Sports and the Community
Introduction
Real sport is a movement for the community and sport. Its main aim is to be a hastener to aid sport get to its full potential as a public asset for the society making a significant contribution to the well-being of individuals, youth development, and our communities’ quality of life. There is a lot of evidence that the benefits of sports go beyond the physical activity positive effects that have been comprehended for long. A lot of research points in the community sports fundamental aim as a significant generator of social capital and related benefits through a broad spectrum of societal goals, including social inclusion, education, crime prevention, child and youth development economic, and environmental sustainability. Probably no community life domain demonstrates sports level in connecting so many young people to adult role models or mentors in a positive way and assists them in acquiring life skills that are critical (Bailey) 2016. Documented benefits evidence has brought a new picture of community sport system to come up in a crucial yet sizeable untapped reservoir of public benefit what wit effort that is intentional can deliver even more for the people of Community. Research suggests that this is precisely the kind of sport that the broad majority of Community citizens want, consciously understanding that the sport will generate some of the most excellent benefits. Real sport took this chance so as to provide substantial evidence of these benefits, to put examples and data on this aspiration. The report is intended to allow communities, business leaders, and also policymakers to see the great potential that is within the community sport system and to speed up new approaches that will put this potential to work for the Community (Dingle et al. 2020; Greg, and Cheryl 2020).
Findings
Community sports: community sport is organized, funded, and supported by volunteers and institutions. Notably, it goes from the podium to the playgroup and includes simple pickup games to community and school-based sports leagues. Additionally, it is also present virtually to all the cities within the community. Mainly, community sport is supported by the communities themselves and rely a lot on volunteers and less on the support from the government. Most of the citizens believe that community-based sports can positively impact the youths. (Super et al.) 2018. Withal, community sport is at a very high risk of being pulled away to the value of the commercial sports, under looking at its benefits that can only be fully exposed when there is a positive way of conducting sport that is when it is fair, inclusive and generates genuine excellence. This is the sport that citizens of the community want. A more significant percentage of communities believe that community sport currently fortifies these values to a large extent. However, they are concerned that the sport is focusing on competition and that correction is needed. The following sections give out a broad scale of public benefits that are available to Community if they apply themselves to the task of closing the gap deliberately through coming up with a coherent and inclusive community sport system that conveys the sport that they want (Davis)2016.
Putting youth and Children on a positive life course
Sports can aide in giving children a healthy start in life and provide youth with the skills, social support, information, and personal aid that they require in making significant life changes successfully. Nevertheless, sports could also expose them to negative experiences, alter their development, and even discourage them from participating. In organized youth sports, the main determinants, if the youths will have a negative or positive experience, depends on the adults involved, and the quality of both coaching and mentoring. The practices and values that the adults provide can be powerfully motivating young people or drive them out of the sport altogether (Wheaton) 2017.
The community has discerned several severe issues in community sport that is violence, poor leadership, a lot of focus on competition and winning, racism, injuries, and harassment. All these are believed to contribute to the decrease in sport participation of children as they grow older. Research in the U.S shows that the leading causes why youth drop out of sport are because there is no longer fun in it. They do not think they are good enough, or there is just no time. The findings suggest that there is a need for an investigation that is comparable in the sports experiences of youth in Community, to encourage them to continue participating and make sure that they benefit from it as well (Newman et al.) 2018.
Most of the parent’s expectations of what their children should gain from sport have been met. Nevertheless, there is more than can be done, ensuring that sports are providing substantial benefits possible. They include:
Keeping children and youth healthy and active– participation in physical activity regularly when they are in childhood and adolescence stage. It builds and maintains healthy muscles, bones, and joints, controls weight, lowers the risks of cardiovascular diseases, and reduce the feelings of depression.
Using sport in the reduction of youth health risk behaviors, most of the young athletes compared to non-athletes are likely to weigh less, use drugs, eat healthily, and engage in sexual activities. This kind of sport is mainly associated with minimal antisocial behavior, including carrying weapons or suicide attempts. In contrast, girls in their adolescence participating in sport are less likely to report pregnancy or engage in sexual activity.
