Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Like the Greek philosopher Aristotle’s theory of human flourishing (eudaimonia), sport inherently emphasized the striving for and achievement of excellence (areté). However, within the last decade the hyper focus of elite sporting environment (e.g., Olympics, MLB, NFL, NHL, NCAA, USports) has become detrimental to the point of compromising some athletes ability to experience wellbeing and flourish as humans. Thus, despite society’s idealized description of elite athleticism, athletes experience many forms of mental health issues (e.g. depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction) and physical problems (e.g. injury, overtraining, burnout), which stem from sporting and non-sporting factors (Edman et al., 2013; Gill, 2008; Heird & Steinfeldt, 2013; Kissinger et al., 2010; Rice et al., 2016; Weignand et al., 2013; Yang et al., 2015). The aim of this paper is to examine the environment of elite sport through a philosophical lens and offer mindfulness as a panacea for the suffering of some elite athletes. The objective is threefold; the first objective is to acknowledge the good sport provides society through its promotion of health, wellness, and wellbeing. The second objective is to challenge the contemporary view of elite sport and subsequent practice of elite athleticism by raising awareness of the suffering experienced within today’s sporting environment. Finally, the third objective is to provide a philosophical argument for the inclusion of mindfulness and mindfulness-based practices as necessary vehicle through which suffering is alleviated and athletes are able to simultaneously flourish as human beings and achieve athletic excellence.