In this short article, we took a look at the importance of rituals in sports. First we explained the concepts of religion, creed, superstitions, fallacies and rituals. Then we described superstitious thinking and religiosity in psychological terms and on this basis we referred to rituals in sport. We explained the meaning of rituals in sport based on our own professional experiences with athletes. This article is an introduction for conducting a pilot study

Bagińska, Justyna

język angielski, język angielski

Piepiora, Paweł

English

Akademicka Platforma Czasopism

122Piepiora Paweł, Bagińska Justyna, Szczepańska Katarzyna, Piepiora Zbigniew. On the importance of rituals in sport. Journal ofEducation, Health and Sport. 2022;12(5):122-127. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2022.12.05.008https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2022.12.05.008https://zenodo.org/record/6479087The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 21, 2021. No. 32343.Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences).Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159.Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu).© The Authors 2022;This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, PolandOpen Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike.(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.Received: 03.04.2022. Revised: 20.04.2022. Accepted: 22.04.2022.On the importance of rituals in sport1. Paweł Piepiora*, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport SciencesORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6525-39362. Justyna Bagińska, University of Business in WrocławORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5540-36653. Katarzyna Szczepańska, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences4. Zbigniew Piepiora, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life SciencesORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0259-4004*corresponding author: dr Paweł Piepiora, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences,Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Department of Sports Didactics, I. J.Paderewskiego Street 35, building P-2, room 247, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland, e-mail:pawel.piepiora@awf.wroc.plAbstractIn this short article, we took a look at the importance of rituals in sports. First we explainedthe concepts of religion, creed, superstitions, fallacies and rituals. Then we describedsuperstitious thinking and religiosity in psychological terms and on this basis we referred torituals in sport. We explained the meaning of rituals in sport based on our own professionalexperiences with athletes. This article is an introduction for conducting a pilot study.123Key words: sports psychology, sport, rituals, creed, superstitionWhat is religion, in the first place? Probably each of us has their own personaldefinition of the word. For some it is a part of the family tradition, for others it is a sphere oflife where one can find relief from everyday worries and problems. Upon analyzing themeaning of religion, one must take into account the system of beliefs and practices that definethe relationship between the variously understood sphere of the sacred (holiness), the sphereof God and the sphere of society, a given group or a given individual. It manifests itself in thedoctrinal dimension (doctrine, beliefs), in religious activities (e.g. cult, rituals), in the socio-organizational sphere (religious community, e.g. the Church) and in the sphere of individualspirituality (e.g. mysticism) [1] . In other words, it is a set of beliefs about the existence ofGod or gods, the origin and purpose of human life, the origin of the world and rites, moralprinciples and organizational forms related with the former. At this point, it is necessary toexplain the meaning of the term “creed”. It is not a synonym for the term “religion”, but aphrase describing a religious group based on one set of truths of faith. Religion is alwaysprofessed by a given group of people, and a religious group exists within a larger religiouscurrent. Therefore, creed is contained in religion and is a part of it. According to the hierarchyof meanings, religion is in the lead, followed by creed.There are between 4,200 and 10,000 religions in the world in the 21st century. Themost popular of these is definitely Christianity. According to the data of the Pew ResearchCenter’s Forum on Religion & Public Life [2], at present the population of Christians in theworld amounts to 2,168,330,000. The second most popular religion is Islam. The numericalshare of Islam’s followers in the world’s population is 