Wrapping up
Reflection
Please take a few minutes to write and answer the provided reflection questions. A good response is usually a minimum of five sentences.
We strongly recommend that you:
- Keep a reflection notebook, log, or journal, and save a copy of your reflection in it
- Share and discuss your response with others
If you are completing this module as part of a class or workshop, you will likely be discussing your reflection as part of a group activity.
If you are completing this module alone, try finding a group of interested friends or colleagues to discuss your reflections with.
- In what ways does your life involve sport? Do you play or coach any sports? Watch or attend sporting events? Buy sports equipment or sports-related merchandise?
- Looking at the ways you are involved with sport from question 1, what connections can you make with sustainability? Try to list at least 3 points.
- Looking at the ways you are involved with sport from question 1, what are 3 or more things that you can or already do to positively impact sustainability? Use these to create a sustainability checklist for yourself for use when attending or participating in a sport or sporting event.
Conclusion
In this module, we looked at how sports intersect with sustainability. We considered sustainability in the context of sports and major sporting events, and the impact that sports have on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We also looked at the ways sports impact climate change and how climate change is and will continue to impact various aspects of sport. Finally, we learned about some of the organizations working to support sustainability in sports and had a chance to reflect on the ways sustainability and sport impact your life.
Resources
Learn more
- A guide for sports fans: How to use your voice to make a difference
- Aboriginal Sport for Life Report, 2016
- BBC Bitesize: Keeping fit and healthy through sports
- Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport: The True Sport Report 2022
- How sustainable is sport? (Global Sustainable Sport)
- International Olympic Committee: Sports for climate action
- Plastic game plan for sport guide
- Playing against the clock: Global sport, the climate emergency and the case for rapid change
- Sport for Sustainable Development “Score all 17” Manual
- The role of sport in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
- UN Resolution - Sport for development and peace: Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal
Academic resources
- Brymer, E. and T. Gray. (2016). Developing an intimate “relationship” with nature through extreme sports participation. Leisure/Loisir, 34(4), 361-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2010.542888
- Cerezo-Esteve, S., E. Ingles, J. Segui-Urbaneja, and F. Solanellas. (2022). The environmental impact of major sport events (giga, mega, and major): A systematic review from 2000 to 2021. Sustainability,14(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013581
- Frey, J. H. and D. S. Eitzen. (1991). Sport and society. Annual Review of Sociology, 17(1), 503-522. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.17.080191.002443
- Lombardo, M. P. (2012). On the evolution of sport. Evolutionary Psychology, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000101
- Smith, A. (2009). Theorising the relationship between major sport events and social sustainability. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 14(2-3), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/14775080902965033
- Pourpakdelfekr, T. and B. Oboudi. (2022). Overview of sustainable solutions to improve the environmental impacts of mega sporting events. Athens Journal of Sports, 9(4), 215-230.
- Yelamos, G.M., C. Carty, A. Clardy. (2019). Sport: A driver of sustainable development, promoter of human rights, and vehicle for health and well-being for all. Sport Business and Management, 9(4), 315-327.
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