Early developmental environment and Olympic success: an analysis of an Australian sporting "hotspot" Kristy Skye O’Neill A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sydney School of Education and Social Work Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney 2018 Sydney School of Education and Social Work Office of Doctoral Studies Author’s Declaration This is to certify that: I. This thesis comprises only my original work towards the Doctor of Philosophy Degree. II. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used. III. The thesis does not exceed the word length for this degree. IV. No part of this work has been used for the award of another degree. V. This thesis meets the University of Sydney’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) requirements for the conduct of research. Name: Kristy Skye O’Neill Date: 6th February 2018 i Abstract Inspired by the ‘birthplace effect’ phenomenon, this study aimed to identify an Australian sporting “hotspot” and gain an understanding of factors underpinning a proportionately high number of Australian summer Olympians experiencing their early developmental environment within the area. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to identify the “hotspot” through collecting biographical data on all known (n=2160) Australian summer Olympians 1984-2012, followed by undertaking a case study analysis to examine the “hotspot” within the context of Bronfenbrenner’s (1979b; 1994a; 1998) ‘Ecological Systems Theory’ and ‘Bioecological Model’. Alongside the archival collection of demographic and climate data, Olympians’ (n=11) and community stakeholders (n=31) views regarding the “hotspot’s” occurrence and its perceived influence on athletic development were gained through semi-structured interviews. The results determined several demographic, geographic, historical, individual, social and fortuitous factors contributed to the creation of the “hotspot”. Access to built and natural facilities, climate, family influence, schools, strong community clubs, opportunity to train and compete with older athletes, access to role models, high socioeconomic status and an endemic sports culture were key contributors to effective athlete development within the “hotspot”. Although not predominantly attributable to one variable, it was evident a confluence of planned and fortuitous factors had unintentionally created a “hotspot” of Australian summer Olympians in Perth, Western Australia. Despite several factors being unique to the “hotspot”, some are potentially transferable to other athlete development environments in Australia and overseas. In a quality early developmental environment, Olympians believed factors proximal to them including family, the junior sports environment and individual psychological characteristics had the most decisive influence on their athletic development. ii Preface Prior to undertaking this PhD, I had a lifelong interest in the Olympic Games and the biographical histories of Australian sporting greats. Although I did not hold existing personal or professional engagements with Australian Olympians, the journey I have been on in completing this thesis has enabled me to immerse myself in the fascinating world of athlete development and the processes that occur at a community level to support trajectories into elite sporting pathways. Completing this PhD has been a rewarding journey, which has enabled me to develop a broad range of skills and experiences relating to this study alongside concurrent research outputs. The following awards, grants, publications, conference presentations and media experience represent some examples of what I have achieved throughout my PhD candidature. Awards and grants Young Investigators Award – Oral Presentation (2nd place), 22nd annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Essen, Germany (2017) International Olympic Committee (IOC) PhD Students Research Grant Programme 2015 recipient Young Investigator Award - Best Oral Presentation ICSEMIS conference, Glasgow, Scotland (2012) Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) (2012-2015) Postgraduate Research Support Scheme (PRSS) recipient (2012, 2013, 2014) Publications O’Neill, K. (2015). Early developmental environment and Olympic success: analysis of an Australian sporting "hotspot". Lausanne, Switzerland: IOC Olympic Studies Centre. Retrieved from https://library.olympic.org/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/64083/ O’Neill, K., Cotton, W., Palomares Cuadros, J., & O’Connor, D. (2016). An investigation of the relative age effect amongst Olympic athletes. Talent Development and Excellence, 8(1), 27-39. iii Invited speaker O’Neill, K., Cotton, W., & O’Connor, D. (2017). Early developmental environment and Olympic success: analysis of an Australian sporting “hotspot”. 72nd annual Congress of the Japanese Society of Physical Fitness and Sport Medicine (JSPFSM), Matsuyama, Japan. Conference presentations O’Neill, K., Cotton, W., & O’Connor, D. (2017). Early developmental environment and Olympic success: analysis of an Australian sporting “hotspot”. 22nd annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Essen, Germany. Cotton, W., & O'Neill, K. (2016). The place of sport in Australia. Keolahragaan, Pon XIX & Peparnas VI Seminar, Bandung, Indonesia. O’Neill, K., Cotton, W., & O’Connor, D. (2016). Early developmental environment and Olympic success: analysis of an Australian sporting “hotspot”. International Convention of Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS), Santos, Brazil. O’Neill, K. (2016). Early developmental environment and Olympic success: analysis of an Australian sporting “hotspot”. Research Students Forum, The University of Sydney, Australia. O'Neill, K., Cotton, W., & O’Connor, D. (2012). Factors influencing the development of Australian Olympic athletes: the impact of relative age effect and early specialisation. International Convention of Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS), Glasgow, Scotland. O’Neill, K. (2012). Factors influencing the development of Australian Olympic athletes: the impact of relative age effect and early specialisation. Research Students Forum, The University of Sydney, Australia. iv Media This study attracted media interest in Perth during data collection and nationally prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. During these periods I engaged in sharing my research with the public, which resulted in several online and print media outputs alongside live radio interviews. Some of these outputs were through prominent Australian media sources including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Business Insider Australia, ABC Radio National and a page 1 story in The Weekend West. A complete overview of media outputs relating to this study can be found in Appendix A. v List of Acronyms ABS – Australian Bureau of Statistics ACT – Australian Capital Territory AIS - Australian Institute of Sport AFL – Australian Football BM – Bioecological Model BOM – Bureau of Meteorology BPE – Birthplace effect EDE – Early Developmental Environment EST – Ecological Systems Theory FMS – Fundamental Movement Skills IOC – International Olympic Committee MM – Mixed Methods MVPA – Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity NSW – New South Wales NSWIS – New South Wales Institute of Sport NT – Northern Territory PA – Physical Activity PE – Physical Education QLD - Queensland SA – South Australia SES – Socioeconomic Status SA – South Australia TAS - Tasmania UWA - University of Western Australia VIC - Victoria WA – Western Australia WAIS – Western Australian Institute of Sport vi Operational Definitions Birthplace effect – refers to the potential for an elite athlete’s birthplace or early developmental environment to either enhance or deter the chances of an individual athlete being ‘successful’ in sport (Bruner, MacDonald, Pickett, & Côté, 2011). Birthplace – this term will be used as a proxy in this study for identifying the environment where an athlete spent their early athletic development years, particularly the location of their schooling, junior sports club and area in which they were known to have grown up in, whilst not necessarily being the place in which they were born. Community – a term used to encompass a specific type of community within a Local Government Area (LGA), such as a sporting or school community. This includes intangibles such as the bonds and interrelationships shared amongst members of these groups. Early developmental environment – term used within this study which refers to the geographical location where an Olympian spent their formative years based on their birthplace, schooling and/or junior sports club location, during their sampling (6-13) and specialising (13-15) years (Côté, 1999). Hotspot – An environment or community in which a particular type of talent or expertise has been consistently produced and maintained at a high level of achievement. Within the context of this study, a “hotspot” refers to an Australian geographic area (based on LGAs), which has produced a greater proportionate number of summer Olympic representatives 1984-2012 relative to population size, whilst also considering the consistency of the performance of these athletes at the summer Olympic Games [Adapted from Coyle (2009): definition of “talent hotbed”]. Local Government Area (LGA) - refers to a geographical area under the responsibility of an incorporated local government council or an incorporated Indigenous government council. Collectively, LGA’s cover most parts of Australia apart from areas