3A LLI – Team B – 2022-2023


AGAINST SPORT BARRIERS

As a team our aim is to encourage our grade to practice sports since not everyone has this opportunity. We belive that by exploring the barriers that keep people from practicing sports more students will be persuaded. Our goal is also to raise awarness about discrimination in the sport’s field.

SAY YES TO SPORT

SAY NO TO BARRIERS

First of all we would like to share the results of a survey we conducted in our class to find out how many students were physically active. To the question”Do you practice physical activity”, 19 students answers “Yes” while only 6 answered “No”, meaning that the 24% of the class doesn’t take part in sports. Even though it is not a lot we believe that they can be persuaded to change their mind, seize their opportunities and start taking part in sport.

 

How does the world of sports and physical activity relate to culture?

The culture in each country or nation has a major influence on sports whether it is participation or community support for sporting activities. Culture can be manifested in team’s values, attitude, and beliefs about sports and competition. For example it can determine whether the team promotes individual accomplishment or team success.

Participating in sports is a way of promoting human rights, since it teaches social skills that are useful in the society. It creates a community of people with a shared interest mixing together different cultures. People brought together by this common interest are also taught many values.

Sadly there are some religions and cultures with laws and restrictions regarding sports. Some limitations about clothing particularly affect women, who in some cases are forbidden from practicing sports.

It is clear that these twon spheres of our life and world are actually more related that it is belived.

 

SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATIONS.

LGBTQ+ ATHLETES HOPE FOR MORE REPRESENTATION  AT THE JAPAN OLYMPIC GAMES.

With the upcoming Olympic games, members of the LGBTQ+ community representing other countries hoped for more acceptance and representation from the local team. But sadly, there were no athletes from the national team publicly members of the LGBTQ+ community. To many this was not a surprise as Japan has no laws against discrimination of the community, and moreover same-sex marriage still hasn’t been legalized. A lot of people believe that this was an opportunity for Japan to resolve its issues with the LGBTQ+ members and supporters. And they had almost succeeded, in fact the government was on the verge of approving a law condemning discrimination, until everything went up in flames when some conservative members of a party made complaints to the president.

One of the athletes who believed and hoped for a change was Shiho Shimoyamada, an athlete part of the German soccer team that is openly out in a relationship with his boyfriend. He decided to move home to Japan after playing two seasons in Germany living happily as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. He came to this decision because He believed that Japan needed to normalize for athletes to be publicly out and still be part of a team. In fact, many former athletes in Japan are out but they aren’t competing anymore. She has been the inspiration of many others who decided to follow her footsteps.

He says “There will be several openly gay athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics. When people in Japan see LGBT athletes with their own eyes, and see them competing alongside athletes who aren’t LGBT, that will have a big impact, for sure. People will see that LGBT athletes are just like any other athletes.”

 

THE INTERDICTION OF WOMEN’S SPORT  IN SAUDI ARABIA

Some countries in the Middle East have banned women from playing sports, but only Saudi Arabia has banned Physical Education classes in female public schools. Saudi Arabia is a country which forbiddens women from doing common things without a man’s consent. But even with the guardian’s permission, finding a job, driving or simply going around freely is nearly impossible. Moreover Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that never had a female athlete compete in the Olympic Games, stating clearly the country’s position regarding women and sports.

Due to sports being banned or limited the obesity and diabetes rates have increased significantly in Saudi Arabia, especially among women and girls. Being obese increases the possibility of several diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. These diseases are responsible for a large part of Saudi Arabia’s mortality. It is crystal clear that this situation has to be adressed as soon as possible. People must fight for what is right, even if it means contrasting the existing laws.

Hadeer R., a girl who went to a private school in Jeddah, said that PE was compulsory. The main reason is the fact that graduates received US and Saudi diplomas and the American ones required Physical Education classes. She said that her school organized various sporting events. But sadly, this only happens in private schools, whereas in the actual reality this is not permitted.

The social norms in the country say that a woman should not go out in public without a valid reason, that does not include physical activity. In 2011 the government tried to add PE to the female curriculum (according to the Islamic Shariah Law) but the situation remained unclear. Private gyms are often unavailable because of the cost and lack of elements. Home is the only place where a woman in Saudi Arabia is allowed to exercise.

 

RACIAL ISSUES REGARDING SOUTH AFRICAN ATHLETES

Even after years from the abolition of the Apartheid South African black athletes still find themselves dealing with issues regarding their skin colour. The issues are mainly caused by the fact that there is still a privileged minority, which creates problems with inequality. These matters were thought to be over but with the diffusion of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2019 they were raised again. The movement spread globally but in South Africa it specifically focused on post-Apartheid discrimination in sports. One of the main problems raised is the scarcity of black players in teams especially the ones that compete nationally and globally. But not only they are lacking, because the ones that are lucky enough to make it in the teams are disrespected and treated differently.

