Category: Recreation and Sports

Youth sport has been recognised as an important practice for many generations but only recently has the development of youths in sport been seen as key way to produce better physically and mentally strong athletes. Not only does this create better performing sport teams and individual athletes but it improves the state of physical health in the world. For example in the US, little league baseball began in 1939. Then sport around the world for the youth population began to evolve from child- centered “play” to actual organized and competitive sport. Youth development has become a very important part of each and every kind of sport in today’s world. From my research, I have found that Sport New Zealand, in their publication entitled ‘Good Practice Principles – Children and Young People in Sport and Recreation’ has devised ten good practice principles for children and young people in sport and recreation. In this essay I will refer to each of these as best practices to support the development of sport among youths. These principles should be applied by coaches, parents, instructors, teachers and administrators involved in leading, supporting or managing sport and recreation opportunities for children and young people. These practices are meant to encourage a safe and fun environment for youths to learn and express themselves through sport.

“Sport is neither inherently good nor bad; the positive experiences of sport do not result from participation but from the nature of the experience. In the hands of the right people with the right attitudes, sport can be a positive, character-building experience.” – (Dr Stuart Robbins, Straight talk About Children in Sport, 1996.) The principles and practices described in this paragraph are those outlined in the report by Sport New Zealand and if applied, can deliver a positive experience for young people which is character-building as referred to by Dr Robbins. The first principle outlined in the report by Sport New Zealand is to create a safe, social and physical environment. Children and young people must feel physically and socially safe when they participate in sport and recreation. It is therefore key that sport and recreation providers take responsibility for ensuring that the children and young people in their care when participating in activities are free from physical, social and emotional harm. Providers must have procedures in place to limit or minimise the risk to children and young people and make sure that the facilities are safe and accessible.

This includes making sure that the equipment used during activities or training is the right equipment suitable for the activity, that protective equipment is available where necessary and that it is not faulty in any way. Keeping children and young people safe also means that they should be treated with respect and fairness and encouraged through positive reinforcement when learning new skills and taking part in new activities. The second principle outlined in the report by Sport New Zealand is to treat children and young people with dignity and respect. Young children and youths should be treated with respect and dignity whilst participating in their sport and physical activities. Negative statements or actions towards a child have an effect on their self-esteem, this negativity will then in turn affect their love of the sport or activity. Repetitive criticism and being set up to fail are examples of bad coaching behaviour and more often than not leads to participants wanting to drop out of the sport or activity. The children involved should be given the opportunity to suggest ideas about what they want to do during the session. As a coach you should be able to create an environment where each and every child feels accepted and equal to the other participants. The third principle outlined by Sport New Zealand is to model good behaviour and values. Children are easily influenced by the characteristics and morals shown by parents, coaches, instructors and teachers. That’s why it is very important when being one of these role models you portray the correct traits and behavioural characteristics to teach the children how to act. You must be able to always act with integrity and always show respect to other teams and referees.

As a role model you must also demonstrate fairness as a key factor in sport participation. Another principle by Sport New Zealand is to be consistent. This means to be consistent with the rules of the activity or sport, be consistent with the moral message and competitiveness between the different types of activities done by young people. Develop a consistent message with other coaches and providers so that there is an easy transition for the young people for example between school and club because the overall purpose/message is the same. Another one of the principles by Sport New Zealand is to become familiar with the developmental ages and stages of young people involved in physical activity. We need to understand that each child develops at their own pace, according to Sport New Zealand, “chronological age is a poor indicator of development and progress, especially in sport.” (Sport New Zealand, 2012, Good Practice Principles: children and young people in sport and recreation.) Children develop both physically and mentally at completely different rates. Young people’s minds are usually not fully prepared for team sport or competitions, it takes time for a child to fully learn how to they can use their different muscles to become better at sport. Being forced to stick to one activity or position in a sport from a young age can also limit the overall body development of a child and make them believe that they are not capable of more. When children are involved in multiple sports they are working more of their bodies muscles making them an overall better athlete when they get older, this also reduces injury. The sixth principle from Sport New Zealand is to simply let children play. Play is so important for the development of a child in sport and physical activity, play allows for the development of self-esteem, social skills and physical development of muscles and reflexes. The next principle by Sport New Zealand is to ensure that there is full participation and inclusion.

Every child or young person has the right and should be encouraged to participate in sport and recreation, regardless of their ability, social background, race, gender or any other factor. This means that those in charge must plan to accommodate differences in physical ability by offering a broad range of activities, slightly changing activities and making sure every participant is seen as equal to ensure that everyone can be included. The eight principle by Sport New Zealand is to modify or adapt activities to suit the ability of participants. Many sport providers have realised that the needs and abilities of children are different from those of adults. As a result, they have created slightly different versions of their sport and fun games as a better way to meet the needs of younger participants. Modifications should not only relate to skill development, but can also be applied to competitions such as the Paralympics. The ninth principle outlined by Sport New Zealand is to provide an appropriate amount of activity. Sport and recreation providers and coaches should consider the importance of the frequency and duration of the sport activities. They should be able to consider the needs and wants of the participants because majority of children’s parents will be working so the coaches of these activities should be able to work around that and make the sporting hours easiest for the children and their parents to attend. The final principle of Sport New Zealand is to prepare children and young people to compete successfully. Children and young people cannot compete effectively when they do not have the required skills. This is not just technical/movement skills but also the attitudes and values that allow ‘good’ sport to happen. Organised sport coaches need to be able to correctly instil good sportsmanship and values in the children before they are allowed to compete.

These ten principles as set out by Sport New Zealand outline the important actions that need to be taken by coaches, teachers and instructors to insure that the development of young people in sport is kept to a high standard as the development of young athletes is one of the most important stages of an athletes career. This development stage is so important because this is where all of the young people will learn how they should act through the morals instilled in them by their coaches. They will also learn how to interact with other people from different kinds of backgrounds as they will be interacting with their fellow teammates. These young athletes will also learn how to have fun through physical activity and develop both physically and mentally. The main reason this stage of an athletes development is so important is because at a young age we are at our most impressionable, so the environment that you grow up in usually shapes you into the person you will become as an adult. For this reason Coaches and instructors of physical activity with young people have a very important role in developing the future athletes of the world. Therefore the principles that Sport New Zealand outlined in their report are focused on informing coaches and instructors and set out the guidelines and rules they should follow in order to successfully develop the youths into the best individuals and sports persons they can be.

I personally agree with all ten of the principles outlined by Sport New Zealand as each one in its own right is very important for the overall development of youths in sport but the ones that struck me as the most important for a coach/instructor to understand were principles one, three, seven and ten. The first principle is important in my opinion as safety when it comes to dealing with young children is key, not only will unsafe environment possibly harm a child but will then most likely deter them from wanting to continue that sport or even physical activity in general. The third principle is especially important because modelling good behaviour and values is so valuable to the development of the young person’s character and personality. This will teach them how to act properly and respectfully making the social environment in sport a lot more friendly. The seventh principle is to ensure there is full participation and inclusion, this principle is especially important for building self-esteem amongst young people as throughout the early years of life boys and girls tend to have low self-esteem and if not included in things like physical activity with their peers may never learn to develop key social skills or learn how important physical activity is for your overall health. The tenth principle is to prepare children and young people to compete successfully. This is one of the most important principles when is it comes to specifically dealing with sport because competitive sport can be very challenging for young children to understand and can become very overwhelming due to things like pressure from parents or coaches to perform well or if they are told they are not good enough to make the starting team. This is why coaches need to be fully informed on how to make sure that their team or group are fully prepared for competitive sport.

In conclusion, I believe that the principles as set out by Sport New Zealand perfectly outline how to aid the development of a young person in any kind of physical activity or sport. The ten principles cover all bases when it comes to needs of a young person in sport, from mental and social development to the physical development of the young athletes, with keeping a main message of fairness, respect and enjoyment at heart. These practices discussed in the report, in my opinion work best for supporting the development of sport among youths because they inform the coaches and people responsible for the young peoples development on how to perform their jobs as role models in a successful and impactful way.

