Defining Sport by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic

Chapter 8

Evolution of the Action Sports Setting

Chrysostomos Giannoulakis and Lindsay Pursglove

In recent years action, lifestyle, alternative, or extreme sports have attracted the attention of both academia and the industry. The action sports industry started to grow in the early 1990s, but it was not until recently marketers and practitioners realized the immense power words like action, extreme, and alternative hold for youth markets. A focus on individual characteristics and athlete skills, in addition to the social and cultural aspects, led to initial and continued participation in action sports.1 Wheaton argued that upon their emergence in the 1960s, lifestyle sports have experienced “unprecedented growth both in participation and in their increased visibility across public and private space.”2 Currently this segment of the sport industry is regarded as high growth from a participation (demand) and delivery (supply) standpoint.3 Due to lack of formal structures, the action sports industry has faced a relatively chaotic expansion in reference to mainstream sports, but still organic and unprecedented. To this extent, action sports continue to reach a global young audience, particularly a lucrative affluent and white male demographic, whereas established worldwide organizations (e.g., the International Olympic Committee), as well as professional sports in North America (e.g., football, basketball, and baseball) steadily suffer a lack of interest and participation from youth audiences. Despite their proven popularity and growth, the critical inquiry is to what extent action sports will continue to grow, and how the sector will maintain its risky, free, individualistic, and non-conformist character that separates them from mainstream activities.4 To this end, it is also important to critically examine and analyze how these sports have evolved from a social, political, and commercial standpoint. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to (a) provide information on the current status of action sports, including their definition and utilization of additional terms such as lifestyle; (b) illustrate the sociocultural evolution of board sports (i.e., surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding) and Bicycle Motocross (BMX) as representative and popular ambassadors of the sector; and (c) to discuss the future of the action sports.

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