Sporting Capital

Abstract

In a world of competing public policy priorities, economic challenges and political uncertainty, sports development organisations and initiatives need to adapt to survive. This book makes the case for 'Sporting Capital' as a new conceptual model of sports participation with the potential to transform public policy and practice in sports development. The central argument presented is that a model of Sporting Capital-with its three domains of physiological, social and psychological attributes-provides a missing framework, creating a new impetus for sustained growth in community sport by joining up the levels at which sports development is planned and implemented. Touching on important issues such as youth sport, public health, volunteering, disability, ethnicity and social inequality, it examines patterns of sports participation in relation to age, gender and social class and offers recommendations for strategic policy improvements that can be implemented by practitioners working on the front line of community sport.