Topsport als motor voor nationale trots?

Does elite sporting success have a lasting impact on national pride? .Like many other countries, the Dutch government increased investments in elite sports in the last decennium, partly driven by the ambition to organize the Olympic Games in 2028 in the Netherlands. One of the most important legitimations for this ambition is that elite sports events and national performances should foster national pride, social cohesion and international prestige. In this article we present and discuss the results of a study on the relation between Dutch international sport performances and the development of national pride. The outcome is based on 27 longitudinal measurements among the adult Dutch population in the years 2008-2010 in which European and world Championships men’s soccer and a summer and winter Olympic Games took place. The results support the common belief that international sporting success of Dutch athletes contribute to the testimony and expression of national pride and belonging. But the extent to which national pride can be increased by national sporting success seems to be rather limited. The data show that national performances in international sport events may lead to small, short term eruptions in feelings of national sporting pride and wellbeing, especially among athletes, men and non-immigrants. The results especially indicate, however, that national pride is a rather stable characteristic of national identification that cannot easily be increased by improving national sporting success and winning more Olympic medals.</jats:p

Gene-talk and sport-talk: A talk from the radical middle ground

In this paper, we explore and reflect critically on what elite sport may expect or fear from genetic technologies. In particular, we explore the language in which we (where "we" denotes scientists, sports scientists, the media, sports coaches, academics) tend to speak about genetics, elite sport, and the human body - we call this language "gene-talk" - which imagines the world of elite sport as one in which genes were always dominant in athletic performance. The dominant question here seems to be whether what is thought to be possible ought to be, and can be realized. We unpack the question by asking whether the practices needed for genetics to intervene so powerfully in elite sport exist in the straightforward and uncomplicated manner that the "gene-talk" literature seems to suggest. We argue that there is a lack of relevant studies to support and analyse the notion of sports performance as an immensely rich and complex practice.We conclude that elite sport may be more complex and heterogeneous than "gene-talk" has imagined to date

Motor skill learning in groups: Some proposals for applying implicit learning and self-controlled feedback

Contrary to researchers' current focus on individual motor skill learning, in institutional settings such as physical education and sports motor skill learning is often taught in groups. In these settings, there is not only the interaction between teacher and learner (analogous to research), but also the many interactions between the learners in the group. In this paper, we discuss the pitfalls of applying research findings without taking into account the different dynamics that the interactions between group members bring about. To this end, we especially discuss implicit motor learning and self-controlled feedback, as these have recently been hailed as being particularly effective for increasing motor skill and self-efficacy. Proposals are provided to adopt these methods for motor skill learning in groups. This is not only relevant for practitioners in physical education and sports, but also establishes an agenda for research