THE ORIGINS OF SPORT

The majority of sport in Britain grew out of countryside and military activities.
In medieval times, many people survived off of subsistence farming. This means that they
used everything they produced for themselves and their family, rather than selling or trading
produce. As a result of this, there was very little time for individuals to participate in regular
leisure activities.
Public holidays did exist; however, the
majority of these were related to
religion. On these days, it was
common for village residents to get
together and spend time on leisure
activities, including cock fighting,
dancing, gambling or bare fist fighting,
which has developed into boxing.
There were other activities, such as
billiards or bowls which were also
participated in on these days off.

The idea of staying fit originates from the military.

They would be building strength and speed to beat opponents in fights. They would also
often practice for these fights using sports very similar to fencing and archery as we would
know them now, as well as the traditional jousting, although jousting in particular was a sport
more represented by richer or noble men to show off their power.
The first sporting event that was observed by international spectators occurred in 1637. It
was a game of lacrosse that was observed by European travellers in North America.
In the 17th century, under the reign of King Charles II, richer members of society grew to be
more involved in sport. They had particular interest in real tennis (which appears as a cross
between squash and tennis as we play it now), hunting, which could occur on estates owned
by wealthy families, and skating, which could also occur on the large estates. The sports
played by the wealthier people had, in general more rules to follow, as they deemed
themselves to be of higher intelligence. Poorer members of society tended to play larger
games which involved the whole village. These games generally had less equipment, and
had fewer rules. On example of this is mob football.

By the early 18th century, cricket had

developed and a few years later were
being competed across counties. Much
of the spread of the game of cricket
across countries can be followed back to
the trade and travels of the British
amongst the empire.
The industrial revolution of the 19th
century again resulted in very little leisure
time for people, especially those who
lived in the cities. In general, sport revolved around earnings from gambling and it was the
more violent sports that were played (wrestling, boxing), as these were considered more
exciting to watch.
Public schools developed in the 19th century into
independent, expensive schools, where many
aristocrats sent their children for education. Because of
the individuals who sent their children, these schools
became wealthy and were thus able to afford the
equipment and space to develop and teach sports such
as rugby, cricket and tennis. The nature of the students
attending the school meant that after they left, they
carried the games with them and thus spread them to
different countries and individuals.
Although in Victorian times, poorer, or working families
had very little leisure time, there were many public
holidays. On these days, people made use of the leisure facilities, including playing fields
and baths (much like swimming
pools). The end of the 19th century
saw the revival of the modern
Olympics (1896). Participation in
these games would have been aided
by the ever improving access to
transport.
It was decided that sport become
more regulated, and some sporting
organisations were set up in an
attempt to do so, including making
the sports more accessible, as well
as establishing a set of rules for the
sport.
Over the 20th century, as a result of the wars, working conditions improved and so work- life
balance was able to improve. Working hours decreased, so working class families had more
time to participate in leisure activities. Wages also increased, which gave rise to the
opportunity of large crowds of keen spectators at sporting events. The money raised from
these spectators was then able to be reinvested into the development of larger, purpose
build stadiums. Another impact of the wars was that people were keener to make use of their
family and leisure time, which sport provided a good friendly, yet competitive basis to do so.
The patriotism was also able to be carried through on sport. The national support gained
through the wars was able to be transformed into a safer form and used in global and

international competition. Women proved themselves to be useful and successful members

of the war effort in the WWII so opportunities for womens sports events started to open up.
Again, the development of technology (including media) and transport influenced richer
members to find new sports and leisure activities to enjoy many of these were found in
European countries, including skiing and winter sports. This established the demand for the
winter Olympic which first started in 1924.