References

1. Sport New Zealand, (2012), Good Practice Principles: children and young people in sport and recreation https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwimi_ClorztAhUITRUIHZY4BM0QFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsportnz.org.nz%2Fmedia%2F2012%2Fgood-practice-principles-for-the-provision-of-sport-and-recreation-for-young-people.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1EwD4FuuNdpYpeQHwQWIBC
2. Dr Stuart Robbins, (1996) Straight talk about Children in Sport, Advice for Parents, Coaches and Teachers, Coaching Association of Canada
3. http://triathlonontario.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Straight-Talk.pdf

The Unification Brought by Soccer

Loud cheering, vuvuzelas, and extreme chaos can be heard from various parts of the world. Different communities wear their jerseys, and face paint representing the colors of their country, and support the members of their country’s team. This all takes place during a soccer game. When one thinks of the significance of a soccer ball, one may assume its representation to be endurance and perseverance. However, something as simple as a soccer ball is able to bring unity and peace to my family.

Soccer has the most influence over any other sport with over 265 million supporters worldwide (Blakemore). However, the origin of the sport came from Mesoamerica, the vast historical region spanning from Mexico to Costa Rica, in which civilizations would play with a heavy ball made from a substance derived from tree resin (Blakemore). It was popular amongst Mesoamerican cultures like the Aztecs and Incas (Blakemore). Eventually, soccer was formalized in England during the 19th century and then quickly spread to the rest of the world.

The Peruvian side of my family has been obsessed with soccer for as long as I can remember. I can recall being 5 years old and wanting to play “tag” or “hide and seek” outside in my brother’s backyard but those ideas were abruptly ruined by my cousins collectively deciding to play soccer. I hated soccer after that and refused to ever play it. I preferred to watch ballerinas or gymnasts on television but never got the chance to when my cousins were around. If they weren’t physically playing soccer, they would watch it on television and if they weren’t watching it on TV, they would play it on their Xbox or PlayStation. All they did was life and breathe soccer. I got very tired of it, but as I’ve grown older, I realized the positive impact of the sport on my family.

With several deaths and illnesses that arose in 2018, it was no surprise to see my community gradually fall apart with miscommunications and arguments. That particular year was especially hard on my father. He had more than one sibling pass away as well as a very close niece of his. He didn’t like talking about it and refused to show his emotions. The only thing that really cheered him up was watching or playing soccer. Ever since he was a kid, he loved playing the sport. He would stay up late at night just to play soccer with his brothers out in the street. Having the whole family reunite just to watch soccer is enough to make him feel better.

As a member of the Hispanic community, I realize that soccer, or fútbol, is exceptionally important. It is able to unify and bring families together. In 2016, while discussing the Copa America Centenario and the impact it’ll have on the United States population of Latinos, EC Hispanic Media said that “Soccer remains an outlet for cultural pride for Hispanics” (Vieyra). Soccer is a way to celebrate where you come from and share it with others. Similar to myself, Felipe Vieyra, a previous Program Director at the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club, was not as into soccer as his family was when he was younger (Vieyra). He claimed that he would prefer playing a handheld game instead of watching the soccer game on television like his father insisted he should (Vieyra). As he grew older, he began appreciating the sport more and more due in large part to realizing how close it was connected to his cultural identity. This was a realization I also had myself.

While many believe soccer can bring unification, it is not always seen this way. In some cases, it can enhance separation. It can bring rivalries amongst countries. It may bring unity to my community but not to others. Some take soccer so very seriously that they don’t realize they are showing hatred towards another country. For instance, one example of a soccer rivalry would be Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. While some may think of this as a healthy sports rivalry it is not necessarily always that way. The FC Staff from ESPN discusses how Luis Suarez, a member of the Barcelona team, is said to have wily gamesmanship and physical combativeness. Additionally, they also mention how Sergio Ramos is said to be very aggressive during games, especially during games, especially in an attempt to take down Lionel Messi. People with a negative perspective of soccer may take this as an example of why it is not a sport that brings unification. They may think it exhibits aggressiveness and the need to always win.

In summary, Soccer is able to merge my family into a more unified and joyful community. While I never considered myself to be a soccer fan, I will always appreciate the effect it has on my family. It was able to bring my father out of a difficult time in his life and my family was able to come together to deal with the horrible circumstances of 2018 in the best way possible. It’s impractical for everyone to enjoy the sport or to think of it as a positive influence, but to my community, it is essential to keep us together.

Works Cited

1. Vieyra, Felipe. “Cultural Significance of Soccer in the Latino Community – CRYSC.” Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club, 16 Jan. 2017, rapidsyouthsoccer.org/cultural-significance-of-soccer-in-the-Latino-community/.
2. Staff, FC. “The Hater’s Guide to Soccer Rivalries.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 28 Feb. 2019, www.espn.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/26063197/the-hater-guide-soccer-rivalries.
3. Blakemore, Erin. “Where Did Soccer Start? Archaeology Weighs In.” National Geographic, 18 June 2018, www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/where-did-soccer-start-archaeology-weighs-in.aspx.

Sports is one of the most popular activities of mankind across the world. It is well valued between all ages, gender and races. However, in early years of modern Olympics, women were not well represented. Women participated for the first time at the 1900 Paris games only in tennis and golf. Then, women’s athletics and gymnastics started in the Olympics 1928. Through time, more women’s events were added. In 2012, women’s boxing was introduced, resulting with no remaining sports that do not include events for women (Top end sports, 2010).

Furthermore, in Rio 2016, 28 sports were included in the Olympics for both Men and Women. Soon in Tokyo 2020, five new sports will be added to the Olympics, this means that sports in evolving throughout the years (Olympic News, 2018).

For a long time women have been projected to live up to traditional roles in major societies. This resulted in women being discouraged from the contribution in several sectors in the society, including participating and competing in sports. Throughout the years, sport assigned limited role to women by eliminating them from contributing and then fighting to include them (Woods, 2016).

The United Nations goals aims at encouraging gender equality and empowering women through sport. In 1970, Title IX on the gender equity has been formulated in the USA and was legislated in 1972 by President Richard Nixon to adjust college athletics. This title ban sex discrimination in any educational program. Title IX has produced a revolution in sports participation for women. A huge jump of girl’s participation in sports at High school with athletic budgets and scholarship but until now women in sports continue to lag behind men.

Sportsmen’s control media coverage and still obtain universal attention that impact the media of sportswomen. Besides, media is involved in maintaining the official process of discouraging women’s participation in sports, as the media’s attention and focus is mainly on male competitors, placing them in the limelight and keeping women in the shadows. This lack of attention could then allow society to easily conclude that sportswomen have very little value, and girls should not strive for this type of career (Khalaf, 2014).

According to the study made by OHIO University (2014), the average salary for Women coaching are unequal to the men’s. Because Women’s programs lack of funding and sponsorship. The problem is that Women have no media exposure to let people feel that they are worthy to watch.

If a woman has reached a very prominent level in sports, by which she is known all over the world, the media tend to associate her with something bad, while men are mostly associated with success. Photographs of sportswomen are often individualized, sexualized, and accompanied by references to their marital status, private lives, femininity, and personal problems. In contrast, the high coverage of male sports makes it appealing to boys to become a sportsman. These sportsmen are often looked upon as heroes (Khalaf, 2014).

Men have dominated sports in the Middle East over the years, so women face ongoing battles for sports rights. As it is commonly known in most of Arab countries, women participation in sports are neglected altogether and physical education is banned in all-girls public schools and universities. According to the government of Arab countries, sport is a serious threat to traditional values.

Sports scene in Lebanon is known with the imbalance between male and female participants. In Lebanon, women were first incorporated in the national teams for international competition in 1950 and since then women have represented Lebanon in all these competitions. However, there are more male sports players, administrators and representatives than female in all national sports federations, academics, and especially in the official committees that accompany athletes to the World Sports Championships or Olympics.

Although the implementation of Title IX had led to impressive gains for women’s athletics but the playing field is still far from level. So, why we have low representation for Women in sports? What are the actions that could be taken to make a difference? And what are the changes needed to increase Women leadership in Lebanese sports?

