narrative. Neither do we wish to suggest that no men will tell relational stories. Instead,
we suggest that among those women who do not currently take part in sport or physical
activity, a relational orientation is likely to be common. For these individuals, the
dominant performance stories have limited appeal. Viewed from this perspective, if we,
as practitioners, hope to encourage individuals who align with a relational narrative to
participate in physical activity or sport some new approaches are needed. These might
include:
Talking about sport/physical activity in relational way. Coaches and leaders often
ask performance-focused questions (e.g. Did you win? What time did you do?)
which lead people towards a performance focus. This is likely to be unappealing to
some women. By asking instead relational questions (e.g. Who did you meet at the
session? Did you have any good conversations? Did you help anyone?), a relational
orientation is suggested which is likely to be more appealing to some women.
Include significant others where possible. Physical activity and sport initiatives
which are geared to include existing family, friends and significant others are more
likely to interest currently inactive women with a relational orientation. Others
might be included in the activity itself, in a social component accompanying the
activity or through talking about and sharing stories of activity experiences.
Tailor the activity towards relational processes and outcomes. Consider structuring
the activity around opportunities for social interaction and connection. Possible
strategies include: incorporating social time before/during/after the session perhaps
through refreshment breaks; emphasising cooperative (rather than competitive)
activities which bring people together and encourage people to work together;
including opportunities for peer coaching and support where group members are
encouraged to interact in order to help each other progress. Having an orientation
to others needs means that individuals who are relationally focused may respond
to helping coach or lead the session as this may provide an opportunity to give to
others.
Choose ‘relationship-friendly’ activities. Dance activities (for example) require individuals
to move together as a group. Unlike most sports, which require an individual
to be against others, dance complements the types of identity and self that
many women have created through their lives because it allows an individual to
be with and for others. Many women describe the importance of dancing in their
lives, irrespective of whether they have a sport background or not. Dance has only
recently been included on Sport England’s radar as an activity with mass appeal
and that is also of particular interest to females. In any context, therefore, where
physical activity sessions are to be staged, not to include some types of dance-based
activity shows a lack of awareness of women’s interests.
Evaluate the activity in terms of relational processes and outcomes as opposed to
performance processes and outcomes. Rather than setting outcome goals related to
performance (e.g. weight loss, fitness improvement, tournament position, distance
walked), is it possible to create relational goals? Possible ideas include the quality
and quantity of social events, interactions with others, new partners/teams played
with or against.
It’s not only about the game or match. For some people, it is not important to play
a game or a match, ‘just’ playing is enough. Too frequently, our talk about these
individuals (‘they’re only knocking up’) suggests that playing is in some way inferior
to or less important than competition. As practitioners we need to remember that
some people are enriched by throwing a frisbee, hitting a shuttle back and forth,
running about, knocking a ball against a wall, and so on. It is important that these
ways of playing are not devalued and that these individuals are not pushed to the
sidelines or their play confined to the fringes of competition
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