Girls involvement in Sport - Dynamics of sport participation of 12-19 years old female athletes

This paper discusses the significance of sports participation among girls at adolescence. The empirical study consisted of two complete sports teams (sports gymnastics and football) of 26 female-athletes. The girls were interviewed on four occasions between the ages of 12 and 19. The girls’ participation is described in an interactionist perspective as a socialisation process, which included learning the language, rules and norms of sport as well as creating an image of themselves as sports girls. Being more involved they realised the discrepancy between the norms of sport and their view of themselves as young females. They handled this discrepancy in different ways by either adopting the sports norms, behaving playful in relation to their sport or by choosing a less regulated activity. This should be seen as conscious choices. The girls were positioning themselves as physical active females within the cultural and ideological context of the contemporary social world.