The contribution of sports

GOAL

For students to evaluate the importance of sports to the development of the region.

OBJECTIVES

1. Describe the contribution of sports to development in the Caribbean. 2. Analyse the impact of sports on human development. 3. Appreciate the importance of international recognition in the contribution of sports to regional identity.

GENERATION OF INCOME

In order to do so, sporting associations should market their activities to generate increased income. This would increase productivity in the economy and enable a particular sport to be self-sufficient. Sports tourism is one such way that this can be achieved. To a large extent, most of the profitability in sport is dependent on its links with information and communications technology (ICT) since the mass media dominate most of the sporting activities and determine how influential these activities are.

Sports also provides employment for individual who are involved in all areas of the sporting fraternity, such as referees, vendors, coaches, technical experts and physical therapists, just to name a few.

HEALTH AND FITNESS

The health benefits of sporting activities are numerous, such as lowering heart rates, stroke, obesity and osteoporosis. This physical movement strengthens bones, muscles and the cardiovascular system.

CARIBBEAN IDENTITY

Competitive sports, such as cricket and track and field, are seen as a means towards achieving a common feeling of Caribbean identity. Cricket, in particular, is able to achieve this as most Caribbean countries identify with the West Indies cricket team. This is done through the drawing of players from various Caribbean counties. Its successes and failures are shared by everyone.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Demonstrating excellence in a particular sport can change the life of an athlete, since the opportunity for higher education presents itself. On doing so, one can achieve higher social mobility, earn more income, and use his or her expertise to improve conditions in whatever line of work when he/she returns home. One way to do this is through the United States’ sports scholarship system. A sports scholarship offers the route to a professional career in a particular sport or a career in other disciplines studied at the university.

DISCIPLINE AND MORALE

One of the benefits of playing a sport is the appreciation the participant develops for being disciplined and exercising good conduct, which are crucial ingredients in shaping individual sports personalities. A sports coach can have a powerful influence on a athlete’s life, potentially more than parents and teachers, according to Trulson’s study. During practice, a coach is in a position to demonstrate the value of continued focus, delayed gratification and vigorous effort, even when it’s hard. In competition, the athlete can see in real time the positive results of following coach’s instructions. Sports also contributes to the development of good citizens in such a way that a sense of team spirit, loyalty, camaraderie, dedication, flexibility and humility is harnessed.

INTERNAL RECOGNITION

Sports in the Caribbean is conceived largely as competitive sports and as a means of promoting the Caribbean on the world stage. The accomplishments of Caribbean athletes in regional and international competitive sports have been a source of national and regional pride. This pride is stemmed from winning and the world recognition of Caribbean athletes. For years, Caribbean nations have entered international competitions such as the World Netball Championship, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Cup football, Special Olympics, and so on. Sporting games, in particular football, have the ability to draw thousands of people together in one place and to shine the spotlight on countries with the whole world as an audience. This happened, for example, in 1998 when the Jamaican Reggae Boyz qualified for the World Cup finals, and in 2006 when Trinidad and Tobago also qualified for the finals in Germany. The Olympics, undoubtedly, is one of the most prestigious international sporting events, for most athletes and the general public, and Jamaicans have entered these games and placed their countries on the world map, including Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Sherone Simpson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The end result is significant recognition to the country and region at large.

SPORTS TOURISM

When we speak of sports commercialisation in the region, our discussion tends to be limited primarily to sports tourism, which involves travel to another destination for participation or observation of sporting events, sports conferences and meetings. This would be considered a services export under Mode 2 (consumption abroad). Countries around the world joust with each other to host major sporting events, from the Olympics to World Cup football. The Caribbean has had a piece of the action by successfully hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007, while also hosting several other smaller hemispheric and regional sporting events such as the Commonwealth Youth Games, which The Bahamas will host in 2017. The rationale for hosting these

events is not just for the immediate inflows of tourist arrivals and expenditure, but also for the marketing and promotional opportunities which such intense media attention could bring.

NON-TOURISM SPORTING SERVICES

Besides sports tourism, there are other possibilities for sporting services exports as the schematic below shows, utilising the four modes of supply under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS):

Mode 1 (Cross-border supply) – From the territory of one member into the territory of any other member, e.g., sports consultancy firm providing consulting services to clients in another country online.

Mode 2 (Consumption Abroad) – In the territory of one member to the service consumer of any other member, e.g., an athlete of one country attending a training facility in another country.

Mode 3 (Commercial presence) – By a service supplier of one member, through commercial presence, in the territory of any other member, e.g., an investor establishing a sports academy in another country.

Mode 4 (Movement of natural persons) – By a service supplier of one member, through the presence of natural persons of a member in the territory of any other member, e.g: coaches providing training in another country.