Performance Environments (year 2)

Question 1

what are the different types of Elite Sport?

Answer 1

• Athletes’ highest standard of performance, success at that level and experience gained at that level
• Semi-elite: Highest participation below top standard in their sport.
• Competitive-elite: Regularly compete at the highest level in their sport but have not had any success at that level.
• Successful-elite: Compete at the highest level and have experienced some infrequent success at that standard.
• World-class: Sustained success at the highest level, with repeated wins over prolonged period of time

Question 2

What is The Performance Narrative?

Answer 2

• Competition is natural
• Winning is everything
• Discipline, sacrifice and pain expected/accepted to achieve glory
• Failure leads to shame

Question 3

why does this happen?

Answer 3

• Individuals are shaped by sociocultural factors (Carless & Douglas, 2013)
• Coaches
• Organising bodies
• Sport Scientists
• Media
• Fans
• Sponsors….

Question 4

What can this lead to?

Answer 4

doping

mental health disorders

fatigue

injuries

worsened relations with coach’s and teammates

Question 5

what are the contributing influences?

Answer 5

• Striving to meet others’ expectations – cultural, sporting, and family expectations
• Needing success in an achievement-focused world
• Constant comparison to others’ successes
• Identity development
• Power dynamics
• Food consumption and weight perceived to help “perform better”
• Body surveillance
• Body feedback

Question 6

what are the influential factors (within sport)

Answer 6

• Identify development
• Constant evaluation
• Bullying
• Mistreatment
• Injury
• Declining performance
• Stigma of Mental Health Illness in elite sport

Question 7

influences of doping?

Answer 7

• Resistance to/influence by social norms
• Moral stance
• Perceptions of others
• Importance of pleasing others/expectations
• Identity/self-control
• Knowledge
• Consequences

Question 8

Influence of the environment?: requirements to stay in sports?

Answer 8

Funding

Can’t accept defeat

Life contracts

Goal

Pressure

Selection recovery

performance targets

Question 9

Influence of the environment?: Suffering an injury push athletes over edge?

Answer 9

Psychological Consequences

Question 10

Influence of the environment?: Pressure from those around them?

Answer 10

Coaches

Peers

Question 11

Classification Controversy

Answer 11

• Classification – aim is to ensure performance rather than a mismatch of impairment results in the sporting results
• Experience of classification in sport is extremely intrusive and challenging (Howe, 2008; Peers, 2012)
• Athletes’ have a lack of faith in the classification system
• …Many are aware that people “cheat” the system

Question 12

Consequences – for parents and athletes

Answer 12

• Managing the power differential – feel they HAVE to behave in specific ways
• Reinforce or encourage engagement with abusive practices
• Positively respond to the fulfilment of the “win at all costs” mentality
• Injuries – physical and psychological
• Feelings of guilt and worry