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Why are 11 Million adults playing sports in Australia?

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OIP-1

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2015, roughly 11 million adults in Australia regularly participated in recreational sports (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). With a national population of 23 million at the time, this means that approximately 47% of Australia’s adult population played sports. This raises the question: why do so many people play sports, and what is it about sports that drives participation? 

 

To begin, being physically active often reflects an interest in maintaining physical fitness. While fitness alone can generate social capital, sports—especially team sports—offer a sense of belonging. Teams provide opportunities for friendship, leadership, and personal growth. As sports become more competitive, athletes also learn to navigate adversity, thereby developing resilience. Reflecting on the true impact of sports, I’m struck by how transferable these skills are to the workforce. Resilience, leadership, perseverance, and social competence are all qualities that employers highly value.

 

The social capital cultivated through sports can open doors to upward mobility. However, this raises concerns about access. Those with the financial means to participate in sports, who can afford equipment, transportation, and membership fees, gain an advantage in developing these desirable qualities. On the contrary, individuals without the necessary resources are often excluded from these opportunities, which may affect their ability to present themselves as competitive candidates in the job market. 

 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also notes that participation in sports tends to decrease with age (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). One possible reason is that the workforce begins to fulfill some of the roles that sports once played: offering a sense of purpose, opportunities for growth, and the development of resilience in the face of challenges. As I compare trends in sports and workforce participation across age groups, the parallels become more apparent. However, still, it’s still important to acknowledge that many adults must work to support themselves and their families in Australia’s society, often leaving little time or energy to participate in recreational sports. Physical limitations may also prevent adults from participating in sports at the same level they once did. 

 

While sports can offer mobility and opportunity to younger individuals, I’ve considered how those same benefits tend to decrease with age, and I wonder if that decrease is tied to the workforce being a filler of the void that sports once were to athletes? The mobility that sports offer to younger people is greater than the mobility that sports offer people when they are older people. For example, students can leverage sports in order to get into top universities and position themselves to get a higher-paying job in the future as a result.

 

In conclusion, sports in Australia are an indication of class, and being able to participate in sports positions younger generations to go into the workforce. 

Sports: How athletics in elite school benefit students and develop capitol.

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OIP

Today’s society gives status to people who score goals in soccer games, run fast on the track, or win the most tennis matches. In effect, our world is defined by excellence and a need for people to “be the best” as a result of physical talent and skill. According to the University of San Diego, there are mental and physical health benefits to participating in sports (University of San Diego, 2023).  However, I would argue that through my research on Everdeen Academy, social benefits come along with being an athlete, particularly at elite schools. Everdeen Academy places a significant emphasis on the importance of physical education for all of its students. Their school policy of making sure all students participate in athletics made me think about how physical health and athletic ability are a form of capital. 

 

If children excel at sports, then children at Everdeen are rewarded. One student from Everdeen shared how Everdeen has general excellence scholarships, which are based on the student’s academic performance and their sports performance. By rewarding athletic performance through scholarships, students not only learn to associate excellence with athletic performance, but they also associate money with being something they should want to desire. Not to mention, these students are particularly elite students who come from high-income families and do not necessarily need the scholarships, but they are taught to appreciate the pursuit of money, which is in itself an elitist concept that reinforces both elitism but also ideologies related to wealth and status. 

 

Through reflection, Everdeen’s sports requirement for their students has made me think about how another way that physical capital can reinforce generational class disparities can be through the soft skills students develop in sports. Teams foster community and the development of soft skills relevant to careers, such as teamwork, resilience, perseverance, and communication. By requiring students to participate in sports, the school not only recognizes and encourages the value of teamwork and physical hard work, but the students learn how to follow rules, communicate, and act for others over themselves on their teams. These daily practices are also inherent skills needed in powerful, high-income jobs in the real world. Reinforcing the practice of teamwork at Everdeen is an example of how sports perpetuate elitism and wealthy ideologies in their students that non-elite institutions do not have.