|  | Feature: Sport and Leisure | No.50 May 2007 |

Sport and Leisure Anneliese Goslin |
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 Sport and Leisure Anneliese Goslin