According to the United Nations,
“To safeguard the health of athletes and others involved, most major sporting events at international, regional and national levels have been canceled or postponed – from marathons to football tournaments, athletics championships to basketball games, handball to ice hockey, rugby, cricket, sailing, skiing, weightlifting to wrestling and more. The Olympics and Paralympics, for the first time in the history of the modern games, have been postponed, and will be held in 2021.” (1)
Before winter and spring of 2020, it would have been easy to write about how current health considerations may affect sports involvement. Issues like heat and weather-related events, sports injury, blood, and water-borne pathogens, and others would fill pages of how to plan for and mitigate these occurrences. Such is not the case with the current pandemic that is sweeping across the globe with seemingly wild abandon. In this case, all sports involvement has to be re-created, re-examined, and the result is that many tried and true procedures for mitigating health challenges are simply thrown out the window. This pandemic requires that every possible surface be continually cleansed with antibacterial agents, and people need to continually be aware to wash, prevent contact with others within six feet or more of each other, and mask up.
How do sports survive under the demands of mitigating the transmission of the virus? Even with the current protocols, the virus continues to affect many gatherings; therefore, it is absolutely necessary to take a step back from the sport in total and examine what the best course of action may be. Our best examples involve how professional sports have reorganized – shorter season, less travel, keeping distance, masking, cleaning all surfaces. At the time of this writing, many seasons have been canceled, postponed, or minimized. Likewise, recreational and elite sports for those in early childhood through high school must also be curtailed until there is a feeling of safety and security surrounding the resumption of play.
What long-term effects are at least envisioned as the pandemic continues, even if it lessens with the discovery of vaccines and other ways to mitigate its spread. At the risk of creating controversy or at least vigorous discussion, I am making predictions even admitting that we really do not know enough to plan the future of the sport in a sound and efficacious manner. My thoughts are just that – Food for Thought – and hopefully, we will see our way clear within the next year or two to modify sport in a way that is beneficial to everyone.
1. The economic fallout of many cancellations of high-level sports in every country in the world will have far-reaching effects that will dramatically transform the live experience of viewing to digital viewing opportunities that involve a charge. People will buy tickets to view live-streamed and other experiences in order to keep up with their favorite leagues and teams. Related to that, online betting will increase, and that market will prosper.
2. Players will elect to change their sport pursuit to that of local and community offerings that may lower the appeal of some of the more popular sports. For example, one may change from a team sport to an individual sport in order to be able to train more flexibly.
3. People will choose activities that conform to the best health guidelines where it is easy to use masks, access sanitary facilities, and prevent transmission of infectious diseases. Outdoor activities that avoid crowds will replace mass events in order to protect and be protected.
4. Health concerns about the long-term effects of COVID infection will be of continued concern. For example, doctors have alluded to the potential increase in blood clots and myocarditis in those who have survived the disease. This concern will lead to more players opting out of seasons and being careful about the resumption of the sports they were involved in.
5. As higher-level competitions decline, lower-level uses of playing areas and facilities will be available, and leisure service agencies will take advantage of the increased availability of arenas, fields, and courts and other facilities that were previously used only by those who reached a higher level of skill.
6. More attention will be given to making sports opportunities accessible to all regardless of economic level or skill.
7. Home-based activities will continue to increase as schools continue online learning, and parents/guardians must fulfill the physical activity and outdoor learning gap by taking children to parks and playing areas. This will necessitate the reuse of facilities and areas otherwise used for highly organized leagues.
8. Travel sports programs will continue to decrease due to the uncertainty of the use of public transportation, accommodations, and food services. This change will result in greater local league development in nearby facilities.
9. Due to changes in employment status, many people simply will not be able to afford the recreation services they paid for before the pandemic and will elect to either program their own experiences or take advantage of more reasonably priced programs in their community.
10. Agencies and businesses that provide sport and recreation experiences in communities will need to completely revamp their offerings to include a wider set of social needs such as having community areas and facilities as immunization sites, increasing social services in areas of need, and reinvigorating local and easy to access recreation experiences.
Again the United Nations noted the effects of COVID on the decrease of sports events as follows:
“In addition to economic repercussions, the cancellation of games also impacts many social benefits of global and regional sports events, which can cement social cohesion, contribute to the social and emotional excitement of fans, as well as their identification with athletes leading to greater physical activity of individuals. Sport has long been considered a valuable tool for fostering communication and building bridges between communities and generations. Through sport, various social groups are able to play a more central role in social transformation and development, particularly in divided societies. Within this context, sport is used as a tool for creating learning opportunities and accessing often marginal or at-risk populations.” (1)
References
(1) United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social development. (Retrieved 8/1/20 at un.org).