The origin of sport. The following article aims to answer questions unknown to most of the population, some of which even today do not have a single answer.
These are questions related to the origin of sport, its history, its birthplace, the reasons that led it to exist and become what it is today, and the process and procedure it has followed to date.
We know the origin of certain sports like basketball, soccer, and other conventional sports, we also know the origin of school sports, Physical Education, and the systems of the same. But now we move on to answer the origin of sport as such.
There are questions for which we do not know an answer, but we can get closer to their history, in this case, the theories about the origin of sport, Where did it arise? What theories exist about the origin of sport and its implementation by different societies?
The different perspectives and theories that have arisen over these periods about the origin of sport have been controversial and diverse, depending on the multiple factors that are part of the sports phenomenon, such as the authors who designed them based on their life philosophy, or the historical moment in which they appeared.
Therefore, in the final part of the article, the different existing theories about the origin of sport will be analyzed in depth, to understand how society began in sports practices.
When and where did sport arise?
Defining the origin of sport is complex, as depending on the perspective from which it is investigated, one can start from one beginning or consider another.
The origin of the word sport is Latin (2). In Spanish, in the 13th century, it was called: depuerto, which meant deportarse, meaning to have fun or rest. In English, the word sport comes from the term disport, which meant game.
The above implies that in the 13th century there was already a word that spoke of sport and game as an action performed by people.
But as is evident, long before coining this term, although perhaps without referring to a specific term, sport already existed as an act.
All this means that sport from its origin reflects a series of basic values of the cultural framework in which it develops, which are very characteristic. For this reason, it acts as a cultural ritual or as a transmitter of culture.
The origin of the word sport is Latin (2). In Spanish, in the 13th century, it was called: depuerto, which meant deportarse, meaning to have fun or rest. In English, the word sport comes from the term disport, which meant game.
Why did sport originate?
Starting from these two differences between the origin of contemporary sport and the origin of sport as such, different visions are found:
- The first perspective of the origin of sport is from the 18th century, which has its origin in England.
- The second refers to thinkers and researchers who consider the origin of sport as a form of individual activity and socio-cultural practice that has existed since the beginning of humanity and that, as such sport or form of practice, its characteristics and meanings have evolved according to the social, political, and cultural changes of the context in which they have taken place.
Following the second perspective, the physical activity or sport that people practiced in ancient times focused on the search for food, as well as protection and defense against other predators and other dangers of the environment in which they were found.
After this origin of sport as a search for food and protection against danger, individuals observed how there were individuals who had better skills and abilities for performing these activities, and because of this differentiation, recognition for effort and work was sought through the practice of activities (training).
When they began to create communities, leaving aside nomadism, new activities arose such as fighting between people from different communities, for food, for the very place where they lived, etc.
Little by little, it evolved and moved from a survival function to a utilitarian one and later to a form of leisure time occupation.
Sport from its origin reflects the basic values of the cultural framework in which it develops. For this reason, it acts as a cultural ritual or as a transmitter of culture.
Evolution of sport over the years
As mentioned earlier, starting from the origin of sport from the beginning of humanity, physical activity began as a means to feed oneself.
Later in Antiquity, sport is related to the representation that men had of their gods as beings fond of physical exercise.
This led to the inclusion of games and competitions of speed, endurance, strength, and skill in celebrations and festivals (8).
In this way, men believed that the gods would think positively of them. Later, during the Middle Ages, sports practice continued its development and evolution.
People from different social groups organized to practice activities, among others ball games, bar throwing, and other games that we currently consider traditional sports.
The upper classes of society took advantage of the festivities to hold tournaments and activities of greater spectacle, leaving aside the simpler playful manifestations carried out by the lower classes.
All these activities served as training and physical preparation for possible confrontations, even wars.
Approaching what we know today as sport, we find that it was born in England in the 18th century, at the hands of Thomas Arnold, who introduced it in the educational field in the 19th century.
At the same time, during the 19th century, the first gymnastic studies were also born. Additionally, it is also in the 19th century when the Olympic Games are resumed, which were revived by Pierre de Coubertin in Athens in 1896.
From this moment, sports disciplines grow, the political power linked to sport increases, games and sports are institutionalized, regulated, and Federations are created, and ultimately, the image we have today of the term sport is generated.
