Levelling the Playing Field

The authors of this book offer a blueprint for the reinvention of sport and its reclamation as a vital activity for improving the quality of life. They take a very close view of sport-of its astonishing variety and its meaning to participants and society, and their scope is universal. The differences between community and big-time sport are examined in depth, and the benefits and costs of sport are identified and carefully considered. Land-mark research studies and findings are reviewed and distilled in a taxonomy of outcomes, positive and negative. While confirming sport's public value and economic worth, they also reveal significant problems in the way sport is organised, promoted and consumed. Sport is often unsafe and may involve a high risk of harm, and they call for a fresh approach, built around internal re-organization and a bold external regulation.