Elite sport culture and policy interrelationships: the case of Sprint Canoe in Australia

Abstract

In recent years, elite sport policy has received considerable research attention. However, to date the emphasis of such studies has been the examination of policies as stand-alone entities and the ways each policy may impact athlete performance rather than how policies influence each other. This study explores elite sport policy interrelationships in order to explain the dynamic links between policies and how they may affect performance. To explore these links in depth interviews with coaches, high performance managers, and athletes from Sprint Canoe in Australia were conducted. The findings of this study offer a contribution to the existing literature on elite sport policy and go beyond the mere exploration of sport and country specific policy contexts. They showcase the role of a sport's culture on shaping policy linkages and interrelationships. The practical implications of recognising where sport policies require attention and how to achieve improvements are discussed.

An analysis of the multi-level factors affecting the coaching of elite women athletes

“…The management of high-performance sport (HPS) is an all-encompassing umbrella term that is inclusive of macro-, meso-and micro-level factors that contribute to elite sport success, including the services provided by these performance-related experts (Smolianov, Gallo, & Naylor, 2014). Within this complex, multi-disciplinary team, athletes continue to maintain that access to excellent coaching is the most important support service they could receive (Sotiriadou, Gowthorp, & De Bosscher, 2014).…”

“…However, as de Haan and Knoppers argue (2019), coaches are themselves products of the sport system and are unlikely to be advocates of equality, or agents of social change, if they are not part of a gender-inclusive organisational culture. In their study on elite sport culture and policy interrelationships, Sotiriadou et al (2014) drew comparisons between organisational culture and sport-specific culture. In both these contexts, culture is likely to be an environmental factor that could influence coaches' experience.…”

Convergence and Divergence of Elite Sport Policies: Is There a One-Size-Fits-All Model to Develop International Sporting Success?

“…Böhlke & Robinson, 2009;Brouwers, Sotiriadou, & De Bosscher, 2014;Robinson & Minikin, 2012;Sotiriadou, Gowthorp, & De Bosscher, 2014;Truyens, De Bosscher, Heyndels, & Westerbeek, 2013), because "success of countries tends to be concentrated in sports or specific events, in other words, countries typically specialize" (Truyens et al, 2013, p.1). What can be concluded from these studies is that there exists considerable overlap in what has been identified as common ingredients of successful elite athlete development, whether it is at a sport-specific or overall national level.…”

Managing high-performance sport: introduction to past, present and future considerations

“…see list above), culture (e.g. Sotiriadou, Gowthorp, & De Bosscher, 2014), sport development (Smolianov, Murphy, McMahon, & Naylor, 2015), gender (e.g. De Haan, Sotiriadou, & Henry, 2016;Greenhill, Auld, Cuskelly, & Hooper, 2009) and agency theory (Gowthorp, Toohey, & Skinner, 2017).…”