A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity
Diversity and equality are key issues confronting sport. This article draws on findings from qualitative research carried out in Australia to critically examine how diversity is understood and valued in community sport. The findings suggest that there is a discrepancy between the policy objectives o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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SAGE
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/11014 |
| _version_ | 1848747691531567104 |
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| author | Spaaij, Ramón Farquharson, Karen Magee, Jonathan Jeanes, Ruth Lusher, Dean Gorman, Sean |
| author_facet | Spaaij, Ramón Farquharson, Karen Magee, Jonathan Jeanes, Ruth Lusher, Dean Gorman, Sean |
| author_sort | Spaaij, Ramón |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Diversity and equality are key issues confronting sport. This article draws on findings from qualitative research carried out in Australia to critically examine how diversity is understood and valued in community sport. The findings suggest that there is a discrepancy between the policy objectives of government and sport organizations and the way in which diversity is understood and responded to in practice. Diversity management is not being adopted widely among local sports clubs. The idea of amoral imperative to cater to people with diverse backgrounds and abilities is largely absent; rather, the dominant discourse is underpinned by a business rationale which interprets diversity in terms of benefits and costs to the organization. This business driven approach is often detrimental to the social policy objective of ensuring equitable outcomes in sport. A fundamental reconsideration of the rationale and practice of managing diversity in sport is therefore necessary. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:53:10Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-11014 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:53:10Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | SAGE |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-110142017-09-13T14:56:21Z A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity Spaaij, Ramón Farquharson, Karen Magee, Jonathan Jeanes, Ruth Lusher, Dean Gorman, Sean (dis)ability cultural diversity sport gender diversity management Diversity and equality are key issues confronting sport. This article draws on findings from qualitative research carried out in Australia to critically examine how diversity is understood and valued in community sport. The findings suggest that there is a discrepancy between the policy objectives of government and sport organizations and the way in which diversity is understood and responded to in practice. Diversity management is not being adopted widely among local sports clubs. The idea of amoral imperative to cater to people with diverse backgrounds and abilities is largely absent; rather, the dominant discourse is underpinned by a business rationale which interprets diversity in terms of benefits and costs to the organization. This business driven approach is often detrimental to the social policy objective of ensuring equitable outcomes in sport. A fundamental reconsideration of the rationale and practice of managing diversity in sport is therefore necessary. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/11014 10.1177/0193723513515888 SAGE restricted |
| spellingShingle | (dis)ability cultural diversity sport gender diversity management Spaaij, Ramón Farquharson, Karen Magee, Jonathan Jeanes, Ruth Lusher, Dean Gorman, Sean A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity |
| title | A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity |
| title_full | A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity |
| title_fullStr | A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity |
| title_short | A Fair Game for All? How community sports clubs in Australia deal with diversity |
| title_sort | fair game for all? how community sports clubs in australia deal with diversity |
| topic | (dis)ability cultural diversity sport gender diversity management |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/11014 |