All of us in life have to come across such concepts: "sport", "sports function". What is it? Sport is an activity, an activity based on a competitive process, the essence of which is to compare the intellectual and physical capabilities of people. In addition, this concept also includes interpersonal relationships between athletes and the process of preparing the body for the implementation of sports activities. Like any other phenomenon, sport carries out a huge number of important missions, the types and functions of sport will be discussed in this article.
Physical activity and sport
Physical activity has both general and its own specific specific functions. In sports, for example, it is the exercise of the latter that distinguishes it from other types of human activity.
Competitive reference function
The main feature of sports is directly competitive activity, the essence of which is that it allows you to compare and objectively assess the limit of human abilities during competitions. The purpose of these competitions is to win or simply to achieve a result, a position in the ranking that meets the personal ambitions of the athlete.
Sealed sports records are widely recognized and are a kind of marker of human capabilities. Despite the fact that technical standards change extremely rarely, “sports” standards are constantly increasing and improving, as a result of which the efforts of athletes are mobilized for continuous improvement. The most colorful example illustrating the reference function most vividly is the sport of high achievements, but to a certain extent it is also inherent in the mass form.
Function heuristic-achievement
Sports are characterized by creative activity associated with the knowledge of their abilities by a person, together with the search for ways to maximize realize the increasing abilities of people. This is the function of physical culture and sports, which is most evident in the league of top achievements, because on the way to the treasured pedestal, the athlete is forced to continuously improve the training system, be in search of the latest tools and training methods, come up with new technical elements and find innovative solutions for conducting sports activities directly.
Each athlete needs to strive to maximize the realization of their own potential and their capabilities, to use them as efficiently as possible at the stages of preparation for competitions in order to climb higher and higher on the ladder of sportsmanship.
General purpose
Sports are also characterized by interaction with other areas of public life. And indeed, he develops not only physical abilities, but also the communicative abilities of a person. So, that applies to the general functions of culture and sports.
Social sphere
Undoubtedly, the highest requirements for athletes contribute to the hardening of not only physical strength, but also spiritual. In addition, during training, a person contacts many people, namely: his team, coach, fans, etc. All this contributes to the socialization of the athlete, making him more socially active.
Especially contributes to this team sport. Some kind of hockey or football, in which people play teams, allows the child to fully realize his social potential in the team, to find friends. It’s not a secret for anyone that there are often quarrels and quarrels in sports, but athletes from childhood learn to solve them, which later can help them in future life.
The social functions of sports include, first of all, the personal education of a person, his moral development, teaching the rules adopted in society.
However, there is a flip side to the coin. Many have probably heard horrifying stories about how skaters, for example, can ruin their rivals' blades on skates. All this makes the sport traumatic not only physically, but also morally. After all, envy, squabbles and gossip is the norm for some people, which fundamentally harms the moral appearance of the athlete. But, the more valuable the quality of a person is, the more difficult it is for him to keep them in a truly “serpentine” collective.
In addition, sport is included in the socio-pedagogical system. And consequently, the social functions of sports and culture, coupled with physical activity, are an excellent means of physical education, which can be useful in military activities, as well as in physical labor at the workplace.
Wellness function
This property of sports is the positive effect of physical activity on the state of the human body. Especially this function of sports is manifested during classes in childhood and adolescence, when various endurance exercises are simply necessary for the full development of a growing organism.
It was at this time that the foundations of a healthy lifestyle are being formed, a person is accustomed to constant sports, and personal hygiene habits are inculcated in a child. In addition to the foregoing, physical activity, of course, bring children positive emotions, which is associated, among others, with the release of endorphins - the so-called "hormones of happiness". Thus, sport helps to improve the mental state of children, gives them the opportunity to relax mentally.
In addition, this makes it possible to direct the child’s energy to something really useful, to take it, thereby reducing the chances that the teenager will engage in antisocial activities and other hooliganism. Sport also plays a significant role in interacting with the adult population. Scientific and technological progress has led to a global decrease in physical activity in developed countries, where people are more occupied with sedentary work in the office or at home. The organization of sports leisure allows people not only to keep themselves in good shape, but also to have fun, because for people who are used to office work, sports are also entertainment.
