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UDC: 796.038/37.061
DOI: 10.14526/2070-4798-2022-17-4-39-44
Prospects for athletes' support and improvement in the context of forced isolation of the Russian sport: young athletes' opinions analysis
Galina A. Kuzmenko*, Tatyana K. Kim
Moscow Pedagogical State University Moscow, Russia ORCID 0000-0002-6308-5211, kuzmenkoga2010@yandex.ru* ORCID 0000-0003-2398-958X, kim.tatiana8848@yandex.ru
Abstract: The tension of the confrontation between the worldview, ideological positions and interests of Russia and the West gains an unprecedented scale, transforming, destroying and discrediting the possibility of preserving and further development of international relations in the sphere of sport on a parity basis. In terms of political conflicts aggravation and the growing economic crisis, sport becomes an instrument of confrontation in the international relations. Materials. The article defines the features of young and qualified athletes views at the age of 17-19 in connection with the exclusion of Russian athletes from participation in international competitions and characterizes the subjective picture of ways to support Russian sport. Research methods. Semantic, comparative analysis, descriptive statistics of the results of questioning and interviewing among 49 athletes - the representatives of various kinds of sport of the Olympic reserve school. Results. Questionnaire survey and conversations with the athletes demonstrated their concern about the situation in the sphere of sport and their loyal attitude to the measures of opposition to Western expansion on the part of the state. Conclusion. In this connection, it is especially urgent to create measures to support both athletes and national teams, deprived of the opportunity to participate in the international competitions, and the sports movement in the country, with the help of building and strengthening sports connections of various formats with the states- allies.
Keywords: Russia, athletes, point of view, international relations, competitions, support
For citation: Galina A. Kuzmenko*, Tatyana K. Kim. Prospects for athletes' support and improvement in
the context of forced isolation of the Russian sport: young athletes' opinions analysis. Russian Journal of
Physical Education and Sport. 2022; 17(4): 36-40. DOI: 10.14526/2070-4798-2022-17-4-39-44.
Introduction
The events of the recent decades demonstrate that art and sport are more often used as the instruments of political struggle in the international relations. Started since 2014 the practice of "not permitting" Russian athletes taking part in big scale international starts in some kinds of sport nowadays has negative character and continues to develop according to started by the West scenario of total keeping Russian athletes out of the International competitions, isolation of Russia as a result of expansion and the attempts to set a new world order offered by the USA, Great Britain and countries-satellites. The increasing confrontation in the sphere of economy is extrapolated to other spheres of society life, including sport. It in recent years is more often used as the means of world problems political settlement.
Taking into account "legal analysis of the situation with keeping the Russian athletes-paralympians out of Paralympics in Brazil in 2016" E.S. Suzdaltsev actualizes the problem of human
rights violation in sport [1, p. 159[. E.A. Eremina and V.A. Ilicheva considered the questions of "the Russian athletes' rights violation, keeping them out of great sport events, the examples of double standards in the world sport society" [2, p. 127[. The tendencies of the Russian athletes' rights violation are reflected in the publication by I.A. Vasilev and N.A. Sheveleva. The authors characterize the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It recommended on February, 28, 2022 "to keep the Russian athletes out of the International competitions, if only Russian participants take part in the competitions as neutral athletes. Starting from this date the International sport Federations introduced and continue to introduce different negative measures in terms of the Russian subjects of sport: suspending membership of the federations, keeping athletes out of competitions, depriving of the right to organize sport competitions, permission to take part in the competitions only in a neutral status" [3, p. 60]. Together with all mentioned above I.A. Vasilev substantiates "the absence of legal
ground in legislative and regulatory frameworks for the made decisions concerning keeping Russian clubs and national teams out of" the international competitions [4, p. 20], underlining that it contradicts the principles of Olympism.
The position of some countries, which have the influence on IOC and the International federations in different kinds of sport, concerning keeping Russian athletes out of important international competitions and tournaments, demonstrates violation of Pierre de Coubertin's humanistic ideas of Olympism "Oh sport, you are peace!" and proves that sport loses its positive role in the world and is more often used as "soft power" instrument of political influence on the international society [5].
Nowadays we witness the situation, when the world of sport "isolated from Russia", which not only decreases competitive environment of foreign sport, but also prevents sports results development among the athletes of collective West countries.
We see paradoxical situation: athletes are initiated to refuse Russian identity. A teen-ager in sport, a boy or a girl, takes into account his worldview values and estimates, on the one hand, a long-term, difficult way of victories and failures at the stages of sports improvement, and on the other hand the way, which an athlete wants to continue, as refusing from the international competitions an athlete "strikes out of life" this part of biography, realizing the loss of life resource. Improvement in sport is impossible without rivalry, where motivation of a young athlete, apart from complete victory over the opponents of other countries is to get the status of a qualified athlete and prove it with the sports category "World-class athlete" and "Merited Master of Sports".
