Suchergebnisse

Compared to modern sport, that is to say the highly standardized Olympic disciplines that are practised in many parts of the world, traditional sports and games tend to be confined to a limited geographical area and are often referred to as `national' or `local'. They are often regarded as symbols of ethnic or regional identity and are therefore called `folk games'. Although these traditional sports and games are at the origin of almost all modern sports, they are too often treated as the Cinderellas of modern sports. Their participants may be local heroes, but the cultural stereotype of these `folk-gamesters' is that of an elderly rustic working-class male. To test this popular belief, the social profile was studied of the participants in 30 different traditional games in Flanders, Belgium. The data available in the Flemish Folk Games File in Leuven were analysed according to age, sex, socioprofessional status and degree of urbanization of the dwelling area. The results show a variegated picture, the profiles varying strongly from one traditional game to another. They show nevertheless that the above mentioned stereotype is confirmed for three out of the four assumptions. These participants are indeed elderly, lower-class males, but they stem from an urban environment rather than from the rural milieu.