All sports events impact the community in which they are held. In the latest SIRCTalks episode – Managing Sport Events to Maxmize Positive Impacts – University of Waterloo’s Laura Wood discusses how the hosting of non-mega sports events can leave lasting, meaningful and positive impacts on the host community.
Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"
Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"
Could a voucher system turn sport event spectators into participants? Learn what researchers from the University of Waterloo, the Mattamy National Cycling Centre and Cycling Canada did to enhance legacies from the hosting of national and international sport events in the SIRC blog. Will these strategies be used at the 2020 UCI World Track Cycling Championships, starting today in Berlin, Germany?
This is the fourth blog of a series leading up to the 2020 Arctic Winter Games that will be hosted by Whitehorse, YT March 15-21, 2020. Check out the previous blogs about the development of the Games, volunteer recruitment, and First Nations engagement.
Since the Arctic Winter Games (AWG) began in 1970, cultural exchange and social interaction have been key values of the Games and part of what makes them unique. With contingents from across Canada, the United States (Alaska), Greenland, Russia and Sapmi (stretching over Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia), the AWG may be the first time participants have traveled outside their territory, province or country. The opportunity to visit new places, meet new people, and experience new cultures make the participation at the AWG a life-changing experience.
The importance of cultural exchange and social interaction are perhaps most evident in the Games’ Cultural Program. The performers at AWG don’t come to compete against one another, they come to work together. With many different languages present, performers often rely on their art form to communicate with their peers. In the cafeteria, participants might randomly break out in a jam session. While waiting in line for marshalling prior to the Opening Ceremony, throat singing, drumming and dancing can usually be heard as they celebrate their cultural identity.
During the Opening Ceremony on March 15, and throughout the week of the Games, traditional culture and contemporary performance will be on full display. This includes pop-up performances, workshops, artist demonstrations and art exhibits, as well as a Cultural Marketplace.
The pop-up performances are free, 3 to 5 minute performances by professional artists at accommodation and sport venues. Cultural participants will also have a chance to take some workshops with professional Yukon artists, to gain new skills and build knowledge.
There will be three exhibits at the Yukon Arts Centre. The Main Gallery exhibition, Emerging North, is a celebration of emerging Indigenous artists from across the Circumpolar North. The exhibit is being curated by Indigenous artist Teresa Vander Meer-Chassé from Beaver Creek, Yukon. Future of the North will be the Youth Gallery exhibit, featuring art work from Yukon students, as well as students from Yamal. The third exhibit will be a mural painted by the Youth of Today Society, with nine separate panels – representing each of the nine contingents. The exhibits are free to the participants and the public.
The AWG Cauldron, being created by Yukon metalworks artist Brian Walker and his son Justin, will also be housed at the Yukon Arts Centre. The Cauldron is made out of copper, a material that goes back at least 1,500 years in the history of the Yukon. The cauldron will reflect traditions and stories relating to copper that are important for Yukon First Nations.
At the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in downtown Whitehorse, where Dene Games competition is taking place, there will also be a Cultural Marketplace, showcasing and selling work from visual artists across the territory. Traditional arts such as beading, sewing and tanning, will be on display.
The AWG Cultural Program will culminate with a Cultural Gala, incorporating aspects from all nine northern contingents, embracing the Circumpolar identity of the Games. The Gala will mix traditional practices from Nunavut, Sapmi and Greenland with contemporary performances from residents of larger northern communities such as Whitehorse. Watching youth so in tune with traditional knowledge, languages and practices will inspire audiences, as well as their fellow performers.
When the Arctic Winter Games are officially declared closed on March 21, participants will celebrate with something a little less traditional – a DJ’d dance party and pizza. They’ll trade uniforms and pins, and then the majority will board their planes home with new stories to tell and new skills learned from their week-long collaborations.
Of course, hosting hundreds of athletes, cultural performers, coaches and officials can be logistically complicated, particularly in the North. Imagine trying to get 1,800 mattresses shipped 2,100 kilometres up the highway to a northern remote community, or building 900 bunk beds in less than 24 hours. We’ll explore the ways communities address those challenges in the next AWG series blog – follow SIRC’s Canadian Sport Daily newsletter to stay up to date on postings!