Theories based on the idea of a transhistorical origin of sport
These theories of the origin of sport revolve around three elements that are absolutely opposed to each other, first of all, the human being’s own instincts, followed by the different occupations that the human being has had as a result of those instincts, and finally, the relationships between human beings and their consequences derived from it, such as economic activity.
Naturalistic perspective of the transhistorical origin of sport
Through this conception, authors who favor this perspective hypothesize that the origin of sport is caused by the human being’s own instinct of survival, through which a series of stimuli and physiological responses occurred with the sole objective of survival and adaptation to the environment.
Consequently, to provide an optimal response to these stimuli, the human being created a series of physical exercises, which, over time, would be the predecessors of what is known today as physical-sporting activities or practices.
These survival instincts, which led to the creation of these physical-sporting activities, were consecutively motivated by the search for pleasure, specifically by movement or the flourishing of instincts of play or fight, thus generating a self-impulse for this type of actions called “sporting instinct,” which, depending on the age of the human being, presents very defined characteristics:
- From 0 to 10 years, in the human being, motor inclinations towards fight and play stand out prominently.
- Between 10 and 20 years, the alliance between the two main instincts of the previous stage is made, causing the exaltation of practicing sports competitions.
- From 30 years onwards, the human being opts to practice different activities related to competitive games in which a mobile or ball is present, as a comprehensive maturity of the human being is originated, thus calming the sporting instinct, since it is practiced for more intellectual motivations, adding to this that the context of these new physical-sporting practices revolves around other different factors such as social, material, and cultural components. (1)
These sports activities, on many occasions, have been derived from the practice of different games throughout history and, consequently, have been treated in the same way as sport, to find a series of peculiarities that give meaning to the origins and internal logics of the game.
Therefore, this has generated the creation of different theories about the origin of sport, as it is implausible to believe that the game only comes from an exact origin.
To contextualize these theories, below are all the theories related to the game that arose for different reasons or origins:
- Theories of efficient or causal cause: Theories that seek to find the causes of the game.
- Teleological or final cause theories: These are theories that seek to find the purpose of the game.
- Theories of the structure of the game: Theories focused on responding to the structures, distribution, and order of the games.
- Biological: They argue that the game is used solely to use the leftover body energy of the day-to-day.
- Educational: The game is practiced to modify and improve the instincts that the human being has.
- Social: The game is used to promote social interactions. (3)
Humanistic perspective of the transhistorical origin of sport
This perspective coincides with the previous one, in that the origins of sport are linked to the history of the human being, but the authors of this humanistic aspect emphatically point out that the practice of physical-sporting activities does not have any relationship with the instincts of survival, but have been forged through the spirit of freedom of the human being, the creator of civilization and culture.
In the same trend as what was presented in the previous section, some authors indicate that the genesis of sport arises as a consequence of the predisposition they had towards spiritualism related to the worship of gods and the festivity of different sanctified events.
This, according to some of the authors faithful to this perspective, was caused by the fact that the human being in its early historical stages personified its gods as very youthful, strong beings and staunch practitioners of physical exercise and, therefore, to please them, gradually in their sacred celebrations, they included different games and competitions in which physical-sporting activity was the protagonist.
Finally, and in the same ideological line, authors who share this perspective about the origin of sport determine that the emergence of plastic arts such as dance and music that arose at the beginning of the middle Paleolithic is proof that homo sapiens used their body for the first time to perform movements whose form and meaning do not respond to utilitarian needs, but come from the creative freedom of the spirit.
This motricity embodies in man the great experience of freedom, being a precursor of the physical-sporting activities practiced today. (1)
Critical perspective of the transhistorical origin of sport
Through this perspective, sport is appreciated as a creation brought about by the different human civilizations throughout history, in which the sociopolitical, economic, and ideological purposes of each of them have promoted that sport is related to the labor aspect and more specifically, with the means of production.
The argument provided by these authors is that the physical exercises and physical activity involved in sports pursue very defined goals in which a series of explicit tools are used, just like in any job position, and that, consequently, these will influence the productive process of these professional commitments, as they will increase performance within them if these physical-sporting activities are practiced. (1)
Theories based on the idea of the modern origin of sport
Regarding this theory of sport, the staunch authors admit in the first instance that the origin of modern sport in its multiple facets flourished in England, through the transformation of its traditional pastimes by the high social strata of that nation, such as the “Public Schools” and the “clubs”.
