Playing Nostalgic Language Games in Sport Research: Conceptual Considerations and Methodological Musings

Abstract

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Sporting Identity, Memory, and People with Dementia: Opportunities, Challenges, and Potential for Oral History

“…Additionally, the longitudinal approach to the research allowed for substantive conversations to be developed, and memories to be opened up to far greater scrutiny and reflection than they might ordinarily be in a discrete 1-1 session. 35 The go-along method provided similar positive outcomes with Paul. For example, during a game of table-tennis at his local leisure centre, he was laughing with the researcher as he headed the table tennis ball and said, "See, just like playing football!"…”

“…However, the images often elicited emotional memories that assisted Paul link back to his past experiences. 37 The researcher used photographs with a different participant, Ivan, in another way, utilising a 'bridge building' technique whereby he shared information personal to his life to draw out accounts of Ivan's history of sports participation. Drawing on their shared history as life-long supporters of Denham United, the researcher showed Ivan photographs of a family day out from a match both had recently attended, separately and unknown to each other, before they met.…”

“…Or I was...you knew what the deal was…It's always been part of his life…" However, a risk was that nostalgic recollection could temper the veracity of accounts. 53 Understandably people with dementia and their family carers might feel inclined to revive times where they felt healthier and more secure. Teasing out what this signalled for understanding sporting history was important.…”

Conceptualising L’Space Olympique: Tokyo 2020 Olympic education in thought, production and action

“…First, ambiguities existed around comparable/interchangeable terminologies such as "Olympic games education", "Olympic education", "Olympism education", "Olympic movement education" and "Olympic values education". Semantic complexities are not surprising, particularly in multi-organisational collaborations, and difficulties of working with "shared" concepts and assumptions in sport have been already well noted (see Hughes et al, 2019). Yet, definitional clarity and consensus mattered in ensuring stakeholders could form a shared understanding and vocabulary that could be consistently applied through the Tokyo 2020 Olympic education program.…”

Crafting Critical Echoes in Sport Organizations: Oral Histories of, and Possibilities for, the New Zealand Olympic Committee

“…Additionally, sport organizations' digital sites can reveal 'something' about the continuities and discontinuities of collective belonging, identity and loyalty, the utility of electronic engagement, and the power of nostalgia and affect. 8 Sport organizations also often draw audio and visual content for their websites from their members. In this process, decisions are taken within respect to politicized memory making; namely, whose and what stories are told, how they are told, and how they are aligned to organizational agendas beyond the historical.…”