Lesson video

Hi there, welcome to your lesson.

Today's lesson is on "Sportsmanship, gamesmanship, and deviance." My name's Ms. Hacking and I'm really looking forward to being your teacher today.

By the end of today's lesson, I'm hoping that we can all describe and give examples of sportsmanship and gamesmanship and explain how athletes' behaviour can be influenced.

Today's keywords are etiquette, which is a convention or unwritten rule in an activity, and it is not an enforceable rule but it is usually observed.

For example, showing good etiquette would be if you kick the ball out, maybe going to get the ball rather than expecting the opposition to go and get it.

Sportsmanship is ethical, appropriate, polite, and fair behaviour while participating in a game or athletic event.

For example, playing fair, fair play.

Gamesmanship is where the laws of the game are interrupted in ways which whilst they're not illegal, they're not in the spirit of the game and they push the limits to gain an unfair advantage, almost like they're bending the rules to gain advantage.

Deviance is behaviour that is either immoral or seriously breaks the rules and norms of the sport.

Cheating.

Deviance is cheating in sport.

And violence are physical acts committed in sport that go beyond the accepted rules of play or the expected levels of contact within a contact sport.

We all know that in some sports there is an element of violence.

For example, in rugby you are allowed to contact the other player and rugby tackle them if they have the ball, and that's part of the rules.

However, taking it to an extreme where they may punch or stamp on someone, that is acts of violence because they are not within the rules and they can really seriously hurt someone.

Today's lesson is split into four parts.

In the first part we're going to explain sportsmanship using examples, and in the second part we're going to explain gamesmanship using examples, and it's important we know the difference between sportsmanship and gamesmanship.

In the third part of today's lesson we're going to explain reasons for doing deviant behaviour in sport.

And in the final part of today's lesson, we're gonna explain reasons for player violence in sport and why it does take place.

Let's get started.

So engaging in sport goes beyond physical activity, so it goes beyond trying to just improve your components of fitness.

It also requires demonstrating good etiquette through respect, fair play, teamwork, and a positive attitude towards both teammates and opponents.

I wonder if you can think of an example of when you've displayed positive attitude, not just towards your team, but towards an opposition as well.

However, sometimes a desire to win can overshadow these values and this leads to negative behaviour that can disregard the rules and respect for others involved in the game.

Now I wonder if you can think of any examples where that has maybe been the case, where you've been so desperate to win that actually maybe some of your behaviour is more on the negative side and you've maybe not shown good examples of sportsmanship.

So sportsmanship is the ethical, appropriate, polite, and fair behaviour while participating in a game or athletic event.

So it's fair play, playing fair to the rules, and respecting other people within that sport.

Sportsmanship is a positive thing and it emphasises that respect for everyone involved, not just the people on your team, but the opponents, the referee, and other officials, teammates, coaches, and spectators.

I wonder if you can think of any good examples of sportsmanship that maybe you've demonstrated or you've seen demonstrated in sport.

Some examples of sportsmanship include respecting officials even when decisions do not go your way.

So even if a referee has perhaps made a bad decision or something that isn't in line with what you think has happened, it's important that we show sportsmanship and we respect the official and we listen to what the official has to say.

Shaking hands with an opponent after the game shows mutual respect whether you won or whether you lost.

That is a good example of sportsmanship.

Helping an injured opponent when they fall.

For example, in football, if you have possession of the ball and you notice that someone on the opposition is on the floor with an injury, you may choose to kick the ball out of the playing area so that help can come onto the pitch to support that injured player.

So rather than keeping possession and potentially scoring a goal, you're putting the needs of someone else before you and ensuring their safety.

That's an example of sportsmanship.

Apologising when a ball hits a net but goes over in tennis.

Now for those of you that play tennis, you'll know how annoying it is when someone is ready to hit the ball really hard and you're ready for a big hard hit and actually it gets caught on the net and just trickles over the net, which means that you don't get it and you lose a point.

And it's frustrating because it wasn't a shot they intended to do but they've won a point anyway.

So if that is something that happens and you do that by mistake, it's always important you apologise because you weren't intentionally trying to do that sneaky shot, you were probably trying to hit it hard.

And in rugby union they create a tunnel for the opposition to pass under after the game.

