![]() | Feature: Sport and Leisure | No.50 May 2007 |
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In the 21st century, leisure and sport are important and significant
dimensions of global society. From a traditional perspective, leisure
is viewed as secondary to what seems important: work, the economy and
survival. Yet, an increasing spread of leisure service providers typifies
global society. Leisure is no longer merely the spending of free time,
but fulfils a variety of roles. Leisure service providers attempt to
change social behaviour, seek to enhance quality of life, campaign for
the enhancement of the physical environment, act as health promoters
or facilitate tourism. Whatever role leisure providers fulfil, globalization
and urbanization have shaped humanity’s leisure behaviour and
moved it into the commercial sector. The economic contribution of leisure
to national and global economies through mass consumption of leisure-related
services and activities is evident and documented. The notion of relative
freedom of choice and intrinsic satisfaction inherent to the concept
of leisure makes it an attractive product in a sometimes over-regulated
global society.
Sport as a form of leisure also has a major place in global society.
Sport, too, is visible as an element of the economy, can break down
barriers and is employed as a tool for social change and development
of youth. Sport emphasizes many of the values of global society: pursuit
of excellence, immediate satisfaction, feedback and excitement, measured
outcomes and competence, cultural integration, and yields substantial
monetary rewards.
The first article of this feature includes an overview of public recreation
provision in two opposing social and political contexts within South
Africa. The authors provide a unique insight into the juxtaposition
of leisure and sport. The second article highlights how Chinese immigrant
women deal with the process of migration to a foreign country and use
traditional dance activities to express cultural freedom of choice and
broadcast and advance Chinese culture in a global context. The third
article provides a review of the sport and leisure market in the Netherlands.
Sport is regarded as part of the professionalized leisure market in
the Netherlands and is used not only as an end in itself but also a
means to and end – namely, enhancement of quality of life. The
synergy between sport and leisure as a phenomena in today’s global
society is clarified in the fifth article of this feature. From a developmental
perspective, the fields of leisure, recreation and sport need, or in
fact feed, each other and therefore cannot be isolated. All activities,
be they recreational or sport activities, occur in modern leisure. The
last article, written by the Secretary General of the World Leisure
Organization states, amongst other things, that the moral and philosophical
underpinnings supporting leisure are manifested in a number of United
Nations declarations, covenants and principles. These statements provide
ample evidence supporting leisure as a basic human right. In a global
context, with several challenges, such as high levels of mechanization,
automation and technology, sedentary lifestyles, dwindling natural resources,
highly stressful living and leisure conditions, high incidences of hypokinetic
diseases, unemployment and poverty, the contribution that leisure, recreation
and sport can make toward alleviating the effects of these on human
well-being cannot be over-emphasized. Contact
Prof. Dr. Anneliese Goslin
Department Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences, Center for Leisure Studies University of Pretoria Pretoria SOUTH AFRICA Email: anneliese.goslin@up.ac.za ![]() http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 |