1,599,700,000. Then, there is a verylarge group of people who are not associated with any classified religion: 1,131,150,000people. They are followed by the Hindus, Buddhists, followers of folk religions and Jews,along with other followers of smaller religions. On average, 8 out of 10 people identifythemselves with a religion. There are 5.8 billion people in the world associated with areligion, and in 2010 they represented 84% of the entire population of our globe. These124include Christians - 32%, Islam followers - 23%, Hindus - 15%, Buddhists - 7%, Jews - 0.2%,followers of folk religions - 6%, and followers of other religions - 0.8%. On the other hand, 1in 6 people in the world are not affiliated with any of the aforementioned religions. Thesepeople make up 16% of the world’s population, and, according to research, some of themhave certain religious or spiritual beliefs, even though they do not identify themselves withany particular creed.Among many religions of the world there are certain superstitions, fallacies or ritualsthat are meant to make life better or bring happiness [3]. Some of them are also warnings of asort, telling people that it is better not to do something for our own good, so that it does notturn against us and that nothing bad happens to us. Superstitions should be understood asbelieving in mysterious, supernatural connections between phenomena, in the fateful power ofwords, things and signs. These are also various practices resulting from this belief. Fallacy, onthe other hand, is a groundless, stubbornly held and insensitive to argumentation belief in theexistence of a cause-and-effect relationship between given events. It may result fromstereotypes rooted in tradition and culture. It is devoid of rational foundations and cannot beverified [4]. The ritual itself refers to an established form of symbolic activity, consisting of areligious rite, a magical practice, or a solemn celebration. But it is also a set of activities thefrequent repetition of which creates a habit [5]. Therefore, a ritual should be understood as aset of culture-specific symbolic sequences of formalized actions and statements, performed inorder to achieve the desired result, which, however, may be significantly detached from theapparently obvious functional purpose.Both superstitious thinking and religious thinking are, at least in part, based on beliefsand views that cannot be investigated and substantiated empirically, but must be acceptedwith blind faith [6]. Awareness of contact with phenomena from the sacred sphere canstimulate the emergence of thinking and behavior beyond rational justification, but at thesame time they can help people understand their faith more deeply. These are phenomena thatcannot be touched, felt or seen in real time. It is a belief in something intangible, beyondexamination. What they have in common is that thanks to them people try to explain tothemselves the world and situations that surround them. Therefore, superstitions or ritualsoften have religious foundation. From the point of view of psychology, these specific culturaland social patterns lead to treating superstitious thinking and religiousness as strategies forreducing stress, coping with uncertainty and difficulties [7]. People take advantage of these125non-rational methods when they are unable to fully control the occurring physical or socialphenomena.Many athletes, through their pre-start behavior, show that they are inclined to believein something that makes them compete with greater confidence [8]. They are convinced thatthis “something” allows them to somehow manifest their own sporting achievement moreconfidently and easily. Also, fans perform various rituals to help athletes during competitionsor matches that are important to them [9]. But there are also athletes who do not feel the needto believe in “something” because they feel calm and confident in their preparation for amatch or competition. They know what to do in order to win, and feel confident [10, 11]. Thisis due to their mental preparation [12]. However, the fact is that regardless of a professedreligion or its lack, rituals help athletes a lot in their careers, boost their well-being beforecompetitions, and they actually observe the real impact of these activities on their results, orgeneral feelings during the competition [8, 13]. Rituals in sport are more neutral than thoserelated to a specific religion. But that does not change the fact that it is a strong demonstrationof the relationship between faith and sport. Especially for fans, sport can also be a kind ofinvisible religion [9, 14]. That is why fans treat some sportsmen as gods and the matches