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Unit 4 Social Institutions
Section 1
The Nature of Sport
Key Terms
• sport
• sport subculture
A Definition of Sport
For most people, sport consists of certain leisure activities, exercise,
and spectator events. It is ac- tually more complex than that. Sociologists define sport as a set of competitive activities in which winners and losers are determined by physical performance within a set of established rules. While sport is an important aspect of recreation, many forms of recreation do not in- volve sport. Sport sociologist Jay J. Coakley (1998) sees a spontaneous race between two skiers as more of a con- test than a sport. Although a contest between skiers in- volves physical activity and competition, it does not in- volve definite rules or stan- dardized conditions.
Sport as a Social Institution
Institutions fulfill certain basic needs and reflect the most important as- pects of a society. The five most commonly recognized social institutions have been examined in preceding chapters: family, education, government, economic systems, and religion. Although these social institutions take dif- ferent forms in different societies, they appear in every society because they fulfill needs common to all societies.
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Section
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As a social institution, sport fulfills some im- portant societal needs. One of these is helping individu- als identify with other mem- bers of society. Sport subcultures have developed around both team and indi- vidual sports. For this reason, sport is a reflection of society.
sport
a set of competitive activities in which winners and losers are determined by physical performance within a set of established rules
What is the difference between a sport and a game?