CC BY
17
UDC 796.034 + 314.72 DOI: 10.14526/2070-4798-2022-17-2-78-83
Sport and internal migration: factors and consequences
Polina I. Vermishova*, Sergey N. Klimov, Aleksey N. Setin
Russian University of Transport (MIIT) Moscow, Russia ORCID: 0000-0003-3715-4890, vermi.poli@gmail.com* ORCID: 0000-0001-6506-3983, klisn@mail.ru ORCID: 0000-0001-8967-3217, setin_91@mail.ru
Abstract: The article is devoted to the consideration of athletes' internal migration problem in the Russian Federation. The factors determining the appearance of this phenomenon are shown. The object of the research is rhythmic gymnastics as a sport in the Russian Federation, and the subject is the migration of female athletes in this sport, its causes, consequences, dynamics of changes in the number. Materials. A comparative analysis of the Ministry of Sports data for the period from 2012 to 2020, the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics for 1996-2020, and the Accounts Chamber is applied. Methods of research. The work uses general scientific methods of systematization and classification. The purpose of the study is to determine the main factors that determine the phenomenon of athletes' migration in Russia. Results. The results obtained are as follows: groups of reasons were identified that determine internal migration. The most significant are material and production (availability of infrastructure, etc.) and personnel (the number and competence of trainers, etc.). Conclusion. The authors believe that the data obtained can be used as a basis for planning and adjusting the targets and budgets of the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Social Policy in relation to such a sport as rhythmic gymnastics.
Keywords: sport, migration, internal migration, rhythmic gymnastics, mobility, region, athlete, elite sport.
For citation: Polina I. Vermishova*, Sergey N. Klimov, Aleksey N. Setin. Sport and internal migration: factors and consequences. Russian Journal of Physical Education and Sport. 2022; 17(1): 59-63. DOI: 10.14526/2070-4798-2022-17-2-78-83.
Urgency
The era of globalization has brought about a number of important shifts in all spheres of the life of Russian society. One of the essential signs of globalization is the phenomenon of external and internal (interregional) migration There is a set of works which is devoted to the study of the problem. [1; 2; 4; 5; 10]. At the same time, there are certain gaps in determining the causes, factors, content, types of migration in the field of sports, associated with movements within the country, which has led to interest in this topic. The "death of space" caused by the progress of transport facilitated the movement of significant masses of the population, and the commercialization of sport contributed to the consolidation of new socio-cultural functions and potentials.
Among many existing definitions of the migration phenomenon, the most acceptable for this study is the following: a migrant is a free subject of social action, "re-creating" himself in the world of social and cultural movements [4]. The fundamental importance in this definition lies in the word "re-creating". Migration allows you to realize
other, potentially greater opportunities for realizing your own abilities, it can serve as a kind of social lift. Typologically, the forms of athletes' migration in Russia (and athletes in rhythmic gymnastics are no exception) are of a centripetal nature, in which the vector (region - center), rather than pendulum (region - center - region) orientation prevails.
The purpose of the study is to articulate the phenomenon of athletes' internal migration, as well as to identify the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.
Materials and methods
The factual material of the research was obtained on the basis of the national teams main compositions study in rhythmic gymnastics of the Russian Federation from 1996 to 2020. Information about 56 members of the national team representing individual and group all-around has been processed. The main information source is the official website of the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics. Also, for the analysis, we used information and statistical data provided by the Ministry of Sports, the Accounts Chamber of
the Russian Federation for the period from 2012 to 2020.
Results and discussion
In the Russian Federation, there is an established system of multi-stage selection of athletes. The practice of initial mass selection, worked out for decades, makes it possible to rank the contingent of children in accordance with their physical characteristics.Intheprocessofthefirstyearsofstudy, there is a screening out according to the fulfillment of standards, anthropometric characteristics, state of health, motivation, differentiation, on this basis, the identification of sports talent and the rate of increase in results. Further, at the stage of sports improvement, the athletes sports performance is tested at regional competitions of different levels. Based on the accumulated results, candidates are selected for the main compositions of the region (republic) combined teams. It is at this stage, with the help of training camps, that the final calibration of athletes applying for inclusion in the national team of the country (first, second) takes place. Let us indicate as a noticeable tendency the dominance of athletes entering the "Olympic straight line" of the installation to win [9, p. 225]. It is the characteristic that the main center that determines the inclusion of an athlete in this category is the training center in Moscow.