The 2020 Arctic Winter Games will be held in Whitehorse, Yukon March 15-21, 2020. Follow the action leading up to and during the Games on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
The Gatineau Loppet is the biggest international cross-country ski event in Canada, and one of the 20 biggest cross-country ski races around the world! The event engages close to 2,500 recreational and elite athletes through 8 cross-country ski races, 3 snowshoe races, and 3 fat bike races. The 42nd edition of the Loppet will take place in Gatineau Park from February 14-16th, 2020.
Research from the University of British Columbia finds sports fans are more likely to purchase season tickets when there is a resale market available. This resale market, in turn, can increase a sport team’s revenue by at least seven per cent per year.
This is the third blog of a series leading up to the 2020 Arctic Winter Games that will be hosted by Whitehorse, YT March 15-21, 2020. Check out the first blog, about the development of the Games; and the second about the incorporation of reconciliation in the Games.
The Yukon might be large in size (the territory is approximately the same size as the country of Spain), but when it comes to population, let’s just say Yukoners appreciate their space.
As of March 2018, there were less than 40,000 people living in the Yukon—30,000 of those calling the capital city of Whitehorse home. Hosting a multi-sport Games of any size requires a large workforce. More than 3,000 volunteers were required for Whitehorse to host the Canada Winter Games in 2007, and an estimated 1,800 volunteers will be needed for the 2020 Arctic Winter Games (AWG 2020), so it takes some out of the box thinking to reach volunteer goals.
Volunteers at AWG 2020 will fill a variety of roles both before and during the Games, assisting in areas such as accommodations, food services, box office, spectator services, logistics, and marketing. Tasks can be anything from taking tickets or serving special guests, to fit-out of venues, or construction of bunk beds in participant accommodations. There are also sport-specific roles, including results and major technical officials.
One of the largest contributing factors to volunteer recruitment and retention is major employer leave policies, which allow paid time off for employees to volunteer and participate. These policies are currently in place with the Yukon Government, as well as the City of Whitehorse, the Yukon Hospital Corporation, Yukon College, private sector businesses like Northwestel, and First Nations governments such as the Kwanlin Dun First Nation.
The Yukon Government’s policy was developed initially for the 2007 Canada Winter Games. It was revised for the 2012 Arctic Winter Games hosted in Whitehorse, and has remained the same since. The policy applies to two groups: participants, such as athletes, coaches, officials, and members of the cultural contingent; and those involved in the planning and organization when Yukon hosts major Games. Employees may be granted leave without loss of pay, in some cases covering up to three weeks leave to allow them to attend planning meetings as well as requirements during Games time. Eligible planning positions include those in leadership positions within the Host Society structure – i.e. Divisional and Committee Chairs or Venue Team Leads.
Both the City of Whitehorse and Northwestel also allow for non-planning, aka Games-time volunteers, to be covered under their policies. Northwestel employees may receive approval to volunteer up to four hours per day during the months preceding the Games, during the entire period of the Games, and the week immediately following. They even run a Games Volunteer Committee that grants approval of any employee involvement with the Games.
Without these types of policies, the Yukon would be in a tough spot when it comes to recruiting the required number of volunteers. Of AWG 2020’s planning volunteers alone, nearly half of them are covered under major employer leave policies.
Of course, the AWG 2020 Volunteers Division also uses other tactics. Community engagement visits outside of Whitehorse are an important piece, as are appearances at volunteer fairs and other community events.
Members of the Host Society’s Volunteer Division make presentations to employees at smaller businesses in the community, as well as to students at Yukon College and local high schools. A special presentation will also be done to the ElderActive Recreation Association of the Yukon (ERA), who’s nearly 700 members usually make up a large portion of any major event’s volunteer force.
Benefits of volunteering for AWG 2020 include a volunteer uniform – jacket and vest – as well as three volunteer thank you events post-Games. The minimum commitment required to receive the uniform is 12 hours. All registration is done online, and once the form is filled out, all volunteers must complete a criminal record check before they are approved. The criminal record check can be done through the AWG 2020 office at no charge. For more information about the volunteer opportunities available, or to sign up online, click here.
