Mid-life nuances and negotiations: narrative maps and the social construction of mid-life in sport and physical activity

Exploring the Context of Coached Masters Swim Programs: A Narrative Approach

“…Narratives can be used to relay collective experiences of a social phenomenon through the creation of stories (Creswell, 2013). Similar narrative approaches have been used in sport coaching literature (e.g., Callary, Werthner, & Trudel, 2012;Partington et al, 2005;Winchester, Culver, & Camiré, 2011).…”

Understanding the meanings created around the aging body and sports through media representations of elite masters athletes

“…In their mid 40s, both athletes' re-engaged in running. Such notions are in-line with research that has discussed the common catch phrase of 'life begins at forty' with respect to masters sport depicting midlife as a time of rejuvenation and redefinition (Partington et al 2005, Tulle 2008, Dionigi et al 2013, Phoenix and Griffin 2013. Conventional boundaries for the body and mind imposed by society do not seem to apply to these athletes as they were often Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health 751 portrayed within the media stories as moving with glorious abandon.…”

Student discourse on physical activity and sport among Irish young people

“…The thematic review on pupil voice, in the British Educational Research Journal by Andrew Noyes (2005), reminds us of the power pupil voice holds for transforming schools and society by making curricula more meaningful. Research on student voice in physical education and physical activity settings has been used to inform the evaluation and transformation of curricular programmes (Brooker & MacDonald, 1999;MacPhail, 2001;MacPhail et al, 2003) and in some cases to understand the role of physical activity and sport in adult lives (Partington et al, 2005). Given the attention on physical activity and the increasingly sedentary lives of citizens around the globe, these narratives allowed us to explore the ways in which physical activity and sport is understood and valued in the lives of Irish young people.…”