THE CONCEPT OF FAIR PLAY IN YOUNG BASKETBALL PLAYERS IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze enjoyment and fair play attitudes against hard play, gamesmanship, victory and cheating as antisocial behaviors in sports as part of a program of intervention among coaches and athletes. The sample includes basketball teams with a total of 389 young athletes (249 boys and 140 girls) aged between 10 and 16 (the average age of 12.5 years) in the juvenile, infant and cadet categories. During the 2016-2017 season, a questionnaire designed according to the guidelines for the Spanish version following the Fair Play Proceedings (EAF) was administered at two different times. The results show that young athletes consider enjoyment as a key motivation in sports practice. The program proved to be moderately effective as antisocial variables such as gamesmanship and cheating, and recorded a slight decrease in popularity between the two rounds of the survey. The results for hard play and victory, however, showed a less significant decrease after the implementation of the program.