1-17

Competition Quotes…

• “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the ONLY thing!” (Vince Lombardi)

• “We never lose, but sometimes the clock runs out on us.” (Vince Lombardi)

• “The winner is the only individual who is truly alive…every time you win, you’re reborn; when you lose, you die a little.” (George Allen)

• “The winner is the only individual who is truly alive.” (George Allen)

• “It isn’t whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” (Classic Sports Adage)

2-17

Competition Defined

• “A struggle for supremacy between two or more opposing sides.” (Loy, 1969)

• “A contention of interests…a rivalry between opposing forces (man, animal or nature) in which the interests of both are not mutually obtainable.” (Slusher, 1974)

• “A situation in which two or more people vie for a prize, honor, or advantage.” (General Definition)

3-17

Another Definition…

• “A process through which success is measured by directly comparing the achievements of those who are performing the same physical activity under standardized conditions or rules.” (Coakley, 1990)

4-17

Two Types of Competition

• Direct Competition– For each successful competitor, at least one must

fail.– This is what we call a “zero sum game” where the

sum of the winners and the losers is zero.– If two teams play, one team wins (+1) and one

team loses (-1)• Indirect Competition

– Utilizing past performance as a criterion to evaluate current performance.

– Allows us to have a positive sum game because WINNING is not the sole purpose of participation.

– Ex. Golf outing where no comparison of scores, basketball team who strives to get better, runner who tries to improve performance.

5-17

What the Experts are Saying...

• Hock, Scott & Edwards study:– “Competitive sports and athletics may negatively

affect personality development and self image, foster aggression and hinder the development of interpersonal relationships.”

• Barnett & Bryan study:– “Participation in sport may in some way undermine

pro-social behaviors such as helping, sharing, and cooperation.”

• Arnold study:– “Competition is the source of envy, despair,

selfishness, pride and callousness.”• Greendorfer study:

– “Competition does not build character, but may do just the opposite.”

6-17

What the Experts are Saying...

• Kleiber & Roberts study:– “Competition increases anti-social tendencies

which are exacerbated by losing.”

• Arnold study:– “Competition is the training ground for adult life.”

• Astin study:– “Free enterprise system values competition

because it has contributed to America’s strength and gives individuals the maximum opportunity to compete for the largest possible shape of the resources and rewards in society.”

7-17

Competition and Cooperation

• Fraleigh Study:– Opponent as Obstacle– Opponent as Facilitator

8-17

Opponent as Obstacle

• Opponent is a hindrance standing in the way of a goal

• Promotes a more aggressive environment for sport

• Fosters domination over the opponent

• Opponent’s goals are incompatible

9-17

Opponent as Facilitator

• Expresses less obvious view of the relationship between opponents

• Competition is an activity WITH rather than AGAINST an opponent

• Cooperative atmosphere is fostered between opponents

• Competition is within the spirit of the rules, NOT to dominate the opponent but to challenge the opponent’s best effort against your own

10-17

Opportunities and Stimulus Cues

Behavioral Responses

Environmental Conditions

Emotional Responses

11-17

Past Experiences with Sport and CompetitionHow participants react to the competitive

process is based on several factors:

• Coaches/parents influence• Participation experience in competitive

sport• Media influence• Friends influence• Past success in sport• Enthusiasm/and

level of intensity in sport activities

• Role models

12-17

Participant Response to the Competitive Environment• Recreational Sports

administrators tend to focus on the consequences of competition.

• Administrators sometimes fail to understand the internal competitive process and what the experience means to the participant.

• What accounts for a person’s competitiveness?

13-17

Game Orientation

• The extent to which an individual values fair play and sportsmanship over winning in competitive sport.

• Professional Orientation: participant is said to value WINNING over fair play and sportsmanship.

• Play Orientation: participant is said to value FAIR PLAY and SPORTSMANSHIP over winning

14-17

Applications for Recreational Sports Programmers and Administrators• Establish and enforce

discipline codes/ sportsmanship systems

• Use participant advisory boards

• Training of team captains/coaches

• Parent training programs

• Training and evaluation of officials

15-17

Applications for Recreational Sports Programmers and Administrators

• Rewarding of multiple outcomes

• Adopt an “accommodation” philosophy

• Allow opportunities for participant decision making in program policy

• Build in and take seriously participant evaluation

• Provide as much choice as possible

16-17

Group Thinking…

• Is competition a “learned behavior” in participants or is it instinctive?

• Does competition have a place in recreational sports?

• Think of an example where competition went to the extreme….how would you handle the situation?

17-17

Recreational Sports is a Mini-Society

Sports Society