For The Research ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Basketball in Lithuania .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Women's Basketball ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Lithuanian basketball in International championships ................................................................................................................... 9 The Lithuania men's national basketball team (until 1990) .................................................................................................... 9 After the restoration of independence (from 1990) ....................................................................................................................... 9 Latest Achievements of Lithuanian National Teams ...................................................................................................................... 16 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 18 Aggression ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18 Theories Which Tend To Explain Aggression .................................................................................................................................... 18 Team Identification ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 References ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 23 3. HISTORY/BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................... 26 Violence in Basketball in Lithuania ........................................................................................................................................................ 26 4. FACT FINDING CONFERENCE ............................................................................................. 28 Part I. General Information on Fact finding conference ................................................................................................................ 28 Part II. Participants of the FFC ................................................................................................................................................................. 29 Part III. Agenda of the meeting ................................................................................................................................................................ 30 Part IV. Introduction of the Project ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 Part V. Session 1 “Definition of the Violence and realities of Lithuania” ................................................................................ 31 Part VI. Session 2 “Recommendations on improving the Project activities” ........................................................................ 35 What can be done to prevent violence? ............................................................................................................................................... 39 Other insights .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 40 5. FAN SURVEYS ............................................................................................................................ 42 Findings ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 42 6. IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS ........................................................................................................ 49 Presentation of the key findings ............................................................................................................................................................. 49 Methodology .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Findings ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50 7. CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................... 53 Fans Against Violence 3 National Report – Lithuania December 2015 1. INTRODUCTION What is “Fans Against Violence” Project? “Fans Against Violence” is a European Commission Erasmus + Sport Programme Project that aims to unite different fan groups under the roof of basketball and to increase the understanding, tolerance and communication among them and is organised with the partnership of the Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain and Lithuania Basketball Federations under the leadership of the Turkish Basketball Federation. The main goal of the project is to unite different fan groups under the roof of basketball and to reduce violence by increasing the understanding and empathy between them. Rationale For The Research This research is very important because it constitutes one of the very first examples of such a comprehensive study done on the subject of “violence in basketball”. This research is unique because it uses a variety of methodologies simultaneously. We conducted fan surveys (a total of 420 fans representing 5 biggest Lithunian teams) and completed in-depth interviews (12 interviews with fan leaders and clubs representatives). In addition to these research methods, a comprehensive literature review on the subject of “fan violence” was conducted. Basketball in Lithuania Basketball is the most popular sport in Lithuania. It is popular because of the victories around the world; it has raised a large crowd of well-known athletes, coaches, referees and organizers. Basketball was introduced in Lithuania indirectly through the European variety of Netball, featuring a smaller ball and no boards, brought by the Germans. In 1919 Lithuanian women athletes started organizing, and in 1920-1921 they started playing the game in public. The female pioneerism delayed basketball's widespread popularity until the 1930s as it kept being considered a woman's sport. In the meantime, in 1922 Karolis Dineika released the book Krepšiasvydis vyrams (English: Basketball for men), and in 1926 pilot Steponas Darius, who would later be Fans Against Violence 4 National Report – Lithuania December 2015 known for his transatlantic flight, published the first basketball rules in Lithuania. The first official game was played by men. It took place on April 23, 1922 when Lietuvos Fizinio Lavinimo Sąjunga (English: Lithuanian Physical Education Union) played a game against Kaunas team, winning 8–6. That day is regarded as the beginning of basketball in Lithuania. Lithuanian Basketball Federation, also known as LKF, is a national governing body of basketball in Lithuania. It was founded in 1936, but due to Soviet occupation, the federation disappeared from FIBA. It was reinstated in 1991 following the Independence of Lithuania. In 2011, the famous basketball player Arvydas Sabonis was elected as the commissioner of the federation. Lithuanian Basketball Federation – one of the largest and most influential in the country. Federation brings together over 130 legal members, 18 thousand licensed players. 400 trainers are working in basketball. About 100,000 Lithuanians play basketball for their own pleasure. Lithuanian basketball federation is uniting these independent basketball leagues: premier men's basketball league (LKL), secondary men's basketball league (NKL), region basketball league (RKL), premier women's basketball league (LMKL), secondary women's basketball