With four months to go until the start of the 2020 Arctic Winter Games, more than 1,100 volunteers are already registered in the system. Yukoners are known for their last minute nature – as the saying goes, we live on Yukon time – but the goal of the Volunteers Division is to reach the 1,800 mark early in the New Year. AWG 2020 will mark 100 Days to Go on December 5, and as part of that celebration, the hope is a volunteer drive will bring that goal closer to reality.
In our next blog, we’ll explore some of the unique cultural opportunities offered as part of the Arctic Winter Games. Find out more about the Host Society plans to incorporate aspects from all nine northern contingents into the cultural program, embracing the Circumpolar identity of the Games – follow SIRC’s Daily News Hub to stay up to date on postings!
The 2020 Arctic Winter Games will be held in Whitehorse, Yukon March 15-21, 2020. Follow the action leading up to and during the Games on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
From a hosting perspective, a single organizing committee for major international Games, such as the Olympics and Paralympics, offers a number of organizational and functional efficiencies. However, it also presents some challenges in maintaining the “distinction” of para sport. Consider the implications for scheduling, facilities, communications and legacies in the SIRCuit.
The concept of “inclusion” is pervasive in the current sport environment, with organizations from the community to international levels considering how to ensure all individuals have access and opportunity to participate. Generally, inclusion means that all people, regardless of their abilities, disabilities, or specific needs, have the right to be respected and appreciated as valuable members of their communities. However, inclusion becomes a challenging concept in high performance sport which, by its very nature, is exclusive as it aims to restrict access based on specific performance standards.
In the context of mega-events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, “inclusion” becomes more complex. Historically, athletes with a disability (para athletes) have competed in separate competition events. Over time, the model of separate events has seemed counter-productive to respecting and valuing all athletes. Since 2001, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have in effect become a single mega-event, with the two Games separated by a 2-week window, and one Organizing Committee (OC) designing, developing, and delivering the entirety of the Games and any associated legacies. The principle of this model is followed by other large-scale Games such as the Pan American and Parapan American Games, and Commonwealth Games (which is an entirely integrated event).
From a hosting perspective, a single OC offers a number of organizational and functional efficiencies (e.g. a single organization liaising with stakeholders including governments, sport partners, broadcasters, and corporate partners). But it also presents some challenges. Molloy and Misener (2016) have written about the importance of “distinction” – the recognition of and respect for the excellence that sets athletes apart – in considering the management of large-scale Games where para sport is on the program. If the Games are not managed properly, there is a risk that this distinction, or the demonstration of respect and appreciation for all athletes, may be lost.
The purpose of this article is to consider the various aspects of managing a mega-event that includes para athletes, in relation to the concept of distinction. The aim is to highlight both the opportunities and challenges of ensuring that para sport athletes’ needs and desires are appreciated and valued in the same fashion as able-bodied athletes in the Games environment.
Management integration
Since the inception of the Paralympic Games in 1960, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been held in the same year. In more recent history, as of the Seoul 1988 Summer Games and Albertville 1992 Winter Games, the events were held in the same city with just a few weeks separating the two. It was not until 2001 that a formal agreement was put in place between the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee ensuring that Olympic host cities would also stage the Paralympics. The “One Bid, One City” concept was formed as a way to protect the hosting of the Paralympic Games, such that the staging of the Paralympics is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Games. The agreement formally recognises that the host city has an obligation to stage both events, maximizing the use of venues, facilities and infrastructure. The 2002 Salt Lake City Games was the first time that one organizing committee managed both events.
Accessibility and inclusion during and after Major Multisport Games
I recently led a research team that undertook a longitudinal study examining how different types of events addressed the mandates of accessibility and inclusion in Games with one OC (Misener et al., 2018). In each case we examined, the OC had set a vision to increase access in and around the event venues, and to create more inclusive community sport opportunities. What we found was that venue and accessibility guidelines established by international sport governing bodies and local organizing committees do not necessarily result in sustained social change, greater inclusion, or increased local community accessibility. For example, in many cases physical infrastructure was built to minimal standards, used temporary methods, or, where changes did remain, failed to consider the intersection between new infrastructure and old (e.g. curbs, sidewalks, materials). Some might argue that it is not up to the event to change the spatial landscape of the city environment, yet it is important for committees to consider how the event structures interconnect with civic spaces if sustained social change is desired. For example, if a new sport venue is built with high accessibility standards but no accessible transportation is available or exterior connecting spaces lack the same level of accessibility, the inclusivity of the event and its legacies is reduced.