The analysis of migration processes shows that one of the key problems in training of young athletes is the staffing of the coaching staff in the regions, including the level of its competence and preparedness.
Analysis of the main compositions of the Olympic teams in rhythmic gymnastics for the period from
1996 to 2020 shows that 49 out of 56 athletes are pupils of regional sports schools (Omsk, Penza, Yekaterinburg, Tula, etc.) [3].
Winning a series of gold awards in individual and group all-around at the Olympic Games as the main starts of the season during long period contributed to the popularization of rhythmic gymnastics in our country. The analysis of data on the training of athletes in rhythmic gymnastics for the period from 2012 to 2020 from open sources, the website of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation showed the following: over the above period, the number of people involved has steadily increased - over 8 years the growth was 73.6%, while the number of coaches during this period increased to only 20.9%. In absolute terms, this means that in 2012 there were on average 50.6 athletes per 1 coach in rhythmic gymnastics, and in 2020 there were already 72.7 people. It indicates an increase in the intensity of the workload of coaches in the regions by 1.5 times. Consequently, in such conditions of teaching work intensification, the amount of time and attention given by the coach to each gymnast must inevitably decrease. We would venture to suggest that this circumstance will affect all stages of the sports path, as well as the motivation of the coaches themselves. In the future, this may affect the quality of selection for rhythmic gymnastics groups, the effectiveness of individual work with athletes. Table 1 presents summary data on the number of practitioners and coaches of rhythmic gymnastics for 2012-2020. It was compiled on the basis of reports analysis in the form No.i-PC (physical culture and sports) on the website of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation [6].
Table 1
The number of coaches and practicing rhythmic gymnastics
Date The number of people involved in rhythmic gymnastics, total (people) The number of women involved in rhythmic gymnastics (people) Number of full-time trainers, trainers-teachers (people)
2012 118 078 118 078 2 330
2013 123 807 123 807 2 455
2014 136 383 133 781 2 577
2015 148 905 144 199 2 595
2016 161 581 157 361 2 800
2018 193 711 184 902 2 800
The second most important factor in the training of our athletes is infrastructure. The availability and the quality of the sports infrastructure in rhythmic gymnastics play a decisive role both from the point of potential athletes view new contingent influx, and from the point of view of those athletes migration who do not have the opportunity to improve their professional skills in their home region. The fact is that rhythmic gymnastics as a sport requires compliance with a set of conditions associated with specially equipped rooms.
The results of assessing the accessibility of sports and physical culture facilities for 2018-2019, given in the report of the Accounts Chamber, indicate that the main obstacles to playing sports for our citizens are physical and financial inaccessibility (53.3% and 46.7%, respectively) [ 8, p. 28]. Despite the increase in funding and the emergence of the national project "Sport is the norm of life", the developed Strategy for the development of physical culture and sports-2030 among children from 3 to 15 years old, only 32.4% go in for sports in sections and sports schools, and 43% do not go in for sports. [8, p. 41]. We believe that the lack of sports infrastructure, the material resources of the sports school, the deterioration of the material base are, from our point of view, the main reasons for the migration of athletes.
E.Yu. Perkova notes that the model of state support and budgetary financing of sports has exhausted its possibilities [9, p. 60]. The disproportion of funding, a low degree of control, managerial mistakes, and insufficient consideration of national and cultural specifics have a destabilizing and stagnating effect on sports.
In addition to the difficulties in the management
and financing model, in rhythmic gymnastics there is also a number of systemic problems associated with both the imperfection of the selection system in accordance with the special requirements for this sport, and the subsequent outflow of athletes to other disciplines. The requirements that determine the specifics of the species (work with objects for a musical composition) include: low weight-height index, large levers, flexibility in all joints, developed fine motor skills, musicality.
