Sport is often at the centre of battles for rights to inclusion linked to class, race and gender, and this book explores struggles centred on disability in different cultural settings in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It challenges oversights and assumptions about the ‘normal’ body, and describes how individual and organizational transformations can occur through sport. The abilities of a person are recognised and placed centre stage - instead of the individual being forgotten, excluded, or placed at the margins simply because they have a disability. National, regional and global change is part of the shift to the rights based approach reflected in the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Making sport inclusive affects the accessibility of facilities, funding, the media, policies, programs, organisations, sponsors and spectators, and at the same time changes the cultural values of the wider society. It also raises issues about competition access and eligibility for ‘different’ and technologically enhanced ‘cyborg’ bodies, and for those most socially disadvantaged. Addressing these questions which ultimately touch on the real meaning of sport can lead to profound changes in people’s attitudes, and how sport is organized locally and globally. Growth in the influential global organisations of the Paralympic Games, Special Olympics and Deaflympics is examined, as is the approach to disability in sport in both advantaged and resource poor countries. The embodied lives of persons with disabilities are explored utilizing new theoretical models, perspectives and approaches. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This ground-breaking book provides a fascinating insight into the relationship between sports (and leisure), religion and disability. In the shadow of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, at which athletes that were both able-bodied and disabled, provided an extravaganza of sporting excellence and drama, this text is a timely and important synthesis of ideas that have emerged in two previously distinct areas of research: (i) ‘disability sport’ and (ii) the ‘theology of disability’. Many of the elite athletes at this global sporting mega-event often explicitly displayed their religious beliefs, and in turn their importance in the context of sport, by observing different religious rituals, and or, utilising the multi-faith sports chaplaincy service. This raises a whole range of unanswered questions with regard to the intersections between sports, religion and disability, which to-date has been under- researched. Examples of subjects addressed in this text include: elite physical disability sport--Paralympics; intellectual disability sport--Special Olympics; reflections on the illness narrative of the cyclist Lance Armstrong through the lens of the theology of ‘radical orthodoxy’; the application of biblical athletic metaphors in understanding modern conceptions of disability sport; the role of sport and spirituality in the rehabilitation of injured British Military personnel, and; the importance of sports and leisure in L’Arche communities. This book begins a critical conversation on these topics, and many others, for both researchers and practitioners. This book was based on two special issues of the Journal of Religion, Disability and Health.

Despite campaigns to educate and increase awareness, discrimination continues to be a deep-rooted problem in sport. This book provides an international, interdisciplinary and critical discussion of various forms of discrimination in sport today, with contributions from world-leading academics and high-profile campaigners. Divided into five sections, the book explores racism, sexism, homophobia, disability, and the role of media in both perpetuating and tackling discrimination across a variety of sports and sporting events around the world. Drawing on examples from football, rugby, cricket, tennis, climbing, the Olympics and the Paralympics, it offers a critical review of current debates and discusses the latest empirical research on the changing nature of discrimination in sport. Taking into account the experiences of athletes and coaches across all performance levels, it presents recommendations for further action and directions for future research. A timely and challenging study, Sport and Discrimination is essential reading for all students and scholars of sports studies with an interest in the sociology of sport and the relationship between sport, society and the media.

