How can nations improve their chances of winning medals in international sport? This book deals with the strategic policy planning process that underpins the development of successful national elite sport development systems. Drawing on various international competitiveness studies, it examines how nations develop and implement policies that are based on the critical success factors that may lead to competitive advantage in world sport. An international group of researchers joined forces to develop theories, methods and a model on the Sports Policy factors Leading to International Sporting Success (SPLISS). The book presents the results of the large-scale international SPLISS-project. In this project the research team identified, compared and contrasted elite sport policies and strategies in place for the Olympic Games and other events in 15 distinct nations. With input from 58 researchers and 33 policy makers worldwide and the views of over 3,000 elite athletes, 1,300 high performance coaches and 240 performance directors, this work is the largest benchmarking study of national elite sport policies ever conducted. The nations taking part in SPLISS are: • Americas: Brazil and Canada • Asia: Japan and South Korea • Europe: Belgium (Flanders & Wallonia), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland • Oceania: Australia

Sport Policy: a comparative analysis of stability and change builds on the growing general interest in the comparative study of sport policy and the more specific interest in processes of policy change and issues associated with policy convergence. In stark contrast to many other areas of public policy such as education, personal welfare and health care there is a paucity of theoretically informed comparative studies in sport. Over recent years there has been a steady increase in public investment in sport and frequently, as a consequence, a sharper debate about how public resources should be used. However, there has been little analysis of the factors that shape the generation of domestic sport policy and little attempt to identify the variables that might influence the policy process. Sport Policy: a comparative analysis of stability and change provides a theoretically informed analysis of the sports systems in Canada, England, Germany and Norway. These economically advanced countries are carefully selected to enable the investigation of the significance of variables and because they share a number of socio-economic and sports-related characteristics, which provides the text with a unique breadth and depth of coverage. This text is a vital addition to the general paucity of literature in this area and is written by an internationally renowned author team.

This title presents an international comparison of elite sports policies in six nations (Norway, Canada, Italy, Holland, the UK and Belgium). Drawing on research involving more than 1400 athletes, coaches, and performance directors, it evaluates and compares over 100 factors that lead to international sporting success.

Examines the emergence, development and status of an elite sport development policy in swimming, track and field, and sailing in Australia, Canada and the UK.

Drawing on real-world case-studies of elite sport around the world, this book shows a conceptual framework for studying and analysing high performance sport and introduces the skills and techniques that managers and administrators will need to develop effective HPS programmes.

The Routledge Handbook of Elite Sport Performance is the first book to examine a broad span of performance and support issues in contemporary elite sport; including coaching, sports science and medicine, leadership and management, operating in different societies, living in the system as a performer, and future developments in the domain. The book is written by authors with elite-level experience, expertise, success, and status across individual and team sports, including football, NFL, track and field athletics, rowing, and rugby, in professional, Olympic, and other elite domains. The book also considers the integration of systems at micro to macro levels, from working with individual athletes to developing national organisations and policy, and features in-depth case studies from real sport throughout. This is an essential reference for any researcher or advanced student with an interest in elite sport or applied sport science, from sport injury and sport psychology to sports coaching and sport policy. It is also an invaluable resource for coaches, managers, administrators, and policy-makers working in elite sport, offering them a "breadth first" guide to how and why specialists may work together for maximum effect.

Over the last twenty years or so there has been a sharp increase in interest from national sports federations and governments in the development of effective elite sport systems, particularly focused on achieving success in the summer and winter Olympic Games. Many countries now have publicly funded elite sports strategies which provide specialist facilities and support staff and often provide direct financial support for athletes. These developments have stimulated academic interest in describing the elite sport systems, analysing the processes by which policy is established and evaluating the impact of these policies on elite athlete success. Far less attention has been placed on the operation of the elite sports systems and on how the system interfaces with the athlete. The aim of this book is to refocus attention on the management and operation of systems designed to deliver elite success. The book draws on the theoretical literature in implementation, organisation theory, leadership and complexity. This provides an initial context for analysis and a stimulus for theory development around key questions such as: How do coaches manage their relationship with athletes? How does talent identification operate in practice? Do coaches fulfil the role of gatekeeper between the athlete and other elements of the sports system e.g. sports science support? How do managers, support staff and athletes interpret the expectations placed on them? The first part of the book focuses on aspects of the effectiveness of elite sports systems and the second explores aspects of systems operation focused on the interface between the athlete and the sport development system, and cross-cutting themes within the book include the management of talent identification and coach development. This is illuminating reading for any student, researcher or practitioner working in sport development, sport management or sports coaching.