Risk accepters and problem solvers: managing risk in the Masters Highland Games

Bowness, J. (2020) Risk accepters and problem solvers: managing risk in the Masters Highland Games. European Journal for Sport and Society, 17(1), pp. 66-81. (doi: 10.1080/16138171.2019.1706250)

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Abstract

Narratives of ageing are often negative, focusing on later life as a period defined by biological decline. A growing population of older adults (Masters athletes) participating in sports challenges these assumptions. Existing research demonstrates how Masters athletes transcend and challenge dominant discourses of ageing and resist enfeeblement. To do so requires negotiation with risk, pain, and injury. The examination of these processes developed within the sociology of sport during the 1990s. This literature explored risk-taking sub-cultures across different sports and between genders. An analysis of how older athletes manage risk has hither to not taken place. This article provides a case study of the Masters Highland Games, which expands this corpus of work to Masters athletes. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 19 athletes aged between 40 and 75, two ideal types that describe approaches to risk-taking are proposed. Informed by the ideas of Giddens, these ideal types will demonstrate the variety of ways that resistance relates to risk, pain, and injury. This case study demonstrates that some Masters athletes share traits identified in research with younger athletes, such as the acceptance of their practice being inherently risky and the act of normalising pain. However, most Masters athletes exhibit a more problem-solving approach that adopts various strategies that manage the risks of ageing.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Bowness, Dr James
Authors: Bowness, J.
Subjects:H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
College/School:University Services > Learning and Teaching Services Division
Journal Name:European Journal for Sport and Society
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:1613-8171
ISSN (Online):2380-5919
Published Online:27 December 2019
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 European Association for Sociology of Sport
First Published:First published in European Journal for Sport and Society 17(1):66-81
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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