Socio-Cultural Issues: Performance

Understanding Performance Enhancement in Sport

In sports, performance is usually defined as the ability to play or compete at a high level, often with the goal of winning or ranking highly in a competition.
Performance enhancement refers to any method, substance, or equipment used to improve an athlete’s performance.
Performance enhancements can be physical, psychological, or mechanical, including advanced training methods, psychological strategies, and specialised equipment.
However, some methods of performance enhancement, such as the use of banned substances (known as doping), are considered unethical and are prohibited.

Socio-Cultural Factors Affected by Performance Enhancement

Socio-cultural factors refer to the societal and cultural influences that can affect an individual’s approach to sport and performance.
Here, we’re focusing on how performance enhancement strategies can alter athletes’ socio-cultural perspective. The use of such strategies can lead to a ‘win at all costs’ mentality, which can cause harm to the athlete and tarnish the spirit of the sport.
Sport today is highly commercialised and dictated by factors such as sponsorship deals and media spotlight, which can increase pressure on athletes to enhance performance.
An increased desire or need to win can therefore give rise to unethical practices, such as doping, raising serious concerns about fair competition and health risks to athletes.
An athlete’s cultural background may influence their approach to performance enhancement - societal outlooks on the responsible use of dietary supplements, for instance, can vary greatly.

The Impact of Media on Performance Expectations

Media plays a powerful role in shaping athletes’ performance expectations. Glorification of winners and shaming of losers can lead to unnecessary pressure on athletes to perform.
The media’s influence can also extend to promoting certain body images or physical ideals, potentially encouraging harmful practices like excessive dieting or over-training.
Fans, sponsors, and media outlets often have high expectations of athletes, and these pressures can influence athletes to resort to performance enhancing strategies.

The Role of Commercialisation and Professionalism in Performance

Commercialisation in sport refers to the transformation of sports where it starts to operate as a business where the primary focus is revenue generation.
Increased commercialisation can lead to higher expectations of performance, leading to increased stress and the potential for unethical practices to enhance performance.
Professionalism in sport refers to the approach where athletes treat their sports like a profession, dedicating significant time and resources to training, performance enhancement, and competition.
Professional athletes may have more incentive to use performance enhancing strategies due to the potential financial and career gains associated with superior performance.

Approaches to Performance Enhancement

There’s a wide range of acceptable and ethical methods of performance enhancement, including targeted training programmes, nutritional supplements, physiotherapy, and psychological preparation.
The issue of equitability comes into play here - some athletes might not have access to the same level of resources (financial, technological, and otherwise) as others, leading to a potential performance gap.
There’s ongoing debate over what constitutes an ‘unfair’ advantage in sport, including the use of hyperbaric chambers or cutting-edge equipment that might not be universally accessible.
While using performance enhancements isn’t inherently bad, understanding the socio-cultural implications allows us to identify and mitigate negative impacts on athletes and the integrity of sport.