The existing situation demands quick reconsideration of the normative documents content. They regulate and "condition the order of giving and proving sports categories" in different kinds of sport. It is also important to include into the calendar the rank competitions. They are equal to the international tournaments, create the cluster of competitions with the participation of loyal to us countries. They would help to preserve the contingent of qualified athletes in the country. Characterizing moral-ideological position of Russia in modern world, we would define the following: on the one hand, Russia is not isolated from the states in the world and is ready to develop and continue to support the international contacts in all spheres, including sport. However, the countries, which we appeal to dialogue, demonstrate double (not sovereign) position. It demands associated work of many departments and state structures connected with this issue.
Materials and methods
The aim of the research is to define the
peculiarities of young athletes' and qualified 1719 year-old athletes' experience connected with keeping Russian athletes out of the international competitions and characterize the subjective view of the ways of Russian sport support. Research methods: semantic, comparative analysis, descriptive statistics. The research was organized on the basis of State budgetary professional educational establishment in Moscow "Moscow college of the Olympic reserve №1 (technical school)" of the Department of sport in Moscow. 49 athletes, who present different kinds of sport, took part in a questionnaire survey and interviewing.
Results and discussion
At the present stage of civilization development two types of ideology confront: one of them was formed by the West - consumerism ideology. It "was stimulated" by the ruined system of the oncoming generation upbringing during 30 years after the Soviet Union collapse. It conditioned the "hard times epoch". This epoch brought negative results - the values of the previous generations. They lived during the Great Patriotic War and defended the country, reconstructed ruined "national economy" and economy after war are hardly formed among the new generation. What is next? And again sport for children and teen-agers "has to wait" for something. There appears the following question: Is this connected with the ambiguity of professional ideas, views of the representatives of sport-educational community? We understand that the situation of "keeping out" would last long. Russia made its decision. The country develops, unites, Russian world preserves (not according to the national characteristic, but according to mentality and existential values of a personality), the representatives of youth select their way. Nowadays an important objective of society is to support the athletes. They don't express negative attitude toward the situation in the country and the world, understanding the essential significance of the state choice - to preserve the sovereignty of Motherland.
In this connection it is important to consider the question of supporting the athletes. They are forced to make choice. It is ambiguous and polyvariant: to isolate oneself and get an opportunity to take part in the International competitions, as IOC offers, or wait and be sure that all absurd restrictions would come to an end? Who is an athlete first of all? What is his social role? Is an athlete a personality, who creates own competitive potential and forms all preconditions for sports achievements? Is an athlete son or daughter of his family? Is an athlete a citizen of his own Motherland? In this connection it is important to consider the interest of society and the state in organizational problems of Russian sport solution; professional attention
of a coach to psychological-pedagogical support of sports improvement process during confidential conversations, the conditions and prospects of an athletes' development discussion [6].
During the research we were interested in the question connected with "the mechanism of supporting sport for children and teen-agers and professional sport in present realia". The spectrum of students-athletes' statements helped us to
define the following situation: 4% of the sampling support the idea of "changing citizenship"; 96% of respondents are for the problem consideration, where the essence of worldview positions is reflected in the presented below categories. Pedagogical analysis of the ideas among students-athletes helps to define the respondents' points of view concerning this problem (table).