International Sport Management is the first comprehensive textbook devoted to the organization, governance, business activities, and cross-cultural context of modern sport on an international level. As the sport industry continues its global expansion, this textbook serves as an invaluable guide for readers as they build careers that require an international understanding of the relationships, influences, and responsibilities in sport management. Through a systematic presentation of topics and issues in international sport, this textbook offers a long-overdue guide for students in this burgeoning subfield in sport management. Editors Li, MacIntosh, and Bravo have assembled contributors from all corners of the globe to present a truly international perspective on the topic. With attention to diversity and multiple viewpoints, each chapter is authored by distinguished academics and practitioners in the field. A foreword by esteemed sport management scholar Dr. Earle Zeigler emphasizes the importance of a dedicated study of the issues in international sport management. All chapters in the text use a global perspective to better showcase how international sport operates in various geopolitical environments and cultures. The text is arranged in five parts, each serving a unique purpose: •To outline the issues associated with international sport management •To examine sport using a unique perspective that emphasizes its status as a global industry •To introduce the structure of governance in international sport •To examine the management essentials in international sport •To apply these strategies in the business segments of sport marketing, sport media and information technology, sport facilities and design, sport event management, and sport tourism Written to engage students, International Sport Management contains an array of learning aids to assist with comprehension of the material. It includes case studies and sidebars that apply the concepts to real-world situations and demonstrate the varied issues, challenges, and opportunities affecting sport management worldwide. Chapter objectives, key terms, learning activities, summaries, and discussion questions guide learning in this wide-ranging subject area. In addition, extensive reference sections support the work of practitioners in the field. With International Sport Management, both practicing and future sport managers can develop an increased understanding of the range of intercultural competencies necessary for success in the field. Using a framework of strategic and total-quality management, the text allows readers to examine global issues from an ethical perspective and uncover solutions to complex challenges that sport managers face. With this approach, readers will learn how to combine business practices with knowledge in international sport to lead their current and future careers. International Sport Management offers readers a multifaceted view of the issues, challenges, and opportunities in international sport management as well as the major functional areas that govern international sport. The text provides students, academics, and practitioners with critical insights into the practice of business as it applies to international sport.

Inclusion is primarily discussed in education. With the increasing number of member states of the United Nations ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, academics have vividly discussed inclusion in the context of other areas of life, such as the community at large, as ‘social inclusion’ in the context of work and employment, and with regard to the aspects addressed by Article 30.5 of the Convention, namely cultural life, recreation, leisure, and sport. This volume is organized around the topic inclusion in sport and has a particular focus on the participation of people with disabilities in sport. Typical barriers for people with disabilities to participate in sport include lack of awareness on the part of people without disabilities as to how to involve them in teams adequately; lack of opportunities and programmes for training and competition; too few accessible facilities due to physical barriers; and limited information on and access to resources. The chapters attribute central importance to the processes and mechanisms of inclusion that operate within sporting environments and to the question of either what happens or could happen to persons with disabilities who enter the playing field. The chapters were originally published in a special issue of Sport in Society.

This handbook explores the various ways in which disability sport is governed and organised across Europe, as well as examining the extent to which persons with a disability participate in sport at the grassroots level. Based upon a solid theoretical framework and up-to-date data, the 19 country-specific chapters in this handbook give a comparative overview of the structuring, steering and supporting elements of disability sport policy and sport participation levels amongst persons with a disability, as well as the extent to which countries adopt policies to promote inclusion in sport in this population. A multitude of authors also identify the various methods and challenges in collecting sport participation data with regard to persons with a disability. This handbook will be a valuable resource for academic study across a range of sport and disability related programs, as well as a point of reference for researchers and policymakers working in this area.

This interdisciplinary text examines the sports-Christianity interface from Protestant and Catholic perspectives. In addition to a "systematic review of literature," the contributors, who include many of the pioneers in the field, address a wide range of topics. These include biblical athletic metaphors, disability, evangelism, professionalism and celebrity, humility, the Vatican's perspective on sport and genetic enhancement technologies.

This book offers different insights into the study of the Olympic movement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It seeks to capture how political and cultural nation-state building and economic transformations are impacting the region’s engagement (and disengagement) with the Olympic movement and the Olympic Games, as well as Paralympic sports. This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.

International Sport Management, Second Edition, serves as an invaluable guide for students as they build careers that require an understanding of the relationships, influences, and responsibilities of sport management in a global context.

Regulating Bodies offers the first global history of protective policies in elite sports and asks how far we are willing to go in the name of sporting excellence.