Despite this coincidence among the different authors, many do not share the same ideological positions regarding the events that generated its great evolution and international spread, from the last quarter of the 19th century and the early 20th century.
Therefore, the approaches of different authors who are aligned with this theory but share a different perspective will be presented below.
Sociocultural perspective of the modern origin of sport
This perspective points out that the reasons that determined the appearance of modern sport in England were linked to the peculiar characteristics of its inhabitants such as:
- The entrepreneurial character both in their personal and work life.
- The delight they felt towards any type of betting, this being reinforced with the appearance of sports betting in different modalities practiced at the beginnings of sport such as horse racing or boxing.
- The importance they gave to physical capacity of strength and its demonstration in a “spectacle” situation.
- “The spirit of English sport,” that is, the sports philosophy through which they conceived sports competitions, which were based on great ethical correctness such as not cheating or always respecting the opponent regardless of the match situation that was happening.
- The social gatherings and commercial and mercantile activity in England also fostered the growth and expansion of sport in England.
Throughout the 18th century and early 19th century, in England, there was also a change in mentality regarding the methodologies implemented for business.
These were based on betting and obtaining profits, after the idea of sports record and different techniques emerged, through which the rest of society would be shown the mastery of a sports modality, as this, to the rest of the economic market, sent a message, as whoever mastered the sports modalities would be guaranteed a greater and better industrial production.
The clubs and entities formed by the high social strata gradually led to the design of different competitive models and the creation of regulations for the most practiced sports modalities, as well as, surveillance commissions that would ensure the correct development of sports modalities, as they checked the correct compliance with the rules through the figure of the referee.
But in addition, the main characteristics that motivated the expansion of this phenomenon worldwide were that sport personified a series of self-controlled physical offensives, codified and regulated that restricted the use of violence, in which emotions played a very important role within these practices due to the very nature of these modalities, either to eliminate the day-to-day tensions of citizens or to experience emotions generated by the very nature of sports modalities such as euphoria or joy. (1)
Sociocritical perspective of the modern origin of sport
From this conception, the idea is defended that the origin of sport is linked solely to the capitalist mode of production, as it was created based on:
- Increase in capitalist productive forces.
- Reduction of working hours.
- Development of large urban centers.
- Renewal of means of transport.
But according to this perspective, sport depending on the context in which its practice was carried out would have heterogeneous connotations according to the social class that practiced them, as the different moral and ethical values were disparate and unique according to the class to which one belonged.
All these practices had the complicity of the State apparatus, with the purpose of obtaining political and economic benefits.
This perspective of the origin of sport, therefore, establishes sport as a great tool of financial social control, mainly for all the constituted institutions, to a greater or lesser extent, with objectives of recruitment and symbolic conquest of youth and working classes, with various more or less evident goals. (1)
Conclusions about the origin of sport
The origin of sport presents different points of view depending on its denomination.
On one hand, we find the origin of sport alongside the very origin of humanity, and on the other hand, we find the point of view of the origin of sport in the contemporary era, having its origin in the 18th century and showing characteristics similar to those it presents today (regulated, measured, and organized sport).
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Bibliographic references
- Buendía, R. V. (2001). An approach to the theories of the genesis of sport. Askesis, Nº1, 1-25.
- García Blanco, S. (1994). Origin of the concept «sport». Retrieved from: gredos.usal.es
- Ortiz, J. P. (2002). Sport as a game: a cultural analysis. Master’s thesis. University of Alicante.
- Velázquez Buendía, R. (2000). An approach to the theories of the genesis of sport. Digital magazine Askesis. Pila-Teleña Publishing. www. askesis. es/number_10/guests/2. htm
- Blanchard, K. & Cheska, A. (1986). Anthropology of sport. Barcelona: Bellaterra.
- Bartoll, Ò. C., & Domingo, C. H. (2014). Origin, evolution, and current state of the sports phenomenon. EmásF: digital magazine of physical education, (31), 21-34. Retrieved from: dialnet.unirioja.es/
- Diem, C. (1996): Histories of sports (vol.I and II). Luis de Caralt. Barcelona.