Increasing academic achievement physical education can aide in improving school attendance of the young people as well as their academic achievement. Taking part in school-based sport and physical activities has been known to give results of healthier academic and social self-theories. Also, games can contribute to the commitment to the school and its values.
Building healthy and more inclusive communities
The benefits of sports have been not only limited to individuals. It can also aide in the strengthening of communities through the building of social capital and promoting a high inclusion of the excluded groups. Communities widely support this view. A more significant percentage of whom believe that the key contributor to quality of life in their community is a sport (Bonham)2017.
Promoting greater inclusion of people with disabilities sports help the disabled people in improving their mobility and health by making them more energetic, more coordinated as well as flexible. Additionally, it also provides them with the opportunity of building their self-confidence, networks as well as enhancing their social skills. Notably, sports can also assist in changing the negative perception of the community through the focus of attention on the abilities of athletes instead of their disabilities.
Building social capital sports participation at the level of a nation is relatively linked to its level of social trust as well as its well-being. The persons participating in sport are more likely to sign a petition, vote, and even contact a politician than the conventional or average citizen. They also depict a higher sense of social trust, institutions, and that of life satisfaction. Sports also aide in keeping small communities together and may even supply the last social groundwork.
Contributing to the community’s economy
Sports play a vital role in the life of the economy, as well as the communities’ social life, contributing to the renewal of the neighborhood economy, providing jobs, enhancing skills, and boosting tourism. Most communities’ GDP is accounted for by their sports sectors, which also offers a certain percentage of all the jobs (Hyuk-jin)2019.
Employers are turning to sport at a higher rate in improving productivity in their work areas. Sports at the workspace as a way of fitness program reduces absenteeism by 1.5 days per employee in a year. This leads to payroll savings. The employers also place a high value on skills that are transferable that have been acquired through the participation of volunteers and athletes for the skills to improve the performance of the workplace.
Enhances local economic development community sport aids the communities in attracting and maintaining highly valued knowledge workers and the companies seeking to employ them. Sport can also speed the disadvantaged neighborhood fortunes through the providence of employment and local-sport, helping the residents get the sporting volunteer opportunities and training they require in accessing these jobs.
Improving health and wellness
Good health is essential to any individual’s wellness and their ability to discern their full potential. It is also a critically important asset of the economy. Sports help make communities healthier by:
Enhancing mental health through sports, physical activity helps in improving self-esteem, stress reduction, and do away with depression. Patients with psychiatric issues, physical exercise has proven to do away with clinical symptoms for depression. Through sports, there is a birth for positive relationships and support that bring about emotional health (Ainsworth et al.)2019.
Reduction of health care costs. There is an extraordinary amount of money that is used directly or indirectly in society due to physical inactivity. The increase of sports participation is a strategy that is cost-effective in improving the health of members of the community and reducing the health cost of a nation significantly. An increase of physical activity levels by just a smaller percentage would save communities millions of shillings annually in direct health care costs.
Environmental Sustainability
Sports can administer the appreciation and desire of protection of the environment and give a platform for social mobilization on account of environmental sustainability, which includes making sure that at all levels, sports is a contributor and not a reduction mode (Mallen)2017.
It provides a platform for social mobilization international sports events to provide platforms for the promotion of environmental protection due to their big audiences and extensive global reach. Some of the high-profile athletes have the same potential. Also, international sports and bodies of the environment are using this opportunity to raise awareness and advocate for greater sustainability at both the global and local levels.
Conclusion
Community sports benefit bring communities and decision-makers together in recognizing its value as one of the most critical assets of the public, and to allocate attention and effort in making sure that all communities realize the benefits. Sports is a very vita means of promoting health, and even more essential in the building of social capital. Delivering on its benefits, we are required to build a community sport system that is inclusive and provides the sports that communities want; fun, inclusive, and aims for greatness. This is not the work for sports alone. The communities have a significant role to play along with the federal government who can assist in ensuring that all communities have the sport footing they require. Notably, the quality of sport in the community sums up to the individuals whose behavior and attitude will determine if we will fill the gap in the sport we have and the one we want. Through making the right choices, we can altogether help in ensuring that we do get what we want.
References
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