The risk of “able-bodied bias”
Within the games’ environment, our findings also show that an “able-bodied bias” often permeated decision-making by the OC. The needs, interests and experiences of para athletes were often overlooked because those making decisions lacked the embodied experience of disability. Examples of the impact on event scheduling, infrastructure, and marketing and communications are highlighted below, drawing on our research and the work of colleagues such as Byers et al. (2019) and Darcy (2017).
Scheduling: The scheduling and structure of events for athletes with specific access and/or support needs, or with different classifications, requires significant thought and consideration. For example, if a para sport event schedule is based on that for able-bodied athletes, an athlete that requires additional time to accommodate assistance in preparing for competition and entering the field of play (pool, court, field, etc.) could be considered to be disrupting the “normal” scheduling of events. Further, the field of competition within the specific sports and events needs to be carefully considered to ensure appropriate timing and level of integration of the para sports. During our observational research in Glasgow at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (Misener et al., 2019), I witnessed a swimming race for para athletes with mixed classification that seemed to be tagged on to the end of a long day of swimming competition. Not only did this demonstrate a lack of understanding of athlete needs, the event also felt like a charitable competition where some spectators cheered on the lone athlete finishing the race, while other spectators were rushing to exit the venue.
Sporting Spaces: While accessible competition facilities, transportation, and housing are required by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC Accessibility Guide, 2015), other components of the Games can all too easily be overlooked. These include public festival spaces, sustained city transportation, and training venues (often existing recreation facilities). The temporary changes are often designed for efficiency and with the minimum level of accessibility required. This quote from a Games-related news article highlights the challenges that cities and OCs face in integrating the requirements of accessible sporting spaces and public spaces:
The brand new palaces of sport which I encounter are beautifully smooth…[but] the problem comes at the edges, where they join the old world. Tackling one new perfectly smooth bit of access, I am blocked abruptly by the lack of a dropped curb. Leaving the Velodrome, I descend a ramp to an existing road, where the join looks insignificant but stops me dead. Elsewhere, gravel scattered on paving jams my computerised push rims and my chair has a tantrum (Melanie Reid Quote from Sunday Times, UK 2014)
Marketing and Communication: An integral part of any major event is the marketing and communications strategies employed to attract sponsors and spectators. Quality strategies are those that provide para athletes with a clear and distinct focus. OCs need to work closely with media as they are paramount for awareness raising, attitude formation, circulation of ideas, and framing the narratives about inclusive Games. The OC for the Toronto 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games did a remarkable job in ensuring equity of representation of para athletes in the marketing and communications surrounding the Games, offering them the clear and distinct focus so deserved. Unfortunately, Toronto was the exception to the norm – OCs too often provide minimal levels of visibility for para athletes. However, the Toronto Games did fall prey to one trap – the portraying of para athletes as “superheroes.” A quote from one member of the Toronto OC demonstrates how easily marketing and communications teams rely on narratives focused on superheroes, celebrities or pity. “It’s so easy to get the para athletes…they have such a great story that can really inspire people.”
Another critical element of event communication that can be overlooked from an inclusion perspective is the educational opportunity presented by the Games. While doing observation work at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games, our research team, decked out in bright purple logoed research shirts, were regularly asked to explain the events and the field of play. Little information about the sports, athletes, rules or classification was available for spectators, or where it was available it was often not in alternative accessible formats. Given the unique nature of para sport, it is important for OCs to ensure ample information is available to engage spectators in the events. During the 2012 London Paralympic Games, Channel 4 developed the Lexi Classification System which was later used in Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. This system helped spectators understand classification and the rules of the sport, enriching the experience at the venue.
