Fastest, highest, youngest? Analysing the athlete's experience of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are the newest addition to the Olympic Movement and, in light of recent discussions of the education of high-performance athletes, represent a change within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from a philosophy of 'winning by all means' to a philosophy much more informed by education. Therefore, this paper analyses the YOG through the experiences of participating athletes and puts their perception of the event in contrast to the policies of the IOC. Through the centring of the agents within the hermeneutic analysis, along with the use of Critical Discourse Analysis, a more relevant image of the YOG is constructed and it shows that that the perceptions of the athletes are in contrast to the policy documents. Whereas the organisation claims that the content of the Culture and Education Programme of the YOG was very successful and enhanced the educational experience of the athletes, the subjects of this study were in a way dissatisfied with the programme. Thus, their perceptions helped to deconstruct the political claims in a very valuable way and future, athlete-centred research is needed in order to enhance the educational and cultural effects of the YOG

Athletes · Content analysis · Pedagogy · Perception · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Law · Medicine · Physical Education and Pedagogy · Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society

• Role Models and Athlete Expression at the Youth Olympic Games as Impactful Sport Communication Practices

  Jannicke Stålstrøm, Marina Iskhakova et al.•International Journal of Sport…•2023

  Incluir item

• Sentidos construídos por atletas de elite sobre a abertura dos jogos olímpicos da juventude de Buenos Aires

  Open Access•Adriano Lopes De Souza, Thayse Mayan Alarcon Ferreira et al.•Pensar a Prática•2021

  Incluir item

• Entre as atividades promovidas e o consumo produtivo

  Open Access•Amanda Lima De Souza, Olga Tavares•Motrivivência•2020

  Incluir item

• Nation, Nationalism, and Sport

  Daniel Guinne, Daniel Guinness et al.•Anthropological Quarterly•2016

  Incluir item

• Bildungspotenziale der Olympischen Idee

  Open Access•Stefanie Pietsch, Gudrun Doll-Tepper et al.•Bildungspotenziale der…•2021

  Incluir item

• Perception of the Culture and Education Programme of the Youth Olympic Games by the Participating Athletes

  M Schnitzer, Mike Peters et al.•The International Journal of the…•2014

  Incluir item

• The sustainability of the Youth Olympic Games

  Open Access•Milena M Parent, Elsa Kristiansen et al.•International Review for the…•2015

  Incluir item

• Corporal destinies

  Open Access•Daniel Guinne, Daniel Guinness•Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory•2018

  Incluir item

• Research Methods for Sports Studies

  Chris Gratton, Dr Ian Jones et al.•Research methods for sports studies•2010

  Incluir item

• Discourse and social change

  Norman Fairclough•Discourse and social change•1993

  Incluir item

• Whose game is it anyway? The cultural analysis of sport and media consumption

  Alan Tomlinson•Innovation The European Journal…•1992

  Incluir item

• Perspectives of Sport in a Global World

  Helmut Digel•The International Journal of the…•2010

  Incluir item

• The Youth Olympic Games

  Donna Wong•The International Journal of the…•2011

  Incluir item

• Desperately Seeking Michel

  David L Andrews•Sociology of Sport Journal•1993

  Incluir item

• Sport and the Sociological Imagination

  Open Access•Robert A Stebbins, Nancy Théberge et al.•The Canadian Journal of Sociology•1986

  Incluir item

• Sport, Power and Culture

  Richard Gruneau, John Hargreaves•Contemporary Sociology A Journal…•1987

  Incluir item

• Ideology and Modern Culture. Critical Social Theory in the Era of Mass Communication

  Fred Weinstein, John Thompson et al.•History and Theory•1992

  Incluir item