Download Leisure Time in Modern Olympics and more Essays (university) Humanities in PDF only on Docsity! Running head: LEISURE TIME IN MODERN OLYMPICS Case Study: Leisure Time in Modern Olympics Subject: Humanities University of California The activities that we do in leisure time are the ones we really consider as “recreational” activities. Sports are but primary recreational activities. So, if we are doing anything for recreation and that has a pattern, then it may also be considered as a sport. Physical activity may be defining attribute of a sport but its just as perspective. Anyway, there are no activities, in which there is no physical activity. The word activity itself has a root meaning associated with movement. Research Statement The sports that are included in Modern Olympics are those recreational activities which have a large following. Anyway, we are in a democratic era so there is no point in opposing the standards set, by past practice, for including a sport in Modern Olympics. According to the same standards, common and modern leisure time activities should be included in Modern Olympics. There are many unofficial ‘Olympics’ conducted having only leisure time activities, showing such a popular demand. The research is aimed at gathering information in this regard and doing analytical analysis, to add weight to such a demand. This research aims to lend credible documentation to enable innovation over stagnation. Case Study: Badminton from Leisure Time to Modern Olympics There are many “sports” which were once considered only leisure time activity. One of them we can discuss here was badminton. This sport was first played commonly by British officers LEISURE TIME IN MODERN OLYMPICS 2 stationed in India, during colonial era. The British military had delays in receiving shipments of sports goods. So, some of them came up with a new idea to pass their time using playing badminton. A version of rudimentary badminton and not the modern sport. It was played as leisure time activity for a long time and no one considered it as a sport. Once it was standardized and it became popular then people started considering it a sport. It was first considered as a demonstration sport in Summer Olympics of 1972 and then as an exhibition sport in Winter Olympics of 1988. It became regular part of Modern Olympics only after 1992. Research Questions 1. Which are the leisure time activities which can be possibly included in the Modern Olympics? 2. Can we come up with an objective criterion to judge leisure time activities which deserve to be in Olympics? Research Methods This research would demand inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative methods. As part of qualitative efforts, we would need secondary sources to gain valuable insights about criterions to judge sports. We would also need focus discussions among experts and activity participants to be documented. We would also need quantitative surveys to get popular opinion on this topic. Modern sports run because they are funded. They are funded because they are popular. So, opinion of masses is important to sport bodies to make decisions. Supporting innovation by finding a place in any future proposal document, is among the aims of this research.