The purpose of the study is to assess gender representation in sport participation and leadership in Lebanon as well as identifying opportunities and detecting the needed changes. As Women being engaged in the sport field area, this thing has pushed us to look into what men and women, already in the sports field, what they think about women in team leadership positions, and why they feel that way. Moreover, if there was a complaint, how they feel about it and what needs to be done for women to develop their leadership chances (Aly, 2018).

To our knowledge, researches such as Margaret Lovelin & Maylon Hanold, 2015 only emphasis on numbers and percentages of women in sports rather than the reasons behind why there is or is not an underrepresentation of them. However, the main aspects that we want to stress out are the constraints in female coaching, equal pay, media coverage, representation as athletes and team sports leadership. Men were viewed as being able to handle the aspect of teamwork better than women, and players find difficulties to trust or listen to a female in a position of authority over them.

Women representation in sports is critical today, so we need to gain insight from both sides, men and women who already hold these positions. This study benefits all people in sport field in general and in particular Lebanese people that are journalists, TV reporters, fans, administrators, athletes, physical education (PE) students and coaches.

Daily exercise significantly boosts mental health by releasing endorphins, known as ‘feel-good’ hormones. Regular physical activity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and increases self-esteem and cognitive function. It also helps manage stress, providing a sense of control and accomplishment. A daily routine of 30 minutes of moderate exercise can lead to noticeable improvements, encouraging a healthier, more balanced lifestyle.

A team is a group of people who share a common team purpose and several challenging goals. Members of the team are mutually committed to the goals and to each other. This mutual commitment also creates joint accountability which creates a strong bond and a strong motivation to perform. Jim Sisson (June 2013).

Leadership theories seek to explain how and why certain people attain leadership positions. Such theories often emphasize the characteristics of leaders, but some try to identify the behaviors that people can adopt to improve their own leadership abilities in different situations.

In our project which was a good and rewarding teamwork also experienced good team leadership. The two examples of good team leadership I saw with the team of my project are trait leadership theory and contingency leadership trait.

The trait leadership theory is a theory that assumes that leaders are born due to the characteristics that they possess. The quality they possess that makes them suitable for leadership is communication skills, decision-making, interpersonal skills, flexibility, value, confidence, and problem solver/innovation. I believe that the trait leadership theory I possess due to my flexibility and interpersonal skills helped made the project a successful one. I was able to find time to speak to our sponsors at different opportunities. I used good communication and interpersonal skills to let them see what we needed and how they could come on board to help us. The information gotten from our sponsors helped us in making good decisions on how to carry out the social walking project easily.

The contingency leadership theory is theory puts forward the idea that the success of a leader centers on the specific situation about to happen. This involves using the right leader with the right followers for a situation. In other words, when an organization finds itself in a new situation, then it would have to employ a new leader or transfer someone from another department that would be more suitable. The idea of the theory is that leaders are situational which means that factors to be considered for leadership are the assignment, the qualities of the leader and the makeup of the team to be led. The contingency leadership theory skill I see, is prominent in myself and two other members of the project group as we already walk on a daily basis before the idea of the social walking project came up. In the making up of the group, we were able to ascertain that the project would not be difficult as walking was not a challenge to most of us in the group. So, leading other staff and students of the college to engage in social walking was not a problem as we were always ready five minutes before break time and went around to the classes to encourage people to come out regardless of the weather. We had the yellow vests on in time with our walking shoes motivating people and leading by example.

Stages of team development in the project

Developing a team requires time and usually goes through certain stages because it involves the coming together of different people with different ideas that want to unite to reach a common goal. The stages of team development are

Forming – this is the genesis that represents the beginning, at this stage great expectations are shared by all the team members. At this stage, to succeed they need to familiarise themselves with each other’s strengths and weaknesses, their previous experience with other teams, and have clarity of their purpose.

Three members of the group had always walked constantly before we started the project, so we knew our strength was walking so we decided to do the social walking project. Even though we loved walking we did not go for brisk walking, to encourage people to be part of the project we opted for social walking which would last for just about twenty minutes.

Storming – this is the stage where team leadership demanding as ways to approach the struggle from confusion must be dealt with. Storming would be prompted by disagreement about missions, jostling for positions, and arguments about goals and strategy.

To know if people would be interested in the social walking project, we did a questionnaire to know what people feel about the project, we saw that people knew the importance of walking but do not make for it and would be interested in the social walking. We checked for the routes that would be traffic free as much as possible, made out a poster advertising the walk, organized how to get yellow vests, and made water available for people that might need it during the walk.

Norming – at this stage when the storming is over, the team would have stabilized, and be open to communications. Intentionally or unintentionally at the stage, the group would have agreed to norms to facilitate the progress of working together effectively.

We started the walk on the first day with about 15 people which was encouraging as we were expecting between 10 and 15 people to participate. Although, due to the weather and other logistics we get about 5 people sometimes. We have been advised to keep a particular route so as not to go through a farmyard due to health and safety issues.

Performing – at this stage, the actual work of the team has been maintained. There is work in progress, established relationships, and the team is successfully working towards their goals.

Presently, the social walking project is going as well as planned, we get a variety of numbers each time depending on what is happening on the college premises. The awareness has been built around the college that there is a social walking project and more people are getting interested in it.

To succeed as a team requires practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time. Teams only work when the five dysfunctions of a team are acknowledged, identified, and overcome.

The 5 dysfunctions of a team are

One dysfunction of my team is Inattention to results which is when the pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the focus of collective success. (Patrick Lencioni 2012). Why this happened is that some of the members of the team have already started walking before the project and were already seeing the results of the walk so they were more interested in doing the walk than checking for the results or improvement of other people that had joined in the social walking project. This could have been prevented if team members were told before the beginning of the project that an evaluation of people’s improvement will be done and presented to the college at the end of the social walking project.

Examples of how I could demonstrate leadership

I could have demonstrated the transformational leadership skill which is to raise each to higher motivation and morality, creates an inspiring vision for the future, manages the delivery of the vision, and motivate people to buy into and deliver the vision thereby building strong, trust-based relationships with people.

I would have brought the creativity of the social walking project and its importance to the students of the night classes for them to have about twenty minutes walk just before they head home after lectures, but unfortunately I am not a local student; I live 48kms away from the college, this will not give me the opportunity to be able to run down to the college to join and motivate the night student to do the social walking project.

I would have loved to speak to people individually about the inspiring benefits the social walking project will do for them to raise higher motivation by the start of the project but unfortunately, I was away in Vienna on an Erasmus+ program when the social walking project started.

I look for sponsors and liaison students that would encourage the social walking project on the days that we are not in school so that the walk would run five days a week, this will help eliminate the break in between the days.

I noticed some people like to do the fast walk so I would do a survey on people that want the brisk walking and the social walking then make room for both teams to that everyone is doing the form of walking they prefer.

I would not limit the walking to the social walking project of twenty minutes three times weekly, but I will also organize long walks like the 5k frequent walk to help stress a little and improve on the overall health benefits.

I will also hold talks on healthy eating so that the effect of social walking would be felt more because it does not really do much good when people are doing the walk but are not making a conscious effort to monitor what they are eating to produce high-quality results.

I will always inquire from other team members what the long-term goals of the project are, this will help keep people focused and be able to maintain the existence of the project for a longer period.

This hypothesis is based on controversial findings, which will be shortly mentioned in the following paragraphs. On the one hand, there is evidence advocating that creative individuals experience less arousal during the inspirational phase, meaning the brainstorming phase; of the creative process (Sternberg, 1999). On the other hand, there is evidence suggesting that creative individuals have a higher basal level of arousal and that during the inspirational phase, the occipitotemporal cortex is more active (Sternberg, 1999; Chrysikou & Thompson-Schill, 2010).

Kris (1952) hypothesized that more creative individuals are more variable on the primary-secondary process cognition continuum (Sternberg, 1999). Primary process cognition describes free-associative states of mind, such as dreaming, whereas secondary process cognition captures a more reality-oriented state of mind (Sternberg, 1999). Kris proposed that medium levels of arousal are ideal for secondary process states. Moreover, he suggests that high and low levels of arousal encourage primary process states (Sternberg, 1999). Due to the curvilinear relationship, it is impossible to conclude whether creativity arises from high- or low-arousal states. However, when considering the self-reports of creative individuals, the evidence points to creativity emerging mostly in low arousal states (Sternberg, 1999). Hull’s Behavioural Law (1943) supports this view by proposing that increases in arousal promote stereotypical behavior, whereas low arousal benefits variable behavior. EEG studies also showed that creative individuals experience lower levels of cortical activity in the inspirational phase of the creative process than uncreative people (Sternberg, 1999).