In the tunnel, they clap and cheer each other and shake hands to show their mutual respect for the other team and how hard they played in that game.

And it's always important to show good sportsmanship by being a gracious winner, so not gloating or belittling the losing team and always congratulating them on their performance whether they won or whether they lost.

Okay, let's have a go at a question.

True or false? Shaking hands with an opponent after a match is an example of sportsmanship.

That's right, it's true.

Can you tell me why? Yeah, shaking hands with an opponent after a match demonstrates sportsmanship by showing respect and appreciation for their effort regardless of the outcome.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's have a go at another question.

Which is not an example of sportsmanship? Creating a tunnel after a rugby union game, shaking hands with an opponent after the game, grunting in tennis, or helping an injured player.

That's right, it's grunting in tennis.

Now, grunting in tennis is where a tennis player will make a really loud noise like a grunt or a shriek as they hit the ball, and they do this to try and put the opposition off.

So this goes against what sportsmanship is because it's actually trying to gain advantage for yourself and it's not showing respect to the opposition.

This is in fact gamesmanship, which is the opposite of sportsmanship.

So well done if you got this correct.

Okay, now it's your turn to have a go at a practise task.

For the first part of the task, I'd like you to define sportsmanship.

For the second part of the task, I'd like you to give a sportsmanship example.

And for the third part of the task, I'd like you to use a different sporting example to explain why sportsmanship is important.

You may wish to pause the video now to give yourself time to write your answers.

So for the first part of the task you were asked to define sportsmanship.

I'm hoping you've put something along these lines.

So sportsmanship is conforming to the rules, spirit and etiquette of the sport.

Well done if got that right.

For the second part of the task you were asked to give a sportsmanship example.

You may have said respecting the officials even when decisions don't go your way, shaking hands with an opponent after a game, apologising in tennis when the ball hits the net but it still goes over, or creating a tunnel for the opposition to pass under after a rugby game.

For the third part of the task, using a different sporting example, you were asked to explain why sportsmanship is important in sport.

You may have written something along these lines.

A footballer may choose to kick a ball out of play when they spot an injured opposition player on the pitch.

Despite the footballer having possession of the ball and potentially scoring, they've prioritised the health and safety of an opposition player.

This act of sportsmanship is important because it demonstrates respect, compassion, and fair play.

This strengthens the integrity of the game and builds mutual respect between teams. It reminds players, coaches, and fans that while winning is a goal, respect and empathy for others are central values in sport, making the experience meaningful for everyone involved.

Well done if you talked about the values of respect and fair play in your example, because that's what we need to remember when we talk about sportsmanship.

Okay, we are now going to move on to the second part of today's lesson.

We're going to look at explaining gamesmanship using examples.

Now some people get gamesmanship and sportsmanship muddled up, so we need to remember that sportsmanship is always positive and gamesmanship is more negative.

So gamesmanship is where the laws of the games are interrupted in ways which whilst they're not illegal, they're not in the spirit of the game.

It's the pushing of the limits to gain an unfair advantage or bending the rules in order to get an advantage for yourself.

Gamesmanship is a negative approach that prioritises personal advantage over the respect for the opponent.

So it's all about that person trying to get an advantage and win and be the best they can be rather than focusing on the wider values of sport such as respect and fair play.

It's important to note, though, that gamesmanship isn't officially cheating because it doesn't actually break the rules and isn't illegal in the sport.

However, it could be described as ethically or morally wrong as it goes against the underlying values of sport.

I wonder if you might be able to think of any examples of gamesmanship that you might have seen.

Examples of gamesmanship include grunting in tennis.

So like we mentioned earlier, making noise like shrieking or grunting as you hit the ball to try and put off your opponent is gamesmanship.

It's not illegal, it's still within the rules, but it is a tactic to try and get an advantage over the other person so that you can win.

Sledging in cricket.

So sledging in cricket is where the wicket-keeper or the fielding team are saying negative things to the batter as they've come up to bat.

It might give them a psychological advantage in order to try and put the batter off when they're hitting so they'll miss it, so the batter will miss it and maybe get out.

So time-wasting when your team is winning.

This might happen in netball or hockey or football.

For example, if someone is taking their time collecting a ball after it's gone out the sideline, or if a player has undone their shoelace to redo their shoelace before taking a free pass, these are all examples of time-wasting and would probably be done if their team is winning.