Legacies: The lexicon of legacy has been a part of the sport event agenda since the early 1990’s, but in recent years has become a cornerstone of event hosting. Cities and OC’s are expected to deliver positive outcomes for the local community in terms of physical infrastructure, and economic and social benefits. From the perspective of para sport, there has also been an emphasis on using events to influence social change to positively impact the lives of persons with disabilities in the local communities. As per the IPC agenda (IPC, 2017), the emphasis is typically on four areas: accessible infrastructure, sporting structures that support para sport (e.g. coaches, classifiers, para organizations), attitudes and perceptions of disability, and sporting opportunities. In our work around Games legacies, we found that OCs have a sincere desire for such sustained social change, but confront a number of challenges in delivering these legacies. In some situations, OCs are too overwhelmed with the task of hosting the Games that the social change legacies are victims of capacity issues. In other situations, the social change legacies are assumed to be an automatic result of the events, rather than requiring considerable planning, effort and collaboration.
Recommendations for maintaining a focus on para sport
Based on our research at multiple Games of different types, here are three key lessons for OCs and host cities.
- Stakeholder engagement: A designated committee or event management position is an important minimal first step in ensuring adequate attention and distinction is given to para sport. However, a meaningful voice for persons with disabilities needs to be integrated across all management areas of the Games. The reality is that only a small number of persons with disabilities are typically represented in positions of authority in sport organizations or at events. Persons with disabilities, and/or allies, need to be able to influence decision making and identify the structural inequalities they face in everyday life so these can be addressed alongside the organization of the sporting event. In this way, the use of an integrated OC can be both efficient and effective at delivering a successful event and ensuring distinction for para sport athletes. To evaluate this stakeholder perspective, there are few questions to consider:
- Does the OC have a senior operations position dedicated to para sport aspects of the Games?
- Are disability advisory groups part of the decision-making processes of the Games and related legacy programs?
- Do partner organizations (communications, government, sponsors) have a commitment to accessibility and inclusion in their mandate? How is this reflected in the management and contracts surrounding the event?
- Policy Frameworks: Our research demonstrated that countries/cities with strong diversity and inclusion policy frameworks use these policies to inform event and legacy planning. National and international commitments that can be leveraged to support diversity and inclusion at Games include:
These policy frameworks provide a backdrop for decision making around sport practices, accessible infrastructure, and marketing and communications to ensure all aspects of the event offer greater levels of accessibility. For Canadians, we are well on the path to considering diversity and inclusion in all aspects of sport. With the recent passing of Bill C-81 The Accessible Canada Act, national sport and multisport service organizations, provincial/territorial sport organizations, community sport clubs, and major events will be required to find ways to enhance the full and equal participation of all persons, especially persons with disabilities.
- Legacy Programs: A key indicator of an event’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion is the integration of these priorities into legacy programs. For the Toronto 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games, the OC prioritized accessibility and inclusion as a key legacy aspect of the Games. This meant that organizers, Games operations, legacy planning, and related elements considered distinction for para athletes, accessibility of venues and related sport services, and inclusive opportunities throughout and beyond the Games. A key example of this is the Ontario Parasport Collective, a group of provincial, multisport, and disability sport organizations that came together around the Games to leverage the event. Now four years after the event, the group continues to work together towards increasing opportunities for parasport and advocating for policies that support the development of parasport in the province of Ontario. This type of commitment before, during and after the Games was critical, not only to the successful delivery of the Games, but also to ensuring positive outcomes from the event.
Looking ahead
Major multisport Games that have a clear focus on accessibility and inclusion in all organizational and management aspects of the Games are more likely to successfully support para sport and create sustained social change beyond the Games. As we look towards Tokyo 2020, which has the resources to realize an inclusive Games, the OC’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion is yet to be tested. With the recommendations above in mind, Canadians, and indeed the world, will be evaluating how the stated commitments to accessibility and inclusion are put into practice at the Games and in the event legacies.
This summer, spectators around the globe witnessed the highs and lows of athletes during competition at the Pan and Parapan American Games. The Pan American Games took place from July 26 to August 11, and the ParaPan American Games from August 23 to September 1. Like the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Pan and Parapan American Games are hosted consecutively using a “distinct and separate” model of competition. This model contrasts with the integrated model for sport adopted by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), in which para sport events are part of a single competition schedule and medals are included in the all-important medal count. This blog considers the merits and pitfalls of integration and when ‘to be or not to be’ integrated in sport.