However, opposing evidence exists as well. Research has found that creative people experience higher basal levels of arousal, such as higher skin conductance and higher scores on tests of anxiety (Sternberg, 1999). In line with this reasoning, the research found that highly creative subjects show less alpha activity during resting eyes-closed basal EEG recordings. Alpha waves are correlated with deep sleep and, therefore, with very relaxed states (Sternberg, 1999). In addition, an fMRI study by Chrysikou and Thompson-Schill (2010) found that during open-ended tasks (generating the uncommon use of an object) the occipitotemporal cortex was more active, than in close-ended tasks (generating the common use of an object) (Chrysikou & Thompson-Schill, 2010). Chrysikou and Thompson-Schill (2010) showed that during close-ended tasks the lateral PFC was activated, however, in open-ended tasks these regions did not show reliable activation. One possible explanation Chrysikou and Thompson-Schill (2010) put forward is that during the open-ended task, different aspects of the given object become important. Due to the nature of the Uncommon Use task, it is unknown to the participant which aspects could be task-relevant. Therefore, heightened activation in the lateral occipitotemporal cortex might demonstrate increased attention to the visual aspects of the given object. These aspects are probably filtered out by the PFC in the close-ended, Common Use task (Chrysikou & Thompson-Schill, 2010). Additionally, the research by Oppezzo and Schwartz (2014) found that walking increased creativity significantly when compared to sitting, which is not in line with the low arousal hypothesis (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014).

The present study hypothesizes that all three types of walking (normal walking, climbing stairs, and fast walking) influence creativity. Nevertheless, it is speculated that they will differ due to the aforementioned research that links arousal levels to creativity. As mentioned before, this paper will solely focus on the comparison between normal walking and climbing stairs. The latter is proposed to increase arousal more than normal walking because it is more physically challenging. No hypothesis was suggested concerning the direction of this effect due to the controversial findings on the effect of arousal on creativity. Moreover, it is hypothesized that people who are on average more active during the week, will be more creative than inactive people in the climbing stairs and fast walking conditions.

Discussion

The present study hypothesized that all three types of walking (normal walking, climbing stairs, and fast walking) influence creativity. Nevertheless, it was speculated that they will differ due to the previous research suggesting a link between arousal levels and creativity (Sternberg, 1999). This paper solely focused on the comparison between normal walking and climbing stairs. The latter was proposed to increase arousal more than normal walking because it is more physically challenging. No hypothesis was suggested concerning the direction of this effect due to the controversial findings on the effect of arousal on creativity. The significant negative correlation between resting heart rate and the GLTEQ score (r = -.233; p = .048) confirms that both measure the same construct, namely physical fitness. Furthermore, a significant effect of fast walking compared to stair-climbing on creativity was found (p = .04). After walking as fast as possible for eight minutes, participants were significantly more creative compared to their performance post-stair-climbing. The results further suggest that climbing stairs have overall the same effects on creativity, in terms of divergent thinking, as normal walking (p = 1,00). Due to our findings, two hypotheses can be made derived. Firstly, there might be a common mechanism underlying the equal effects of stair-climbing and normal walking on creativity. Secondly, there must be a difference between the stair-climbing and the fast-walking mechanism which leads to a significant improvement in creativity after fast walking. Here, the focus will lie on explaining the equal effects of stair-climbing and normal walking on creativity.

An increase in cortical alpha activity might be the mechanism that both types of walking engage, which leads to their comparable effects on divergent thinking. Exercise has been previously shown to increase alpha activity during and immediately post-exercise (Crabbe & Dishman, 2004). Fink, Grabner, et al. (2009), found that for an Alternate Uses task (AUT), there were strong alpha event-related synchronizations (ERS) in frontal regions (Dietrich & Kanso, 2010). Jaušovec (2000), also found that highly creative participants showed higher alpha power in frontal areas during a divergent thinking task (Dietrich & Kanso, 2010). Nevertheless, there also have been opposing findings ((Dietrich & Kanso, 2010), and, therefore, it should be further investigated whether the cortical activity is, in fact, the common mechanism underlying the performance of the GAU.

Oppezzo and Schwartz (2014) stated that it was unknown whether more aerobic walking would demand more cognitive control and, therefore, would impair creative performance (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014). Considering our findings, it can be concluded that even more demanding forms of walking, such as climbing stairs, do not impair creativity. Chrysikou and Thompson-Schill (2010) give a possible explanation for this finding. In their study, the researchers found that during an Uncommon Use task, such as the GAU, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was not significantly involved, whereas the occipitotemporal cortex showed increased activation (Chrysikou & Thompson-Schill, 2010). The conclusion was that divergent thinking tasks do not demand strong cognitive control, especially because free ideation and flow of thought are necessary to be creative (Chrysikou & Thompson-Schill, 2010).

Nevertheless, there was a significant difference between the climbing stairs condition and the fast walking condition (p = .04). Due to the fact that fast walking leads to the highest divergent thinking scores, it may even be the case that certain types of aerobic exercise enhance creativity more than others. Future research should investigate the comparison between types of aerobic exercise and more skill-based exercise to discern possible mechanisms underlying the improvements in divergent thinking.

In their paper, Oppezzo and Schwartz (2014) question whether it is the physical aspect of walking that enhances creativity, or rather the cognitive aspect, namely the thought liberation arising from a comfortable task, which functions as a creativity booster (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014). They hypothesize that the performance of pleasant tasks might facilitate divergent thought, which would be in line with the low arousal theory of creativity. However, the presented results annul this explanation because both the uncomfortable, high-arousal stair-climbing condition, as well as the comfortable, lower arousal normal walking condition, had remarkably similar effects on divergent thinking. It has been suggested that walking might lower the threshold of excitation in associative memory and, thereby, make less active ideas more accessible (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014). As Chrysikou and Thompson-Schill (2010) suggested, divergent thinking requires a free flow of ideas and, therefore, low cognitive control (Chrysikou & Thompson-Schill, 2010). By lowering the threshold at which ideas and memories get activated, physical activity, such as walking or climbing stairs, may enhance divergent thought (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014). Returning to the present study, these findings might explain why the more exhausting stair-climbing condition did not impair participants’ performance on the GAU.

Another aspect that future research should further investigate is whether social context matters. In our research, as well as in the research realized by Oppezzo and Schwartz (2014) “participants were encouraged to talk aloud to a friendly researcher” (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014). Future research should examine whether equivalent effects are observed when participants are either not being encouraged to talk, or when participants complete divergent thinking tasks companionless (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014).

Limitations. Considering the switch in location (the University of Almería to the University of Maastricht) it was not possible to realize the study under exactly identical conditions. This could pose a threat to internal validity, however, simultaneously it might be advantageous for external validity. Similarly, the participants were highly culturally diverse, which again allows for high external validity, but, nevertheless, may as well restrict internal validity. A literature review by Westwood and Low (2003) concludes that culture has “an impact on the perception and interpretation of creative and innovation processes”. Nevertheless, it remains unknown what the true effects are (Westwood & Low, 2003). Therefore, the cultural diversity of this sample might have impacted their creativity score.

Furthermore, the subjects had the option to complete the GAU either in Spanish, English, German, or Greek. For some participants, their mother tongue was not included which may have generated a language barrier. Consequently, their abilities to express elaborate responses may have been confined.

Nevertheless, these between-subjects deviations should not have impacted the within-subjects effect of activity condition on creativity. However, they still might have been confounding for the between-subjects effects of resting heart rate, BMI, and leisure activity on creativity.

In a few cases, individual responses are missing due to audio malfunctioning or slurs in speech. This may have slightly influenced the creativity scores of some participants. These missing responses would likely not change the direction of the presented results.