Faking an injury such as diving in football.

Now trying to manipulate the referee in order to give you a free kick or a free pass so that your team is able to gain that advantage and have an increased chance of scoring a goal and therefore winning is an example of gamesmanship.

Saying things that aggravate an opponent.

So saying unkind things that you know might aggravate an opponent, might lead them to do some deviant behaviour which then might get them sent off.

So winding up an opponent to help impact their performance negatively would be another example of gamesmanship.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

True or false? Gamesmanship supports the positive values and etiquette of sport.

That's right, it's false.

Can you tell me why? Yep, gamesmanship does not support the positive values of sport as it is encouraging the bending of the rules to gain advantage for yourself, for only yourself to win.

Therefore it goes against the positive values of sportsmanship and it encourages bending a rule and more negative values.

Well done if you got that correct.

Okay, now it's your turn for a practise task.

What I'd like you to do is identify whether the examples below are sportsmanship or gamesmanship.

Accepting all officials decisions without arguing, sportsmanship or gamesmanship? Pulling on an opponent's shirt when a referee can't see you.

Coughing when someone is about to hit a shot.

Letting faster players go through if you're holding them up in golf.

Appealing for a sideline hit even though you know it touched you last.

Taking an injury break in tennis when you aren't actually injured.

Or blocking people in a cycling race causing them to lose speed.

And for the second part of the task, I'd like you to explain the similarities and differences between sportsmanship and gamesmanship.

You may wish to pause the video now to give you time to answer these tasks.

Okay, you were asked to identify whether the examples below are sportsmanship or gamesmanship.

So the first one, accepting all officials decisions without arguing, was sportsmanship.

Pulling on an opponent's shirt when a referee can't see you is an example of gamesmanship because that's negative and you're trying to get an unfair advantage against that opponent that you're pulling the shirt of.

Coughing when someone is about to hit a shot, for example, in golf or tennis, that's an example of gamesmanship.

Letting faster players go through if you're holding them up in golf, that's an example of sportsmanship.

Appealing for a sideline hit even though you know you touched it last is an example of gamesmanship.

You're trying to manipulate the referee there in order to give you the sideline pass even though you know it should really be the opposition's.

Taking an injury break in tennis when you aren't actually injured could really disrupt the flow of your opposition.

So for example, in tennis, if your opposition is on a really good flow of winning lots of points with their serve, you may choose to take an injury break to disrupt that flow so that when they come on they're not as warm and they have maybe got out of the sync of doing a really good serving.

Blocking people in a cycling race causing them to lose speed is gamesmanship, not letting them get pass because you want to win the race, therefore you're keeping that advantage and that's negative, so therefore that is gamesmanship.

Well done if you got all of those correct.

So for the second part of the task, you were asked to explain the similarities and differences between sportsmanship and gamesmanship.

You may have written something along these lines.

Sportsmanship and gamesmanship are two very different approaches to playing sports, even though they both affect how a game is played.

Sportsmanship is all about showing respect for your opponents, playing fairly and being a good sport.

This helps create a positive atmosphere and builds good relationships with teammates and rivals.

Rivals being the opposition.

On the other hand, gamesmanship involves using clever tactics to gain an advantage, like bending the rules or trying to distract your opponent, often focusing more on winning than on fairness.

So I'm hoping that you've remembered that sportsmanship is positive, whereas a difference is that gamesmanship is negative.

Similarly, they're both used in sport, but sportsmanship is positive and gamesmanship is negative.

You may have put some examples in from a specific sport to support your answer.

Well done if you've done that.

We're now moving on to the third part of today's lesson.

We're going to explain reasons for deviant behaviour because deviant behaviour is cheating.

So why does it happen in sport? Let's see.

Deviant behaviour is behaviour that is either immoral or seriously breaks the rules and norms of the sport.

It is cheating.

It is things that are not allowed to happen in sport.

This type of behaviour not only affects the reputation of the players, but also impacts the overall spirit of the sport, creating an unfair environment for those who play by the rules.

Negative deviance is cheating.

I wonder if you can think of any examples of deviance in elite sport.

Some examples of deviance in elite sport include taking performance-enhancing drugs.

