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Abstract

Are there amateurs in sport? Yes there are, but the number is not nearly as great as many promoters of sport would lead us to believe. The primary reason for this is that most of organized sport leads the participant in the other directions. In addition, sport seems to be conducive to increased efforts toward organization. There are certain prime considerations which more or less characterize contemporary sport, with its organizational flavor. These are: competition, records, equipment and facilities, training, the coach, and spectators. The latter may provide the real key in understanding the limitations of amateurism because it appears that the first five are outgrowths of the spectator appeal in sport.

The importance of recognizing these limitations is to be found in the wave of publicity which is designed to dupe the public in believing that the realm of amateur sport is much larger than really is the case. Why are certain sport promoters interested in such deception? Amateurism has traditionally been associated with that which is good and pure.

It appears that only two courses of action await those who would still en cleavor to change the current situation. The first is to remove those conditions which characterize modern sport. That option is far from being a realistic one because there has been so much momentum in the other direction; at this point, it is virtually like trying to ''roll back Niagara Falls." The second is to work toward the elimination of the extensive hypocrisy which seems to be part of everyday existence in much of organized sport.

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Limitations of Amateurism As a Nleaningful Concept in Sport

Abstract

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References