Another possible limitation of this study might arise as the result of divergent conceptualizations of fast and comfortable walking. No speed limitations were set, therefore, the average heart rate during the activity would have been an important and useful measure of physical exertion. Furthermore, future studies should include a measure of perceived physical exertion in order to have a superior understanding of which condition was the most straining one. In addition, future research should attempt to incorporate devices that measure the speed of walking or the number of steps taken, such as accelerometers. Due to financial and temporal restrictions, this has not been possible in this study.

Lastly, the distribution of subjects’ scores on the GLTEQ may not have been optimal for a dichotomization because there was not a significant difference between the two groups (more and less active). Future studies might consider a quasi-experimental design to test for differences in creativity performance post-exercise.

Conclusion

With serious problems, such as climate change, impending creative and innovative solutions are needed now more than ever. Therefore, research investigating ways of enhancing creative thought is fundamental. Research has shown that even eight minutes of walking is enough to enhance creativity (Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014). Since no equipment is necessary it can be done in any situation and it can be implemented easily in everyday life.

As a result of the finding that stair-climbing did not impair creativity, short exercise breaks in the workplace should be implemented more often. These short breaks would enhance employees’ physical activity and well-being, as well as cognitive functions, such as memory, psychological states, and creativity and, consequently, workplace success and performance (Lee et al., 2012, Steinberg et al., 1997, Chang, Pan, Chen, Tsai & Huang, 2012, Winett & Carpinelli, 2001, Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014, Ben-Ner, Hamann, Koepp, Manohar & Levine, 2014). Stair-climbing might be a valuable alternative to simply walking. Although there was no significant difference in regard to their influence on creativity, stair-climbing is more effective for burning calories than normal walking.

The presented results show that both the uncomfortable, high-arousal stair-climbing condition, as well as the comfortable, lower arousal normal walking condition, have remarkably similar effects on divergent thinking. Considering our findings, it can be concluded that even more demanding forms of walking, such as climbing stairs, do not impair creativity. Therefore, creativity does not necessarily arise solely in low-arousal, comfortable states. Due to our findings, it could be hypothesized that there is a common mechanism underlying the similar effects of stair-climbing and normal walking on creativity. Future research should investigate the comparison between types of aerobic exercise and more skill-based exercise to discern possible mechanisms underlying the improvements in divergent thinking. Furthermore, research should examine whether equivalent effects are observed when participants are either not being encouraged to talk, or when participants complete divergent thinking tasks companionless.

As our cities get larger and the centralized nature of city centers remains efficiently unreachable without a car, it is hard to focus on non-motorized modes of transportation. However, these ways of transportation were, in fact, the ones we initially depended on and still carry huge health, social, and even economical benefits that remain relevant in the 21 century. Especially nowadays with the commitment of multiple countries to reduce their emissions by 2020 according to the Paris Agreement. Australia specifically committed to a reduction of its emission levels of 13% of its levels in 2005 (Department of the Environment and Energy, 2015). The targets are related to those of other countries such as Canada and the European Union. Canada’s emission target by 2020 is a reduction of 20% of its emissions (Environment Canada, 2012). As the second-largest contributor of greenhouse emissions in Australia, the transportation sector needs to be addressed. For instance, New South Wales alone contributes to 27.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually (Stock, et al., 2018). Trends in countries with the same commitment to emissions reductions like the United Kingdom are already showing an increase in the use of non-motorized modes of transportation such as cycling (Travel in London, 2018). Despite these goals, a graph by the Finnish Environment Institute (2017) reveals the reality of many places around the world and that is the decrease in commuting trips that can be done by modes of transportation different from cars. The result is a reiteration within the literature related to mobility with a motorized vehicle. However, most people in Australia continue to use their cars as their main mode of transportation having significant consequences in economic, emissions, and social aspects. The average distance between people to their work or studies is 16 kilometers and eight out of ten commutes drive a car to work or their studies (Stock, et al., 2018). In Sydney, the major contributors to these statistics include the barriers acknowledged by people according to the data gathered by the City of Sydney (2017). These are the ten targets that any city should consider when creating a plan to encourage walking and cycling and the relevance of acknowledging and solving these barriers remains in the multiple benefits they offer.

Walking as we all know, is always a win-win situation. Walking is good for our health, the environment, the community, along with the economy. Research illustrates that social connection is vital for well-being (Social benefits, 2019). Walking increases opportunities for face-to-face social contact. Direct contact leads to higher cooperation, understanding, respect, and trust. Walking is essential because, despite other ways of connecting, face-to-face communication remains a compelling way to develop and sustain our relationships (Victoria walks, 2019). Social isolation is being more and more common and to tackle; creating active and walkable neighborhoods is extremely important (Social benefits, 2019). If there are better walking conditions, more people would be walking and using the streets, which would increase social contacts

The health benefits associated with walking are immense. Just a 30-minute walk every day can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some kinds of cancer(‘Walking for good health’, 2015). Walking increase cardiovascular fitness along with strengthening the bones and reducing excess body fat. The main reason contributing to high rates of obesity for both children and adults is the lack of activities like walking. The lowest rates of obesity are in the countries which have the highest level of active transport(‘Health benefits’, 2019).

“The economic value of walking has been described as the walking economy. There is a direct link between the city’s economic prosperity and the safety and convenience of the pedestrian experience.”

(City of Melbourne 2012). Walking leads to lots of savings(‘Economic benefits’, 2019). We can save money on transportation costs. Ownership of a motor vehicle is about 19.5% of an ordinary household’s income((‘Economic benefits’, 2019). Walking is very good for your health, and if you start walking to places, you will not have to do other forms of exercise, which require special equipment or training, which is an extra cost.

Additionally, a more active community can help reduce healthcare costs. The parking cost, especially near the cities, is exceptionally high so walking would help save that amount. As we all know, walking is the most natural means of transport(‘Walking for good health’, 2015). Walking is considered to be safer than driving/riding a vehicle. If the number of people walking increases, the total productivity would increase as there would be less traffic.

Walking improves our quality of life as it protects and enhances the living environment. Cleaner air, less traffic noise fewer road accidents all improve the living environment Walking rarely leads to injuries and it is very efficient in the use of urban space and energy. Vehicles produce about 80% of carbon monoxide and about 55% of nitrogen oxide in the U.S. (‘Walking for good health’, 2015). Walking is comparatively highly efficient as cars require fuel, larger space to store, and use a lot of energy (‘Environmental benefits’, 2019). If we substitute car trips for walking it benefits the environment. It provides environmental benefits like improved air quality, no noise pollution, and a huge reduction in the consumption of non-renewable energy sources(‘Environmental benefits’, 2019).

Technology is helping us improve our ways of walking and humans are discovering new technology. There is this new initiative which is let’s generate electricity by walking. Kohei Hayamizu is planning to create a city that is an electric power station. The roads, sidewalks, and bridges will have a plate on them which generates electricity from the vibration produced when people move over them(The Power Beneath Your Feet, 2017). In 20 days it is meant to generate electricity enough to power 1422 TV for about an hour. They are trying to figure out ways to store energy so one TV could be used for about 1422 hours with the elect produced(The Power Beneath Your Feet, 2017). If we create more bridges for people to walk in and nice pedestrian routes with a cycle lane more people would be encouraged to walk and cycle rather than drive. If the infrastructures support active transportation as do cars/motorbikes then more people would be encouraged to use the alternative.

