In the article “Promoting Healthy Competition Using Modified Rules and Sports from Other Cultures”, Phoebe Constantinou adeptly examines the consequences of the overemphasis on competitive sport and unhealthy competition. Specifically, she explains that it results in a shift in the focus of sports away from the intrinsic rewards to the extrinsic ones, eroding the true meaning of competition. Whereas Constantinou acknowledges the call for a curtailment of competition, she asserts that it is fundamentally beneficial, and that healthy competition should be promoted to tackle the issue. She then suggests several strategies to do so before concluding. The author’s sentiments, in my opinion, are relevant and salient.
Constantinou first discusses the shift in the meaning of competition away from its original definition – “to seek together” (30). What used to be associated with cooperation is now
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Two of these include making it a requirement for every player to receive a pass or score in order to win so as to allow equal opportunities for players to participate. However, Constantinou tends to neglect the possible pitfalls that may occur. In particular, the strict requirement for every player to be involved implies that every player has to be of a certain calibre for the team to emerge triumphant. This may create a greater impetus for coaches to buy, sell or trade their players in order to form the best, most strategic configuration of players to obtain victory, which remains to be overemphasized. Players will thus be treated like commodities defined by their market value, and a slip in performance of an athlete would result in him being replaced by a better athlete or commodity (Crone, 1999). Although players in the team will enjoy equal opportunity to participate, the less elite players who do not make it to the team are ultimately still swept to the sidelines and thus the strategy