Theorizing Community for Sport Management Research and Practice

Abstract

Community is a context for much research in sport, sport management, and sport policy, yet relatively few authors explicitly articulate the theoretical frameworks with which they interrogate the concept. In this paper, we draw from communitarian theory and politics in order to contribute to a robust discussion and conceptualization of community in and for sport management research and practice. We provide a synthesis of current sport management and related research in order to highlight contemporary theoretical and methodological approaches to studying community. We distinguish between community as a context, as an outcome, as a site for struggle or resistance, as well as a form of regulation or social control. We then advance a critical communitarian agenda and consider the practical implications and considerations for research and practice. This paper synthesizes current research and establishes a foundation upon which sport management scholars and practitioners might critically reflect on community and deliberatively articulate its implications in both future research and practice.

Black Women Coaches in Community: Promising Practices for Mentorship in Canada

“…While survival is individual, resilience is collective. These findings confirm what Rich et al ( 2021 ) suggest are two of the important ways community has been explored in relation to sport. Community is an outcome that can be built or strengthened in and through sport via relationships and networks that allow for the development of social capital.…”

“…Their identities as mothers, as novices, as leaders, and other categories influenced their need for mentorship and their experiences as coaches. While an online mentorship program provided access to the support and validation they needed, we must continue to ask how the construction of community may be experienced differently by different folks in [sport] organizations (Rich et al, 2021 , Critically Assessing Community, para 8). Race and gender were important to all participants, but their oppression and successes were related to the complexity of their whole selves.…”

Mapping the Landscape of Organized Sport in a Community: Implications for Community Development

“…These data are not available on organizations' websites and would have to be collected directly. New features that provide a “critical [communitarian] perspective of community” (Rich et al, 2021 , p. 7), such as organizations' attention to social justice issues, may be of particular interest in the consideration of sport for community development. Further, some features considered here may be extended to additional insights, such as details about facilities access and cost, as critical aspects of organization operations and programming (Doherty et al, 2014 ).…”

“…For this project, we define sport as any activity that involves training and/or competition with some level of physical intensity and organization or structure (Berrett, 2018 ). We focus on “community as context” (as opposed to community as an outcome) (Rich et al, 2021 , p. 4) in this study, with reference to physical space in a geographic area that is labeled officially and legally as the City of London, Ontario. Thus, our project focuses on community sport organizations whose primary function is the delivery of sport within this municipality.…”

“…409,000)—as a foundation for understanding its contribution to community development. The endeavour addresses the call by Rich et al ( 2021 ) for contextual analyses of community as context for sport, and a platform for a more critical approach to understanding the role of organized sport in positive community development (cf. Coakley, 2011 ).…”