Currently, Sydney has achieved four major contributions to ensure these benefits for its residents and tourists (City of Sydney, 2017). To target insecurity and time with a comprehensive wayfinding strategy, Sydney implemented Legible Sydney a Design Manual to ensure consistent and easy-to-follow signage. Major public events dedicated to pedestrians have been hosted to motivate residents to visit local markets, multiple festivals, and art events. Additionally, the immersion of artists’ works in public spaces allowed the development of the Culture Walks app as an encouraging way for tourists and locals to get to know the city in a special way by foot. Last but not least, $15 million dollars is being invested annually in the improvement of footpaths’ quality, aesthetics, and convenience. Their more lively, vibrant, and useful streets are the more likely people will be motivated to use them. In other parts of the world strategies towards non-motorized have already had significant contributions to a biking culture for instance in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. The city constantly battles with major congestion issues, and measures to limit the number of vehicles per day were not effectively leading to inefficient vehicle flow and stressed citizens. In the past years, significant investments in exclusive bike lanes in major avenues connect people with their jobs and studies. With 480 kilometers of bike lanes, Bogota is the city with the largest network of cycling infrastructure in all of Latin America. In just three years there was an increase of about 27,000 bike users in 2017, which that means for every two people that commute to work by car one does it by bike (Sanchez, 2018). The budget that is estimated to implement a bi-directional bike lane with access ramps and parking spaces for 1 km is AUS $300,000 and an annual maintenance cost of AUS $1,000 (Departamento Nacional de Planeación, 2017). Additionally, social incentives have been implemented under Law 1811 in 2016, such as having a paid half-day off at work if they certify they have commuted to work by bicycle (Sanchez, 2018), as well, as part of the initiative “The day without District Car” the first Thursday of each month. Another example of effective non-motorized strategies in the recreational aspect is the city of Vancouver in Canada. Counting 450 km of bike lanes, the city strives to provide alternatives for short, one-way trips with a bike-sharing program called “mobi” (Tourism Vancouver, 2019). With public bike stations placed strategically around the city, this initiative allows citizens to choose an alternative to sedentary habits and allows tourists and citizens to enjoy nature in a stress-free environment. Additionally, the city buses include bike racks at the front if you choose to take your bike further.

In conclusion, to remain globally competitive it is not sufficient to invest in infrastructure, the importance of how people view and value non-motorized transportation is equally important for solving the non-motorized mobility issues. As our cities continue to expand and our population continues to increase there is an imperative necessity to plan communities that can be transited majoritarian by walking or biking (no car-centered communities) with access to centers that satisfy essential needs and that require connection with efficient public transport solely for leisure trips or jobs that are further than a certain commuting distance average.

Diet is not everything

The ketogenic diet is limited to eliminate carbohydrates and increase healthy fats to lose fat faster and in greater quantity. If this type of routines is carried out for a short or medium period of time it can be an effective way to lose weight in case of obesity or overweight. Anyway, we must remember that in the long term we have to eat varied and balanced cooking healthy recipes. Nor should we forget that exercise is also an important factor both when losing weight and having good health and proper functioning of the body.

To lose weight you never have to limit yourself to a diet since exercise is the perfect complement. It does not have to be every day or at a high intensity, but it is important to acquire weekly exercise routines. A balanced diet and regular exercise are the basic pillars of well-being. It is important to differentiate ketoacidosis from ketosis, as they are different processes.

• Ketoacidosis is a process that occurs in diabetic people, where glucose is not able to enter the interior of cells (due to the pathology itself), producing a high concentration of ketones at blood level, this high concentration is harmful to the body, being able to produce a comma.
• Ketosis is a process that occurs naturally in the body when glycogen levels decrease in a prolonged way over time. So the main difference is that, in ketosis, if glucose enters the interior of cells, insulin levels remain functional, so that the number of ketones or ketone bodies are lower.
• If we compare values, we can see that in diabetic ketoacidosis the values of ketones are approximately 15-25 millimoles, and on the contrary in ketosis produced by low carbohydrate diet is usually 3 millimoles, optimal values for proper functioning.

THE KETOGENIC DIET IN SPORTS

The ketogenic diet, after an adaptation, can help increase sports performance. This is called a keto-adaptation, and it takes at least 2 weeks. This adaptation makes the body mechanisms begin to correctly use fat as energy

The results that have been proven, are mostly for endurance sports, because in high-intensity exercises when the use of glycogen (carbohydrates) is very high or even exclusive.

ADVANTAGES IN SPORTS PERFORMANCE

• Increases the energy capacity provided by the fat before reaching the anaerobic threshold, delaying muscle fatigue.
• It increases the ability of the muscle to generate energy from fat, using it before and for longer than the hydrate compared to a diet rich in hydrates.
• By improving the use of fat, glycogen savings are enhanced for sprints, slopes or intensity peaks. Like the HIIT for example.
• Body composition and weight/power ratio are improved. By reducing the percentage of fat while maintaining muscle, performance is improved.
• It improves insulin sensitivity and muscle recovery speed after exercise.

Globalization is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide (What is Globalization, Undated). It was in the 20th century that globalization became dominant as the world began to interact. Although capitalism is said to be the driving force of globalization, there is also the idea that many cultural aspects get globalized (Vanham, Undated). One of these cultural exchanges was sports, and the excitement that it brings to people allowed it to diffuse very quickly. Many different sports emerged during the increase of industrialization and competition, they became the safe way to relieve social and economic stress, and they gave a way to settle national conflicts that is not wars that society needed at the time. Sports were used to compete with people, countries, communities, etc., and gave people identities. An example of the sport played during this time was cricket. The English game spread across the world its empire, leading colonies like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India to adopt the game from their colonial motherland (Clio’s Current, 2015). Another sport to first develop a strong global profile was tennis. It was played in many first-world countries and was played like how we play sports today. People in the past would set up semi-official tennis tournaments and invite skilled players to compete in them. Winning these tournaments gave you “celebrity” status and the winner received a prize (Clio’s Current, 2015).

Although sports like tennis and cricket may have pushed the boundaries of globalization and were the first few sports to do so, the sport that did it the best and the sport that is a main factor of cultural diffusion is football/soccer. Soccer is a simple game to play however it has many reasons why it is the most participated sport in the world. These reasons include the cost of playing the game is very cheap, it can be played virtually anywhere, and it does not need much training and learning to play (Football History, Undated). During the times when society was divided into a hierarchy and when many people did not have the opportunities to experience a lot due to the economy, soccer was a way for them to do so. Since soccer is essentially the idea of kicking a circular object at someone or something, people of all wealth and status can find a way to play the game (Football History, Undated). Meaning that soccer became globalized and spread throughout the world. Soccer evolved from a village activity to becoming the world’s most-played sport. Through its history, it is understandable why it has such a great spatial diffusion.

Soccer has a long history. Some forms of soccer with different rules and variations were played in ancient China, Greece, Rome, and Japan. Most of these games included the use of hands, feet, and even sticks to control a ball (Crocombe, 2019). However, the soccer we know today is traced back to England. Soccer began to evolve in modern Europe. Somewhere around the 9th century, entire towns in England would kick a pig’s bladder from one landmark to another (Football History, 2019). Crocombe stated that the game was even banned during some periods in Britain’s history due to it being a nuisance. Early games pitted mob-like massive teams against one another. Since standard rules were not enforced, it was played very violently. This way of playing soccer would decline due to legal concerns and more people had less leisure time to play. Soccer that we are more familiar with began in public schools in Britain at the beginning of the 19th century (Crocombe, 2019). In the private school system “football” was a game in which people would use their hands and feet, but otherwise, the modern idea of soccer was being formed (Story Map Tour, Undated). Goals were present and the introduction of goalkeepers was seen in these games. However, the rules still varied: some resembled rugby, while others preferred kicking and dribbling. The rules and regulations of soccer would continue to evolve in Britain. During these times sport was a pastime in many places, but English public schools enabled the formation of soccer by forming teams that would compete against other schools. In the mid-80s the “Cambridge Rules” were established at Cambridge University (Crocombe, 2019). Allowing students to move up in ranks as they graduated, resulting in adult soccer clubs becoming more common. However, this time in soccer history still allowed the players to handle the ball with their hands. On October 26, 1863, the formation of the Football Association occurred. They had a discussion of how soccer should be played, including what is the official ruleset that Britain would accept and use. They created the rules like how carrying the ball is banned, and the practice of shin-kicking and tripping would also be banned (Crocombe, 2019). As time would pass many more clubs would join this association leading to many people playing “professionally.” People demanded compensation for their training and game time leading them to get paid and make a living through soccer (Story Map Tour, Undated). Many people also started spectating games and formal tournaments were finally being played. By 1900, soccer became England’s national sport over cricket. The idea of soccer and how it was heavily enjoyed in Britain began spreading across the globe and many people were interested in it (Clio’s Current, 2015).