So by taking performance-enhancing drugs, you're trying to get an unfair advantage to win over your opponents.

Match fixing can occur when a player or performer purposely loses or purposely demonstrates certain behaviour so that the result is already known before the event takes place.

This is similar to bribery and corruption.

So for example, receiving money from an outside person in order to lose a game or in order to demonstrate a certain behaviour in the game is an example of bribery.

Violence, so using violence in sport is an act of deviance, which we're going to talk in a little bit more detail a bit later on.

Let's just reflect on what Laura says.

"Is it only the performers that may demonstrate deviant behaviour?" Particularly with bribery and corruption or match fixing, who else might be at risk of this deviant behaviour? So if deviant behaviour is cheating, it's illegal, it's not allowed and can be dangerous, why does deviant behaviour happen in sport when we want fair play and moral and mutual respect? It can happen because players and performers are under increased pressure to win at all costs.

This pressure can come from spectators and sponsors.

The more they win, the more the fans will like them.

The fans in the stadium, but also the fans online as well and the fans that watch 'em through the media.

The more media coverage they get because they're winning, the more sponsors they'll get, so an opportunity for them to get more money.

So they want to win at all costs in order to have these opportunities.

There's also pressure to win prize money.

Athletes and performers might be relying on the prize money to help them out financially, so it's important that they win and they will do what they can to win, which may include deviant behaviour.

Also, there can be a level of frustration.

If, for example, they're frustrated at their teammates because their teammates aren't playing very well or they're losing and it's a game that they should easily win, that is also an example of when frustration might boil over into some kinds of deviant behaviour.

And again, with frustration, there may be frustration that the poor officiating or officials' decisions.

This means that a referee might make a decision that the performer doesn't agree with.

And if this is happening consistently, the performer may feel really frustrated and that might boil over into some kind of deviant behaviour.

And fatigue as well.

If a performer is tired, they are less likely to make good judgments about their behaviour and may be more at risk of doing some kind of deviant behaviour in order to win.

So at elite sport but also at amateur sport as well there are consequences of displaying deviant behaviour.

These include fines.

So people can be fined money for every example of deviant behaviour that they do.

There is also match bans.

So performers, if they are caught doing some kind of deviant behaviour, for example, violence, they may receive a match ban where they will not be allowed to play for the set amount of matches after that.

For example, if we think about the Women's World Cup, Lauren James stamped on a player, she showed an act of violence in the group stages.

As a result, she then missed playing for England in the quarterfinal and the semifinal because she was banned because of her deviant behaviour.

It also promotes a negative reputation.

So fans and spectators who watch you will know that athlete as being someone that is involved in deviant behaviour.

If it's violence, for example, or performance-enhancing drugs, that's what they'll be known for and not necessarily for their performance in sport.

And it can also incur a loss of commercialisation.

Again, if spectators only see that athlete or performer doing deviant behaviour, they might not like that performer anymore, they might not want to watch that performer, so there'll be less media coverage of that performer and therefore less sponsors will want to sponsor that performer, so the performer will therefore end up with less financial gain as a result.

But also it can have a loss of commercialisation for the sport.

Not only might it reflect badly on the athlete, but it could reflect badly on the sport if there are lots of examples of deviant behaviour, for example, performance-enhancing drugs, as spectators will not want to watch sports that are just known for cheating.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

Can you identify which is an example of deviance in sport? Is it A, grunting in tennis; B, bending the rules to gain advantage; C, match fixing; or D, coughing as someone is about to hit a shot? That's right, it's C, match fixing, where a performer would intentionally lose in order to maybe gain financial advantage or financial reward from somewhere else.

Okay, now it's your turn to have a go at a practise.

Dani is an England rugby player who has recently received a fine and a match ban for demonstrating deviant behaviour in her last match.

Suggest reasons why Dani may have resorted to deviant behaviour.

You may wish to pause the video now in order to give you time to write your answer.

Okay, so Dani is an England rugby player who has recently received a fine and a match ban for demonstrating deviant behaviour in her last match.

Suggest reasons why Dani may have resorted to deviant behaviour.

So Dani might have turned to deviant behaviour in her last match because of a mixture of pressures and frustrations.