asceremonies. This is very evident in the soccer community. Faith in sport manifests itself inmany forms, starting with rituals, superstitions and ending with special stadium settings ormasses in the intention of athletes. Undoubtedly, the existence of faith in sport is very broad.Many athletes are religious and put their values into practice ​ ​ [15, 16, 17]. Faith givesthem the mental strength that “something” is with them and keeps them safe. It is by far themore popular way of building self-confidence and mental resilience, as it comes from theindigenous traditions and culture of beliefs of a given region. On the other hand, atheistathletes approach mental preparation only through targeted psychological methods and abelief in their own sense of value and agency. Both believers and non-believers are veryeffective, nonetheless [18, 19, 20]. In both groups, rituals are the norm, and they triggermental readiness for competition [21, 22, 23]. Therefore, rituals in sport are an importantissue [24], but individual for each athlete and relate to things and issues important only forhim or her.126References1. Mazurkiewicz M. Rytuał religijny w sporcie – perspektywa polska. In: J. Kłosiewicz,E. Małolepszy, T. Drozdek-Małolepsza (eds). Filozoficzne i społeczne aspekty sportu iturystyki. Uniwersytet Humanistyczno-Przyrodniczy im. J. Długosza; 2016: 87-97.2. Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion/ [access:14.03.2022].3. Deimary N, Azizi M, Mohammadi M. The study of the influence of ancient Greekrituals and sports and the formation of the architecture of its sports spaces. EstaçãoCientífica (UNIFAP) 2019; 9 (2): 33-44.4. Mazurkiewicz M. Some Observations about Ritual in Sport. Studies in PhysicalCulture and Tourism 2018; 18 (4): 317-327.5. Lebed F. From ritual to sport show. In: F. Lebed (ed). Complexity in Games Teachingand Coaching. London: Routledge; 2022: 92-101.6. Krok D. Myślenie przesądne, a religijne funkcjonowanie osób. Polskie ForumPsychologiczne 2007; 12 (1): 93-112.7. Piepiora P, Jagoda A, Urban J. Physical activity and styles of coping with the stress ofpeople aged 18-30. Journal of Education, Health and Sport 2019; 9 (7): 36-40.8. Gola-Rakowska A. 110% poznaj prawdziwe oblicze sportu. Burda książki, 2016.9. Antonowicz D, Wrzesiński Ł. Kibice jako wspólnota niewidzialnej religii. StudiaSocjologiczne 2009; 1 (192): 115-149.10. Witkowski K, Piepiora P, Leśnik M, Migasiewicz J. Social status of karate andpersonal benefits declared by adults practicing karate. Archives of Budo: Science ofMartial Arts and Extreme Sports 2017; 13: 179-184.11. Niewczas M, Piepiora P, Cynarski W. J. Attitudes of training youths towards karate onthe example of the Polish national team in the youth category. Arrancada 2021; 21(39): 32-49.12. Piepiora P. 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Roczniki Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły WychowaniaFizycznego i Turystyki w Białymstoku 2016; 2 (16): 45-51.17. Piepiora P, Szmajke A, Migasiewicz J, Witkowski K. The karate culture andaggressiveness in kumite competitors. Ido Movement for Culture: Journal of MartialArts Anthropology 2016; 16 (2): 41-47.18. Piepiora P, Kwiatkowski D, Bagińska J, Agouridas D. Sports Level and thePersonality of American Football Players in Poland. International Journal ofEnvironmental Research and Public Health 2021; 18 (24): 13026.19. Piepiora P, Piepiora Z. Personality determinants of success in men’s sports in the lightof the Big Five. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health2021; 18 (12): 6297.20. Piepiora P, Piepiora Z, Bagińska J. Personality and Sport Experience of 20–29-Year-Old Polish Male Professional Athletes. Frontiers in Psychology 2022; 13: 854804.21. Corneliu SC, Constantin RB, Bagińska J. Study regarding the evolution of the body’sadaptation to the specific effort of hiking in physical education and sports students,during the practical courses in touristic activities. Gymnasium 2012; 13: 192–201.22. Piepiora P, Witkowski K, Migasiewicz J. Evaluation of the effects of mentalvisualisation training in sport with regard to karate shotokan fighters specializing inkata. Journal of Combat Sports and Martial Arts 2017; 8 (1): 49-53.23. Piepiora P, Kwieciński A, Migasiewicz J. The impact of the level of focus on a changein the level of fear of falling during leading in competition climbing. Journal ofEducation, Health and Sport 2019; 9 (5): 516-533.24. Piepiora P, Rauk-Kubacka A, Kubacki R. Sport psychology in the physical culturesciences. A review. Pedagogy and Psychology of Sport 2021; 7 (1): 61-75.

On the importance of rituals in sport

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