It did not take long for other European countries to grow their love for soccer. Leagues began popping up throughout the world, for example, countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, and Belgium would all form a league in response to Britain. France who had adopted the British sport long ago did not form their league until 1903 (Crocombe, 2019). Several large technological improvements helped individuals familiarize themselves with the game and the players playing them. This included media coverage which is a big factor in exposing large groups to soccer. However, many nations did not get this coverage and they did not hold the right technological advancement to fully grasp the idea of soccer. Many countries outside of Europe had other ways they were introduced to the game. For example, people in Korea decided to try soccer after being exposed to it through British soldiers traveling to their country. Leading for Korea to form teams and have an organized soccer club (Story Map Tour, Undated). The diffusion of soccer was also due to the help of European soldiers who introduced soccer to other areas of the world. This included them introducing soccer to South America, Africa, Asia, and even deeper areas in Europe. They helped showcase the game through “pickup games.” (Football History, Updated). This was a small soccer game that had the Brits play against the locals of the land. Which later ignited the spread of the game to Argentina. Eventually, South America would form its own organization with over 300 clubs. After the introduction in South America national teams would introduce the game to various tribes and ethnic groups further expanding soccer’s spatial diffusion. This caused the game to be played in many different styles but still following the overall rules and objectives set by Britain (Story Map Tour, Undated).

This sport gave a great influence on the different continents. Europe’s colonization influenced Africa in countless ways, many of them looked down upon. However, troops stationed at certain locations in Africa helped introduce the sport to many Africans, this included the introduction to many African nations such as Rhodesia. This introduction would later give Africans an activity to spend their free time gaining better skills at the game. Another continent that was affected was Asia (Crocombe, 2019). Places such as China were introduced to soccer through sailors and expatriates. The process in which it happens all happens the same, it came from soldiers who would play pick-up games while waiting at the docks. An Asian country that was heavily influenced was India. Britain’s hold on India was quite strong, therefore so was the presence of British ways of life. Iran would also pick up the sport and will eventually allow the formation of a national team but was halted any competition due to the game’s ties with the Western World (Crocombe, 2019). Soccer in America came from immigrants who entered the States in search of well-paying jobs and freedom, due to the grand industrial expansion the State was experiencing. It was not long until America adopted the game and formed its own league. As shown in figure 1 soccer became very influential in many countries. It is showing that it was even adapted that many countries have adopted it as their most played sport, this all stemming from the British soldiers bringing the sport over and giving people interest.

Soccer that is played today has grown way more since the beginning in Britain. It has spanned its influence in many places on Earth. The many professional players playing the game also have great diversity. They come from a span of different cultures. A great example of someone who took the game to another level is a player named Pelé. He is arguably the greatest player to ever play this game. He grew up in poverty and his access to education and basic human necessities was very low. This resulted in him spending a lot of time with his friends kicking around a ball made from sticks inside of a sock (Story Map Tour, Undated). He was eventually asked to try out to be on a team by the coach. By the age of 17, Pelé was playing in the Brazilian national team and was famous for the unique play style he gained from not having a real soccer ball and just having fun with his friends (Story Map Tour, Undated). At one point in America, soccer virtually disappeared and got replaced by baseball. However, Pelé who came out of his retirement after winning three world cups in Brazil formed a team when Pelé made his way to America caught the team’s American eye. The first match played by this team saw 10 million viewers on American TV (Story Map Tour, Undated). This helped ignite the North American Soccer League and Pelé helped in popularizing soccer in both Brazil and the US. Not only that but many soccer players today that everyone admires comes from different countries as well. This includes the players known as Lionel Messi a player from Argentina and a player known as Cristiano Ronaldo a player born in Portugal. The past century has proven successful in the world of soccer. Players like Ronaldo and Messi and their rivalry helped introduce soccer around the world by showcasing their play and skills that they have on soccer (Story Map Tour, Undated). This highlights the significance soccer has on many nations and the diffusion it has in the world. Figure 2 it is showing that players come from all over to play soccer and those people also have big influences on their country. Further expanding the fact that soccer’s spatial diffusion is very large. A big contributor to this case is the FIFA World Cup which happens every four years. This competition is the same exact meaning sport had in the past. To settle some rivalry between countries. The FIFA world cup pins soccer teams together but instead of league teams, the team is comprised of people from the same country (Football History, Undated). This event gains a lot of attraction and is watched by the entire world. This competition housed 32 nations competing against each other and having their entire country root for them (Football History, Undated). Not only that but soccer is also in the Olympics the most-watched sporting event of all time. Further expanding the spatial diffusion soccer has. We also made strides into furthering that by giving women an equal pedestal to play soccer. This gave many female people from different countries who were interested in the game a platform to inspire people and influence the world.

Throughout time the British and European influence across the globe are more than just negative. They helped bring over a beautiful game enjoyed by millions worldwide in many different countries. Through its complex history, it is seen why soccer has such a great spatial diffusion. From the beginning of the sport in small ancient time villages, the sport has evolved greatly. Starting from being played in Britain with their hands and the use of violence, to the spreading throughout the world by the soldiers going to different countries and influencing people. How soccer is played today with many different teams competing really shows just how big soccer is. In conclusion, soccer’s origin in one country, the process of how it impacted many other places on earth, and the players, teams, and many organizations that exist today all highlight the idea of the spatial diffusion soccer has now and throughout time.

References

1. Clio’s Current. (2015, January 20). Local to Global: The Globalization of Sport. Retrieved from http://clioscurrent.com/blog/2015/1/20/st5stnqizug3gwqu8rx7aqroo5ln9y.
2. Crocombe, M. (2019, July 22). Soccer Has Ancient Origins Dating Back As Far As 2500 BC. Retrieved from https://www.liveabout.com/who-invented-soccer-3556873.
3. Football history. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.footballhistory.org/.
4. Story Map Tour. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=1d9e72dc0f99416f87bafdca45692155
5. Vanham, P. (n.d.). A brief history of globalization. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/how-globalization-4-0-fits-into-the-history-of-globalization/.
6. What Is Globalization? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.piie.com/microsites/globalization/what-is-globalization.html.

The first waves of government subsidization for the purpose of stadiums dates to between 1917 and 1926, which created the first boom in stadium construction. In 1926, an article entitled The Playground said the goal was for “the stadium to have as broad a use as possible.” (Coates, 294). The rationale for the facility was to serve the broad public interest by hosting events such as pageants, parades, and festivals, as well as sporting contests of all sorts from track and field too football and baseball. Stadium subsidization today focuses on a single use, hosting professional sports franchises, which usually have substantial control over the facilities’ availability for any alternative other events. The article notes that, ‘Not only universities but cities and high schools and private agencies are also joining the stadium ranks and building large structures to accommodate the crowds who attend the athletic activities, festivals, pageants and other large community events’ (Coates, 295). A building boom was in progress at the time as the number of stadiums rose from 11 in 1917 to 70 in 1926. By contrast 65 ‘new’ facilities have opened since 1990 and in the five years from 1921 until 1926, 56 stadiums had been built. Construction of the 70 stadiums built between 1917 and 1926 cost in total about $295.65 million in today’s dollars (Coates, 294). The Playground article refers to shape and size as the most important characteristics of stadiums that communities should consider before construction. The modern day focus on sport-specific stadiums places far less value on stadium adaptability than in the early 21st century. The transition from public provision of venues available for a wide array of events to public subsidization of privately controlled facilities is fairly recent. The change occurred gradually and it may have begun to occur with baseball-franchise relocations such as the Braves’ relocation in 1953 from Boston to Milwaukee, the Browns in 1954 from St. Louis to Baltimore, or the Athletics in 1955 from Philadelphia to Kansas City. In these cases the new or recently renovated publicly owned facilities were made available to the baseball franchises on quite generous terms. For example, The New York Times reported on March 15, 1953 that the Braves were offered a flat rental of $1,000 for the first two years on the new County Stadium in Milwaukee.