Socially and academically, we typically assume that integration of para sport with able-bodied sport is the preferred participation model. This preference is in part due to the model’s potential to mitigate inequity in sport for athletes with physical impairment. However, is this assumption supported by the research? We know that the impact of integration has been considered from multiple perspectives including sport administrators, coaching staff, spectators of sport, and the media (e.g. Sorenson & Kahrs, 2006; Howe, 2007; Misener & Molloy, 2018; Smith & Thomas, 2005). Missing from these critical conversations regarding integrated high performance is the perspective of one significant stakeholder – the para sport athlete.
Research at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
To address this gap, and most importantly to understand the experience and perspective of para sport athletes regarding integration in sport, we headed to the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Daily access to the Athletes’ Village allowed us to interact intimately and often with para sport athletes throughout the Games. Using ethnographic methods, we interviewed 35 para sport athletes, and observed their experience of daily life in the Village. Casual conversation with sport administrators, Games volunteers, medical staff and spectators also informed our analysis.
The Para Sport Athlete Perspective
Our findings confirm that integration is the preferred model for sport amongst non-athletes. Of the 25 non-athletes who participated in the research, support of integrated high performance sport was unanimous, confirming the social bias that integration is the preferred model for sport. This excerpt from a casual conversation with a Games Volunteer provides insight regarding why such assumptions are held by non-athlete, sporting personnel.
I just thought integration was a good thing. I think everybody thinks so. It never crossed my mind that para athletes might not think the same. (Games Volunteer)
In contrast, during interviews with para sport athletes, perspectives regarding the merits of integration were mixed and diverse. Data from athlete interviews reflected a variety of experiences in both integrated and segregated models of high performance sport. Our analysis indicated that para sport athletes are divided regarding the merit and social impact of integration.
Athletes in favour of integration valued integration for distinctly different reasons. For example, in the quotes below, a para sport athlete suggests an integrated model promotes connection between all athletes; another suggests the presence of a stigma associated with segregated games.
We are one people. We all belong to same family. The more we come together as one, the better we will understand this and the better off we all will be. (Paralympic and Commonwealth Games athlete)
This is how it should be. At Commonwealth Games we are one country, one team. This is not a freak show that follows the Olympics. (Paralympic and Commonwealth Games athlete)
Other para sport athletes valued equally the integrated model and the “distinct and separate” model practiced by the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
I like both models. Parapans was my first experience and I thought it was great. I was so proud to compete for Canada and learned so much about para sport. I like this [integrated] model too. I’ve met athletes I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and they learn about my sport and I learn about their sport. (Parapan American and Commonwealth Games athlete)
Athletes who did not favour integration in sport spoke passionately about the pitfalls of integration. Specifically, para sport athletes asserted that integration eliminates high performance development opportunities for athletes with greater impairment.
Integration is wicked. Today athletes who use a wheelchair must now throw chairs away in the dining hall to sit at the table. Classification is eliminating classes for more impaired athletes, like me. (Paralympic and Commonwealth Games athlete)
Every Commonwealth Games, different para sports are added and then dropped. This is not fair to athletes and makes it impossible to achieve high performance. I think there should be a Para Commonwealth Games for para athletes only, with all para sports. (Paralympic, Parapan American and Commonwealth Games athlete)
Implications
The findings from our research draw attention to one very significant issue. Non-athletes, including sport administrators, health care professionals and spectators, assume that an integrated model is the preferred competition model. However, this assumption is inconsistent with the perspectives of para sport athletes. Informed by our research, those involved with the administration of sport administration need to consider how their positive assumptions regarding integration impact how sport, integrated or “distinct and separate,” is managed.
Future research that examines whose assumptions inform decision making and program delivery is necessary to determine the merits and obstacles associated with each model of sport. Scholarly investigation that unpacks the multiple and varied perspectives of the para sport athlete regarding each model, including the integrated model, is fundamental to understanding when ‘to be or not to be’ integrated in sport.