Cultural function
The functions of culture and sport are closely related, because sport, like any phenomenon, gives rise to numerous cultural traditions. For example, sport often has aesthetic properties, it is often closely associated with art. We can see this beauty most of all in such sports as figure skating, rhythmic gymnastics, dancing.
Exercises in such disciplines, as a rule, are performed to music, carry elements of ballet, theater, representing a whole performance with sports elements. The aesthetics of the human body, the exercises that are incredibly complex from the technical point of view (which is worth one quadruple jump in figure skating!), Bright, incredibly beautiful costumes, festive, deep and sonorous music - all this is present in large numbers in many sports, which undoubtedly attracts millions of new fans annually.
Sport is a sight, and the vast majority of people are interested in it from this point of view. The variety of means of communication, the Internet, television contribute to the spread of sports everywhere, as a result of which the audience of sports competitions is growing significantly. Fans empathize with athletes, often find themselves idols, who draw portraits, make toys, etc. This, of course, helps to increase the cultural level of the population.
Socialization function
The main function of sports in society is socialization. Sports in one way or another involve communication between athletes and coaches. Moreover, these relationships go beyond the sports environment, because people who play sports together often begin to communicate with each other in everyday life. So sport contributes to the socialization of the individual, the formation of her communicative abilities. The most important part of the sports community is fan associations. The formation of such social groups contributes to the social integration of people, the expansion of their circle of communication. Fans get the opportunity to get together in clubs and other sports organizations to discuss competitions, idols, news and much more. Now, with the advent and spread of the Internet, this has become especially true. After all, now people don’t even need to go out to discuss the latest events in the world of sports: they just need to go to the thematic site and leave a comment.
Communicative function
In modern society, sport is also an occasion for interaction between countries. So many states seek to obtain the right to conduct any major competitions on their territory in order to increase their prestige in the international arena. The organization of such major competitions as the World Cup or the Olympic Games allows attracting millions of tourists to the country, which makes it possible to disseminate positive information about the country around the world, contributes to the growth of the country's economy, because tourists often willingly part with money, buying souvenirs and food for them .
Economic function
Sport plays a huge role in the development of the country's economy. People spend truly huge amounts of money on sports entertainment, spending money on subscriptions to sports halls, buying equipment necessary for sports, for example, dumbbells or barbells. But there are also competitions that fans are so eager to get into! Ticket prices for major competitions, by the way, are directly proportional to the demand for them. However, fans spend tens of thousands for good places, in addition to buying toys, flowers and other gifts for athletes.
Of all this, the state naturally levies a tax that goes to the budget. In addition, sports activities contribute to increasing the working capacity of the population, which also has a positive connotation, since it contributes to the development of the country's economy. No wonder the state is investing so much in the sports industry.
Stages of sports development
The whole sport is divided into two types: massive and high achievements. Therefore, it is logical that the first stage of the development of sport is its distribution at a generally accessible level, and the second is the improvement of the highest achievements. The task of mass sports is to ensure high-quality physical training of the population, the health of citizens as a whole.
The publicly available option includes school and student sections, applied sports, used in training for work in special conditions, for example, firefighters, as well as various gyms.
Sport of high results is called physical activity, the goal of which is to achieve the highest sports records. Such a sport enhances the prestige of the team and even the country the athlete represents.
To achieve high results in sports, people spend a really incredible amount of effort on constant training. Sport of high achievements, as a rule, develops on a mass basis, but requires significantly higher costs on the part of the athlete or the state.
In Russia, higher sport is financed from the budget if the athlete managed to get into the national team. However, the prize money received by the athlete in case of victory partially covers these expenses. Big sport stimulates the development of the mass, because people, getting an example in the form of successful professional athletes, acquire a desire to be the same as they are. At the same time, professionals, as a rule, start with classes in generally accessible organizations.
Exercising develops a person, strengthens his health. Therefore, all people should play sports to maintain themselves in good physical shape.