You may have talked about the pressures from fans and sponsors to win can feel overwhelming, making her want to do whatever it takes to succeed.

The chance to win prize money adds even more motivation to perform well.

On top of that, she may have been frustrated by her teammates or from the losing of the game or any bad calls by officials that could have led her to make impulsive actions during the match.

Poor officiating can make players feel cheated, pushing them to react negatively.

And finally, fatigue from the intense physical demands of the game could have clouded her judgement , making it easier for her to make a bad decision when she was under pressure.

So I'm hoping that you've talked about the different aspects, the different reasons why deviant behaviour happens in sport.

You may have even given examples of deviant behaviour that have happened in sport, like violence or taking performance-enhancing drugs, so well done if you added those to your answer as well.

Okay, we're now onto the final part of today's lesson.

We're going to explain reasons for player violence in sport.

Now, violence is an aspect of deviant behaviour that we're going to look into a little bit more carefully.

So violence in sport are physical acts committed in sports that go beyond the accepted rules of play or the expected levels of contact within a contact sport.

As we've mentioned earlier, some sports are contact sports, so a level of violence is allowed within the rules.

But as soon as it steps over what the rule is expecting, then it becomes violence.

But there are other sports that are non-contact sports as well and therefore they shouldn't have any kinds of violence in them at all.

I wonder if you can think of any examples when there's been violence in sport.

Lucas said that he saw someone throw a tennis racket at their opposition, so that's violent behaviour, violent because they used a piece of equipment to throw at another person.

Laura says that, on TV, she saw a cyclist barge another cyclist out the way, and as a result, the cyclist that got barged out the way fell off their bike.

Now that's really dangerous and could potentially have caused them serious injuries there.

And Sam said, during her sister's football game, someone on her team punched the referee.

So again, another act of violence, not on another player this time, but on an official.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

True or false? In boxing, punching someone in the face is classed as violence in sport.

That's false, can you tell me why? Punching someone in the face in boxing is within the accepted rules of the sport.

However, for another sport, this would be an example of violence.

So for example, in tennis, that would be an example of violence in sport.

Okay, let's have a go at another check.

Can you identify whether these examples are violence in sports or not? Hitting a smash in badminton that hits the opposition.

Stamping on a hand of an opposition in rugby.

Biting at the ear of an opponent in boxing.

And kicking another competitor in a triathlon as you try to swim around them.

Put a yes or a no next to each number.

Okay, hitting a smash in badminton that hits the opposition isn't an act of violence.

Hitting a smash down is within the rules and unfortunately, if someone gets hit, that's not necessarily intentional, so it's not violence in sport.

Stamping on the hand of another person in rugby is an example of violence.

It's not within the rules and therefore is an aggressive violent act.

Biting the ear of an opponent in boxing again is, yes, it's an act of violence.

Biting is not allowed in boxing and therefore it goes against the rules of the sport and is another violent act.

Kicking another competitor in a triathlon as you try to swim around them isn't necessarily an act of violence as it's potentially an accident as you're trying to get past.

I wonder if you can think back to our our reasons for deviant behaviour and I wonder if you can think of why an athlete may become frustrated which therefore might lead to violence in sport.

You might have thought about the fact that the athlete might be frustrated at the score or at losing the game and therefore may become violent as a result.

They also might be frustrated at the official, especially if the official is making bad decisions that are not going in the athlete's favour.

They might be frustrated at the opposition.

Maybe the opposition are cheating or maybe the opposition are saying things or maybe the opposition are just playing really well and the athlete is frustrated that they're losing.

Or an athlete may become frustrated by the spectators, especially if they are saying things or chants that are really negative towards the athlete or performer.

So these are all reasons why an athlete may become violent as a result of being frustrated at something else happening.

An athlete also might become violent because of the pressure.

Again, thinking back to why deviance happens in sport, I wonder if you can think about who might be putting pressure on a performer.

Yes, a performer may feel pressure from the sponsors.

They may feel pressured to win at all costs, and if they don't, they're going to lose their sponsorship deal.

Therefore, as a result of the pressure, they end up becoming violent in order to win or because they're frustrated.

They might feel pressure from the media in order to, again, win, in order to be seen the best they can.

They might be too over-aroused and therefore end up becoming violent as a result.

Or again, they might feel pressure from the fans, from the spectators.