Table
The character of athletes' opinions concerning leveling the forced isolation of the Russian sport
Thematic field
Semantics of personal positions
Social recognition, encouragement, an athlete's personality personification in terms of culture-political isolation of Russia
"Don't stop and don't pay attention. The time, when it would be necessary to prove all people would come "; "Believe that everything would be all right"; "Believe, feel the support of friends, a coach, parents"; "Have interesting training lessons and well-organized competitions, to improve purposefully"; "Organize master classes, "take energy from the leading athletes""; "As the competition in Russia in the separate kinds of sport is high, the competitions inside the country are more interesting, it is interesting to see the progress of the oncoming generation of athletes"; "Is it necessary to change the citizenship? It should be considered by the politicians, athletes can do nothing with it. Personally I would leave sport and wouldn't agree to compete for another country"; "It is necessary to create the conditions for the athletes, so they should know that they gave their physical and psychic health for the sake of sport not for nothing. It is necessary to value athletes, support them. A coach should protect own athletes and support them, as they make their best for our country". "It is best not to intermix sport and policy";
Improving the conditions of rehabilitation-recreational activity organization
In a sports team: "create the conditions for rehabilitation procedures, massage and etc. attending"; "use quenching in the range of temperature influence, including cryotherapy"; "to realize qualified psychological help, systematic work of sports psychologist"; "to provide medical support of the training process";
Increasing the quality of organizational activity in sport
"Sports infrastructure improvement, sport objects building and making them available for athletes"; "Equipment development and its systematic renewal"; "The amount of sections and training lessons (including additional) increase owing to budgetary financing"; "Budgetary financing of sports camps";
Improving the content of upbringing activity "Sport propaganda"; "Sportization of physical culture lesson on the basis of the kinds of sport"; "TV-programs of sport orientation development, being based on cinematography, internet-resources"; "Creating youth auditorium of athletes-instructors as the moderators of events";
Improving the quality of organizational conditions "Developing Russian equipment production"; "Organization of the competitions as on the International level, with positive atmosphere and prizes"; "Inviting foreign athletes for the competitions"; "Thorough selection for the main competitions"; "Increasing the part of private-state sponsorship of the competitions"; "Creating the conditions for getting the category of World-class athlete in terms of competitions in Russia "; "Bringing up fan culture, create mass character of spectators' activity"; "Competent coaches involvement for the national teams"; "Social support of mass and professional sport improvement"; "Conditions creation for the International competitions with friendly countries participation (Belorussia, Kazakhstan, Asian region countries)"; "Giving an opportunity to increase time for the training lessons organization with complete objectives realization of all kinds of sports training"; "Increasing psychological-pedagogical culture of a coach, who is to realize the following: initiate an athlete's desire to achieve the set aim; organize interesting tournaments and training lessons; cooperate with an athlete's parents in order to improve psychological atmosphere in an athlete's family; bring up strength of mind and motivation".
Conclusion
The decision of IOC and the International federations in different kinds of sport, concerning prolongation of keeping Russian athletes out of the international starts term, "deprives sport amateurs of spectacular struggle for the medals and athletes of serious rivalry", as Russian athletes take the leading positions and are the strongest in the world almost in all kinds of sport.
The held pedagogical analysis helps to underline procedural orientation of young athletes' ideas. The representatives of sports reserve and qualified athletes believe in positive outcome of this situation, consider organizational-managerial skills of coaches reliable, understand the importance of personification in sport on the basis of sports achievements and values of qualification improvement [6]. The presented semantic constructs are characterized by isolation acceptance and compensating procedural orientation toward the conditions of sports development improvement. In this connection, it is important to support athletes, create modified formats of competitions for
competitive experience preservation and together with the federations carry out thorough work connected with athletes' right defense, when the world sport society forgot about the main principles of Olympism.
References
1. Suzdaltsev E.S. Human rights violation in sport by the example of suspending Paralympic team of Russia. Sibirskij mezhdunarodnyj zhurnal. 2017; 19: 159-162 [In Russ.].
2. Eremina E.A., Ilicheva V.A. Discrimination of Russian athletes. Integrativnye kommunikacii v sporte I turizme: obrazovanie, tendencii, mezhdunarodnyj opyt. 2019; 1: 127-130 [In Russ.].
3. Vasilev I.A., Sheveleva N.A. ULTIMA RATIO. Zakon. 2022; 8: 60-70 [In Russ.].
4. Vasilev I.A. Beyond the limits of regulations and guides: the decision of FIFA and UEFA concerning suspension of Russian football subjects. Yuridicheskoe obrazovanie I nauka. 2022; 4: 20-27 [In Russ.].
5. Pierre de Coubertin Ode to sport. Translation
from French by V. Novoskoltsev. Olympic flame: Sport in the art of the poets of the world. - Moscow: Physical culture and sport, 1980: 179-182. URL: https://favorite verses.livejournal.com/233802. html?ysclid=l8tveqxdym69024638
6. Kuzmenko G.A., Kim T.K. Urgent requests for legal framework of Russian education renewal as the condition for health improvement and preservation among the oncoming generation. V sbornike: Shamovskie pedagogicheskie chteniya nauchnoj shkoly Upravleniya obrazovatel'nymi sistemami.
Sbornik statej XIII Mezhdunarodnoj nauchno-prakticheskoj konferencii [In the collection of works: Shamova pedagogical readings of scientific school Educational systems management. Collection of the articles of the XIII International scientific-practical conference]. In two parts. International Academy of Sciences of Pedagogical Education. 2021: 641-645 [In Russ.].
Submitted: 30.10.2022 Author's information:
Galina A. Kuzmenko - Doctor of Pedagogics, Associate Professor, Moscow Pedagogical State University, 119571, Russia, Moscow, Vernadskogo ave., House 88, e-mail: kuzmenkoga2010@yandex.ru Tatyana K. Kim - Doctor of Pedagogics, Associate Professor, Moscow Pedagogical State University, 119571, Russia, Moscow, Vernadskogo ave., House 88, e-mail: kim.tatiana8848@yandex.ru