This problem was foud, for example, in the cricket national team where the black athlete Ngidi was attacked after asking his team to show support to the BLM movement. He was critisized and made fun of by former athletes who posted on social media phrases like this “What nonsense is this? He must take his own stand if he wishes,” or “Now when Ngidi has his next meal, perhaps he should rather consider supporting the farmers of South Africa who are under pressure right now. A cause worth supporting.” Fortunately some showed respect, like  Hashim Amla member of the team who posted on social media showing his full support to the cause, saying “There are oppressed people here in this country and the world over, of all colours and walks of life, cricket included”

These allegations were presented to the Cricket South African sports committee whose chief executive Jacques Faul stated “As a national sporting body representing more than 56 million South Africans and with the privileged position of owning a platform as large as we do, it is of vital importance that we use our voice to educate and listen to others on topics involving all forms of discrimination,”. Luckily soon enough when the game season restarts, they will be forced to deal with these past unresolved issues.

 

SHORT STORIES

 

Beatrice Vio

Beatrice Vio (also known as Bebe Vio) is a famous Italian athlete who has practiced fencing since when she was small. Due to a desease she had to have her legs and arms amputated when she was in middle school. This might sound sad but she was not discouraged by her disability, she even says I love my prothesis. Because I don’t have hands, I have to work harder on everything. I can never relax, but I love it.”  She learned how to use her prosthetic limbs and after that she worked twice as hard to continue practicing physical activity. Beatrice has won many golden medals and also participated in the Paralympics. She is definitely a symbol of strength and determination for everyone and is one of the most famous athletes in Italy. Once again quoting Beatrice she states ”My dream is to unify all sports, Olympic and Paralympic, and have the important competitions run at the same time”. Her determination to fight against this physical barrier inspired the foundation of the Bebe Vio Academy, a program to help people overcome their disabilities and promote Paralympic sports.

 

Mary Kom

Mary Kom is an Indian woman who practices boxing. Since a young age she has always wanted to help her family, since they were not very rich. At the beginning, her coach did not want her to fight, but after convincing him she started training seriously. Mary did not want to tell her parents she became a boxer because she did not want to worry them. Unfortunately one day, her father found a page on the newspaper that spokeabout his daughter, but this did not stop her. She states ”I had no support, no opportunity, no sponsors backing me for most of my career”, showing everyone that if you want something and your are prepared to fight for it everything is possible. Infact after some years, Mary became a champion and she also participated in the Olympics. Being finally able to make her parents and her village proud, just like she had always dreamt. Now her goal is to inspire other not to be afraid to show their potential. She aims this invite especially to indian people by saying ”A country like India has a lot of potential. My life is my message-Nothing is Impossible.”

 

 MichaelaDe Prince

Michaela Deprince is a 26 year old ballerina who lost her parents at a very young age. At the orphanage, the children did not treat her really well. Due to the fact that she’s affected by vitiligo, a skin condition that makes some spots of her skin lighter. Michaela felt lonely but she met a gir called Mia, who felt the same and they quickly became friends. She wanted to become a ballerina and when she was adopted (Mia was adopted by the same family as well) her dreams finally came reality. She moved to New Jersey with the family and became the youngest member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Now, since 2016, she is an ambassador of the Dutch organisation War Child. But her battle in the dance field is not yet to an end, she states ”I’m still trying to change the way people see black dancers that we can become delicate dancers, that we can be a ballerina”.

 

Amna Al-Haddad

Amna Al-Haddad is a famous weightlifter from the UAE. She started her career at 19 years old, after training at the gym and discovering this new activity. Her life completely changed when the International Weightlifting Federation let muslim women compete. Amna enjoyed this sport so much that she started training for the Olympics. She thinks that everyone needs to practice a sport they like, no matter the religion or the nationality. Amna Al-Haddad is a symbol of strength for everybody, especially for young muslim girls, stating ”No one can fight for you more than you are willing to fight for yourself”. Nowadays she continues to fight her battle by being a leading inspirational figure and a mental health expert. She was the first muslim female athlete to sign a collaboration with Nike, which contributed to the creation of the Nike Pro Hijab nominated ne of the 25 Best Inventions of 2017. She makes it clear that her aim is to inspire others to overcome barriers by saying ”A champion isn’t someone with medals around their neck-but someone who inspires, teaches and leads the way for others”.

 

 

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

“Sports have the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope, where there was once only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination. Sports is the game of lovers.”

-Nelson Mandela

 

 

”We live in a world where sports have the potential to bridge the gap between racism, sexism and discrimination. The 2012 Olympic Games was a great start but hopefully what these games taught us is that if women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field the possibilities for women are endless.”

-Jackie Joyner-Kersee-

 

 

”I went into boxing, and l’m bisexual, and I still achieved and performed at the highest level. I came away with gold and made history, so with that said, anything is possible.”

-Nicola Adorns