The most basic question in the research about stadiums, is the extent to which these expenditures contribute to the vitality of the local economy. It has been argued by economists that public ownership of stadiums was justified if, “private enterprise could not provide the service which the public demanded and at the same time realize an adequate profit on its investment” (Coates, 3). This discussion raises the question of the possible theoretical justification for the subsidies we see today. Subsidies can be justified either on efficiency or distributive grounds. A subsidy can be justified if the unsubsidized market supplied to little of the desired good for society. This is the classic situation of positive externalities, the subsidy would induce greater provision. Alternatively, subsidies could be justified as a means of redistribution such as how public education is paid for out of taxes. Wealthier individuals paying more in taxes than the cost of the services they receive and poorer individuals paying less than the full cost of the education. To justify a stadium subsidy on efficiency grounds requires an explanation of how marginal social benefit from the stadium exceeds the marginal social cost. The debate often ends up focusing on building or not building a facility, not about increasing the seating capacity by an additional seat. The market outcome may be no construction of a stadium or an arena at all, and consequently no sporting events. This is the market failure justification implicit in the “build it and they will come” strategy of cities whose intent is to poach an existing franchise away from some other city or to induce a professional league to grant an expansion franchise. It is also the justification for a city to replace an existing facility to keep the current team from moving. A recent example from the NBA illustrates the kind of poaching that often occurs. The Seattle Supersonics were unhappy with their former home and sought to have the city of Seattle build a new arena. Seattle refused the attempts and the team explored moving, which would require breaking their lease with the City of Seattle. A lawsuit ensued that was settled out of court, with the team moving to Oklahoma City and having too paying Seattle tens of millions of dollars to break the lease. Oklahoma City attracted the team by promising to spend $100 million renovating its existing arena to bring it up to current NBA standards and an additional $20 million to construct a brand new practice facility. (Coates, 250). The existing arena in Oklahoma City was built without an occupant during the 1990s as part of a downtown redevelopment plan. Professional sports leagues restrict entry to the market and through restrictions can play one city off against another to extract the best subsidy deal from the most desperate. It is cases like this one that show how teams exploit the cities where politics can most effectively tap the taxpayers into paying for new constructions.

It can be stated that economists aren’t very fond of subsidies for sports. The consensus among economists on the question of sports facility subsidies likely stems from the basic economic intuition that government subsidies ought to address some kind of market failure and without one economists sense that there is no compelling case to be made for sports subsidies. The argument for a subsidy always comes from a local context, when a city wants to attract a new team or hold on to an existing one. One can also assess the subsidy argument from a global perspective. The Seattle-Oklahoma City case is a perfect example of the case against subsidies. The Oklahoma City offer was a much larger subsidies than Seattle was willing to make, so the franchise left Seattle for Oklahoma City. This resulted in the basketball fans of Seattle losing, basketball fans in Oklahoma City gaining. Perhaps there are more fans in Oklahoma City than in Seattle or possibly fans in Oklahoma have a more intense preference for basketball than fans in Seattle, so there might be a gain in average welfare resulting from the franchise move. However, a franchise changing cities is a zero sum game for basketball fans. The team is drawn by the larger subsidy that is available in Oklahoma, but the move is not a Pareto optimal improvement in the allocation of resources. From a social perspective, an improved approach to maximizing welfare might be for the NBA to increase the number of franchises so that more basketball fans across the country had their own teams to root for. That, of course, is not in the best interests of the current league members who derive substantial benefits, like the subsidies, from their restriction of supply.

If the overall sports environment has limited impact on the local economy, perhaps a one-time large attendance event like the Super Bowl or hosting an Olympic Games will aid additional growth and increased development of the local economy. However, evidence on this issue is mixed. Coates and Humphreys (2002) examined the impact of hosting the Super Bowl as well as participation in the league playoffs or championships in baseball, basketball, and football. In their research they found no true statistically significant effect on local income. The one effect they did find to be statistically significant for the home city of the winner of the Super Bowl. In the year the team wins, income in the home city statistically is larger than it would have been. Unlike the economic impact of sports teams and facilities have on incomes and employment, there is some evidence that mega sporting events like the Super Bowl or the Olympic games may have a beneficial effect for urban economies. However, this positive evidence is offset by compelling evidence that these events also simply re-distribute spending to different parts of the urban economy much like the results building of the stadium end up producing. As such evidence of positive economic benefits from mega sporting events should be considered weak at best and more research should be done if large scale events truly have major economic benefits.

Calls for subsidies at the local level come from interest groups and their consulting firms who talk up local benefits of sports franchises, stadiums, and mega-events. The promotional ideology often suggests that if the city attracts or retains a sports franchise, its people derive specific economic benefits from the presence of the team, including more local jobs, higher local income, and increased local tax revenues. In addition, some promoters suggest that the presence of a franchise generates intangible economic benefits for the city. Promoters argue that having major league sports raises the prestige of the city and brings added national recognition that enhances the business prospects and even the self-esteem of the community. An example of this is, Oklahoma City’s pursuit to raise the city sales tax by one cent to fund improvements to its existing arena the campaign went by the name “Big League City”. The possibility of a game being broadcast nationally from the stadium or arena is touted as an advertisement of the city’s virtues and a great way to show off the cities positive aspects. These benefits are used to justify a local government subsidy for the construction of the facility. Within the promotional ideology, proponents of stadium subsidies argue that subsidies are warranted because of the local economic development benefits of building a stadium or arena, including the “big league city” benefits. (Coates, 299). This ideology does not support subsidies based on the consumer surplus that is derived by game attendance or from consumer external benefits that occur from activities such as talking about the teams or following them through multimedia sources. The economic development benefits of interest to boosters are predominantly identified with income and job creation, and sometimes as increased tax revenue. Because the proponents of stadium subsidies focus on jobs, income, and tax revenue enhancement, the academic literature mostly focused its attention on these purported benefits. Some subsidy advocates have implicitly justified them as enhancing redistribution. The justification is that building stadiums or arenas downtown, in the central city of metropolitan areas, will bring economic activity to those neighborhoods and aid in their revitalization. Downtown areas have become stagnant and decayed over time as people and businesses moved towards the suburbs. Those areas are argued more deserving of assistance, even at the expense of the outlying areas. This justification rests on the downtown stadium bringing new job opportunities as well as new businesses into the decaying downtown area.

There is no doubt that professional sports franchises and stadiums generate a significant amount of economic activity but is the impact on the local economy positive, negative, or neutral economists would ask. Proponents of this base their arguments on that public subsidization for sports stadiums is justified based on the economic impact it will have on the community. A potential new stadium holds the promise of new development taking root nearby, such development might include new restaurants and bars or commercial uses like condominiums and office space. This will cause interest in the area to grow which in turn grows the value of existing commercial and residential property. Stadium construction can be proposed as an economic development initiative by possibly choosing to build in an underprivileged or underdeveloped area. The goal is that the new economic activity created and increased traffic will lead to revitalization of the undeveloped areas. In addition, all the extra spending and income gets taxed when it is spent and earned and respect again. The additional tax revenue then offsets some of the cost of the subsidy. Proponents of the subsidies often suggest that professional sports and new stadiums help build civic pride and can be beneficial marketing tools for the city’s image as people around the country to watch games televised from the new stadium. In spite of these major economic arguments, economists generally oppose public subsidization of professional sports stadiums. It is the use of public taxpayer money in the form of these subsidies that economists generally oppose. Most economists choose to highlight an important pitfall when considering the economic impact of stadiums that is usually left out of the equation; the failure to include opportunity costs. The opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative compared to the decision that is made. In the case of subsidizing sports stadiums, both ‘seen’ and ‘unseen’ economic activity should be considered as opportunity costs. The unseen spending tends to be overlooked. Consumer spending at a sports stadium is easy to see as it is obvious and measurable. What is unseen is how consumers would spend their dollars otherwise. If they were not spending on sporting events they would instead spend their incomes on museums, movies, concerts or restaurants. Due to the fact that consumers tend to have very limited entertainment budgets, dollars that are spent at a new stadium would not alternatively be new spending but rather diverted spending. Included in the unseen costs, taxpayer money to subsidize a stadium also has opportunity costs. Government can choose to spend taxpayer money on a variety of things that help public welfare things like roads, bridges, airports, law enforcement, education, environmental improvements, parks, all of which have benefits for society. Economists as a result often suggest options that increase productivity for the society as a whole and see this spending as investment instead of redistribution. Economists prefer these types of investment because the increased productivity it provides has the potential to increase the rate of economic growth and increase the standard of living for the society as a whole.