Thirteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

The Netherlands are a country that is able to compete in elite sports at the highest levels. When world championships and Olympic and Paralympic medals are considered, the Netherlands have been among the twenty best sporting nations of the world for more than a decade (Gracenote, NOC*NSF, 2020). At recent Olympic Games, the country even reached a top-ten position. These accomplishments are the result of carefully planned national strategic approaches (Van der Roest, De Bosscher & Shibli, 2022). Although this systemic approach might be successful, its legitimacy is increasingly being questioned in public debates. The one-sidedness of aiming at medal-winning success at global events is becoming problematic. Moreover, there is a discourse shift apparent from the above outlined focus on outputs (e.g. global medal-winning success) towards an orientation on outcomes (the societal value of sport, such as building national identity or asking attention for climate change) that can also be observed in other nations. However, two problems can be observed in these debates. First, athletes have never been included in determining what objectives should be included on the output level. After all, athletic performances can be defined more broadly than just focusing on global medals. Second, athletes voices are also not included in the shift from output orientation towards outcome orientation. Yet, for the policy to be effective, one could argue that athletes’ voices are crucial in this respect.