Spectators often love coming to support teams and they always have a favourite team, but often a performer may feel that pressure that they're not just representing themselves but they're representing the team and the fans.

And if they lose, the fans are going to be really disappointed in them.

And as a result, the pressure builds inside that performer and it might erupt in some kind of violent behaviour.

An athlete may also become violent to gain advantage over their opposition, to make sure they win and to show the other team that they are stronger, and to maybe intimidate the other team as well so that the other team don't necessarily play as well.

They might be doing it to copy others.

They might see people in the elite team, in an elite sport be violent and therefore they think they want to be violent too.

For example, a young boy who maybe watches the ice hockey and sees lots of fights occurring thinks that that's how you need to play ice hockey in order to be successful.

So therefore when he plays ice hockey, he does the same and he copies that violent behaviour.

It can be like we've touched upon, over-arousal during a game.

So in the need to win and being too highly aroused, it can come out as aggression or violence, which might not necessarily be something that the person normally would do if they had the right levels of arousal.

And also one side effect of some performing-enhancing drugs is that it increases aggression, and therefore, if an athlete has taken performance-enhancing drugs, they may be more at risk of demonstrating violent behaviour in sport.

Okay, let's have a go at a check.

Which is not a reason for player violence in sport? Is it A, a side effect of performance-enhancing drugs? Is it B, pressure from the media? Is it C, the opposition displaying too much sportsmanship? Or is it D, over-arousal during the competition? That's right, it's C, the opposition displaying too much sportsmanship.

Remember, sportsmanship is a good thing.

So if the opposition was displaying too much sportsmanship, it would make a really nice environment to play sport.

Well done if you got that correct.

Okay, now it's your turn to have a go at a practise.

The first part of Task D I'd like you to do is list four reasons why a player might be violent in sport.

And for the second part of the task, I'd like you to read the following.

"A football team is losing 3-0 in a cup final.

The goalkeeper is being taunted by the opposition's fans." So taunted means that the opposition's fans are saying negative things to the goalkeeper.

"Explain how this may lead to violence at the football game." You may wish to pause the video now to give you time to complete the task, good luck.

Okay, for the first part of the task, you were asked to list four reasons why a player may be violent in sport.

You may have said any of these four.

Frustration at the official or the spectators or the opposition or the result.

You might have said that there's pressure from the sponsors, the spectators or the media.

You might have said to gain advantage, to win at all costs.

You might have included the fact that some players will copy others and therefore, if they see violent behaviour, then they're more likely to copy it themselves.

It might be because they had over-arousal during the game and this can come out in aggression or violent acts.

Or it might have been a side effect of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

If you got any of those four down, well done, you got that answer right.

Okay, for the second part of the task.

A football team is losing 3-0 in a cup final.

The goalkeeper is being taunted by the opposition's fans.

Explain how this may lead to violence at the football game.

You may have said something along these lines.

When a football team is losing 3-0 in an important cup final, it can be very frustrating for the players, especially the goalkeeper.

As the person responsible for stopping the goals, the goalkeeper might feel particularly blamed and disappointed.

When opposition fans start taunting or mocking them, this adds even more pressure and can make them feel humiliated or angry.

The frustration can build up, making it more likely that the goalkeeper or other players might react emotionally, maybe even aggressively, which is likely to increase the chance of violence at the football game.

Well done if you put something along those lines.

You might have said the pressure as it was a cup final, pressure from spectators to win, and the frustration at losing the game and currently losing.

You may have also mentioned about the spectators taunting the goalkeeper and how that might have erupted in some kind of violent act.

Well done if you mentioned all of those things.

Okay, that gives us just enough time left to summarise today's lesson.

So sportsmanship is upholding fairness, respect and graciousness in victory or defeat, demonstrating ethical conduct.

And gamesmanship involves using clever yet unethical tactics to gain a competitive edge without breaking the rules.

So gamesmanship, remember, bending the rules but not actually breaking them.

Deviance is cheating and goes against the etiquette of the sport.

And violence occurs as a result of frustration, pressure, and a desire to win.

We need to remember that sportsmanship is positive, and gamesmanship, deviance, and violence are all negative.

Well done today, you've worked really hard.

I'll look forward to seeing you again soon.