Towards a [re]conceptualisation of power in high-performance athletics in the UK A CONSTERDINE PhD 2020 Towards a [re]conceptualisation of power in high-performance athletics in the UK ALEXANDRA CONSTERDINE A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Manchester Metropolitan University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences Manchester Metropolitan University 2020 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I lay the blame for this thesis at the door of my first Director of Studies, Dr Bill Taylor. As it was his foresight, patience and wisdom that has encouraged me to persevere, so he must shoulder some of the burden. Despite being constantly challenged in the last five years, I offer my unending gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to him. I also extend sincere thanks as well as further blame to my supervisory team. To Dr Laura Gale, my second Director of Studies, Dr Ryan Groom and Dr Samantha Oldfield who have provided me with their well measured advice and questions. Furthermore, I recognise that without the willing contribution from all who acted as research participants I would have no thesis at all. Therefore, thank you to everyone I interviewed and I hope to do justice to your involvement. To my well-meaning friends and family who forgave me for not being fully present, I extend my warmest gratitude. I am indebted to your foolhardy belief in me throughout my research. My parents, Rose and Bill, have kept me grounded throughout. Finally, to the two people most affected by my studies, Tom and Mikey, I thank you the most. I have found this immersive experience to be all consuming and you have been constant and unwavering in your love and support throughout. Thank you boys! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ iii LIST OF ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................ viii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION: WALKING THE COURSE, MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE 1 Prelude ....................................................................................................................... 1 The sport-power relationship under scrutiny ................................................................ 1 The social (in)significance of sports studies .................................................................. 3 Background rationale .................................................................................................. 7 The wider context .......................................................................................................... 7 Problematising power ................................................................................................... 8 What of the alternative views on power? ................................................................... 11 Locating sport as an interpersonal and social enterprise: applying the concepts of power .......................................................................................................................... 14 Elite athletics in context ............................................................................................ 21 Historical overview of athletics in the UK .................................................................... 21 Volunteerism, power and coaching ............................................................................. 24 Contemporary elite athletics in the UK ....................................................................... 25 Overview of my research ........................................................................................... 27 Research aims and focus ............................................................................................. 27 Objectives .................................................................................................................... 28 Participants .................................................................................................................. 30 Positioning the research ............................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER II- THE CASE OF JESS VARNISH: CYCLES OF POWER AND RESISTANCE .. 36 Inside track: dissention in the ranks .......................................................................... 36 Pedalling discourses in print ...................................................................................... 38 Extrapolation and implication for the proposed research .......................................... 40 Outside track: shifting circuits of power and influence .............................................. 41 Influential stakeholders and power bases in flux ....................................................... 43 Fire-starting, amplification spirals, and resistance ..................................................... 47 Importance of the coaching context and ethical considerations of power ................. 48 CHAPTER III - MARKS IN THE SAND AND STYLISTIC APPROACHES ....................... 50 Points of departure for sports coaching research ...................................................... 50 A question of style (elegance or pretention?) ............................................................ 61 De-privatising the self: who’s line is it anyway? .......................................................... 63 Multiple voices: exploding the myth of the singular author ....................................... 65 Consideration of reflexivity and multiple identities .................................................... 66 Roving identities and notions of incompleteness ....................................................... 68 Daring to be different: the ironies of individuality or rebelling against structure ...... 69 Writing as a craft and a medium for knowledge creation ........................................... 70 Decisions about data ................................................................................................... 71 iv CHAPTER IV – TOWARDS A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ..................................... 75 Procedural aspects of a conceptual framework ......................................................... 75 The role of the researcher ........................................................................................... 76 The concept of the bricoleur ....................................................................................... 78 Topographical familiarity and purpose ....................................................................... 80 Identifying perspectives and background to the research .......................................... 81 How much of the self to leave in or leave out? ........................................................... 81 Research origins .......................................................................................................... 83 Questions of reflection, reflexivity, and the development of a critical consciousness 89 Paradigm choice: towards a methodological approach .............................................. 92 A question of ontology ................................................................................................ 94 A question of epistemology ......................................................................................... 96 Philosophical positioning and paradigm choice? ........................................................ 97 CHAPTER V - ADOPTING A POSTSTRUCTURAL AND POSTMODERN METHODOLOGY AND METHOD (PART 1) .................................................................................... 100 Considerations of philosophy, process, and power ................................................... 100 Postmodernism and poststructuralism – two sides of the same coin? ..................... 101 Writing and framing my approaches to research ...................................................... 103 Interrogation and evasion of meaning ...................................................................... 105 The postmodern perspective: accounting for the unaccountable ............................ 107 Boundaries and territories ........................................................................................ 110 Poststructuralist posturing: les enfant terrible du sciences sociales ......................... 111 Interrogating the interview: the favourite child of sports coaching research ............ 118 Foreword ................................................................................................................... 118 Positioning the qualitative interview ........................................................................ 119 The scope and value of the (postmodern) interview ................................................ 121 CHAPTER VI - ADOPTING A POSTSTRUCTURAL AND POSTMODERN METHODOLOGY AND METHOD (PART 2) .......................................................... 127 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 127 Purpose and pilot work ............................................................................................ 127 Pilot participants ....................................................................................................... 130 Pilot procedure .........................................................................................................