The commercialization of sports leads to the perception of a sports show as a commodity. What does it mean for a phenomenon like migration? It is obvious that the demand for this kind of "goods" mostly appears in large cities, where the appropriate infrastructure has been created and a certain fairly high level of mass cultural leisure among residents has been formed. Ensuring attendance at competitions, high-quality service to viewers, broadcasting on television, PR support in the media have a stimulating effect on the interest and engagement of the audience. Sport as a part of mass culture strives to take its unique place, combining the unpredictability, spectacle and complexity of the demonstrated practices. The media presence of modern sports has become possible thanks to the use of the capabilities of SMM (social media marketing), contributing to the popularization of both individual athletes and the sport in general. Table 2 shows data on the number of subscribers among athletes who are the members of the Russian national rhythmic gymnastics team in certain years. The table was compiled by the authors based on the analysis of Instagram.
Full name Number of subscribers on Instagram, thousand Full name Number of subscribers on Instagram, thousand
Irina Zilber 1 Amina Zaripova 77
Vera Shimanskaia 1,3 Vera Biriukova 98
Elena Posevina 5,9 Iana Kudriavtseva 368
Anastasiia Blizniuk 19,1 Margarita Mamun 422
Evgeniia Kanaeva 31 Dina and Arina Averins 611
Iana Batyrshina 33,1 Liaisan Utiasheva 4900
Table 2
The number of Instagram subscribers among members of the Russian national rhythmic gymnastics team
Interpretation of the data obtained allows us to identify a certain pattern: the popularity of an athlete (including those who have completed a sports career) and the number of subscribers are influenced by the age, current position, degree of publicity, and residence in the capital city.
Sport as a socio-cultural phenomenon reflects the tendencies towards the centralization of Russian society: the most powerful specialists, the level of strength and the degree of their powers, the number of resources is concentrated in the capital. Objectively, for gymnasts in Moscow (in particular, at the training center in Novogorsk), optimal conditions have now been created to improve their sportsmanship.
In addition, the capital gives athletes additional opportunities for further monetization of their persona in the event of sports success and even setbacks or injuries. Such means include invitations to shows and broadcasts of central channels as guests of both active athletes and those who have completed their professional careers; publications in leading magazines and interviews; employment by presenters and commentators on television channels and radio; participation in social projects; personal advertising contracts with brands; nomination for deputies, etc. In this regard, the effect of snobbery inherent in the capital is triggered: the capital is mainly interested in itself and its own heroes.
It is in this connection that the importance of effective informational support of the importance of sports among the population increases for the formation of a positive and attractive lifestyle of an athlete at the regional level. The purpose of this support is to create a role model for young people. In this regard, let us point out the positive contribution to the promotion of sports of the adopted Strategy for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports for the period up to 2030.
Conclusions
Thus, the migration of athletes from the regions leads to a number of consequences. First, the talent drain is depleting the region's human capital. Sport fosters character, makes a person active, responsible, purposeful, striving for the maximum realization of its own potential. Quite a lot of professional athletes, preferring a further career in the capital, do not return to their native region. It is losing a significant part of the most active young population. Secondly, the sports image of the region and its attractiveness are declining. Thirdly, the washing out of highly qualified athletes ultimately leads to a reduction in budgetary support for sports in the region. It in turn affects the development of the next generations of
athletes and the motivation of the coaching staff.
In this regard, it should be emphasized that when forming strategies for the development of sports and physical culture, it is necessary to provide an integrated approach, covering the solution of problems in the field of the infrastructure base, management system, human resources, information and image support for sports.
References
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Submitted: 08.05.2022 Author's information:
Polina I. Vermishova — Senior Lecturer, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), 127994, Russia, Moscow, Obraztsova str., House 9, e-mail: vermi.poli@gmail.com
Sergey N. Klimov - Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), 127994, Russia, Moscow, Obraztsova str., House 9, e-mail: klisn@mail.ru
Aleksey N. Setin - Senior Lecturer, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), 127994, Russia, Moscow, Obraztsova str., House 9, e-mail: setin_91@mail.ru
