Causes of intolerance in school sports competitions: Construction of a code of conduct

Abstract

This article presents a research pursuing a double objective: (a) identifying intolerant attitudes and behaviours and their causes in school sport competitions, and (b) elaborating a specific code of conduct as a framework to develop action proposals which may reduce intolerance. The identification of the intolerant attitudes and behaviours relied on the participation of students, athletes, coaches, sport experts, teachers, families, referees and institutional directors through 529 questionnaires, 44 interviews and 4 focus groups. The main results point out that the most common intolerant behaviours are related to relentless effort demands, verbal aggression and pressure for winning and worry for results but not for training. The study is completed with the construction of a Code of Conduct taking the Delphi method as the starting point. This contains specific indications for individuals, groups and institutions involved in school-age sport.