Reconcile sport and sustainable development by Sport and Citizenship

10th October 2014

Colin Miège

President of Sport and Citizenship Scientific Committee

Sylvain Landa

Deputy Director of Sport and Citizenship Think tank

Historically built around the only competitive, sports organizing systems evolve. The new aspirations practitioners meet the varied sports offers, that showcases personal development, well -being and to rediscover nature in order to reconcile sport and sustainable development. Aspirations that reinforce certain trends in the evolution of our societies, current and foreseeable, who shape the sports landscape.

Our sports organization systems were built on a historical dominant model, that of competitive sport. In agonistic societies of the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, this model was well suited to the challenges of States. He still meets today to part of societal aspirations, mainly those of performance and transcendence. It must however admit that the major trends in our societies – current and potential – pushing us to devise modes of organization and development of sport more inclusive and diverse.

First, physical inactivity and the steady decline of individual energy expenditure that characterize our ultra-computerized post-industrial societies reached a record level to date. The ubiquity of screens – TV, internet, computers and other mobile – allows us to be connected to the world, but we are obligated to maintain a static position during most of our days. The physical deficit spending resulting from already poses many years a group of health problems, the recommendation of the World Health Organization on a minimum daily physical activity being little respected It has become imperative in particular to give back the taste for physical exertion to the younger generation whose attention is monopolized too exclusively by the screens, to spare them then all well identified health setbacks that result from inadequate physical activity. But the proposed sports offer young people can not be designed primarily as a training more or less demanding in the competition, although the taste of the exploit and exceeded its limits remains widespread among them. Forms less elitist sport, more playful, friendly and free to be designed for their benefit. To make the sport attractive, especially for younger children, the sporting sector must remain more than ever an open field in technological innovation. Some sports do call for years of advanced technologies, particularly with regard to materials (such as sailing, cycling or Formula 1 …). But in the hyper-connected world of tomorrow, individual sports equipment like clothes incorporate more technology and we will connect to various programs, which necessarily change our way of practicing sport every day, whether in a health approach, leisure or evolution in the wild.

Full version available in French