Is fair play losing value in grassroots sport?

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between the attitude towards fairplay, gamesmanship and cheating in young athletes from the Balearic Islands. The sample included 35 football, basketball and handball teams with a total of 1172 young athletes (949 boys and 223 girls) with an average age of 13.03 years, (Range 10-16; SD = 1.62 years) in the novice, juvenile and cadet categories during the 2016-2017 season. The Predisposition to Cheating in Sports Questionnaire (CDED, for its name in Spanish) and the Fair Play Attitude Scale (EAF) were administered. The results showed that our young athletes value sports positively as fun. Gamesmanship, as it is not delimited and regulated, is accepted progressively, especially in football. Cheating, on the other hand, was not commonly accepted. Gamesmanship, Cheating and Hard play correlated positively with the factor of victory and negatively with fun. Regarding gender, men obtained higher results in the so-called antisocial behaviors of sports, while women obtained higher results in pro-social sport behaviors.