The influence of participation in sport on Olympic knowledge and the perception of Olympic Ideals in Czech youth
Abstract
The aim of this empirical study was to explain how Czech young people with different levels of participation in sports assess the Olympic Games (OG) and the Olympic ideals. The COMPASS method (frequency of participation in sport) and "The Olympic Questionnaire" (assessment of Olympic Ideals) were used in this survey.
The respondents 12 - 19 year old young youth (1274 boys and 1090 girls) were selected according the quota sample in the Czech Republic. Results confirmed a strong associations between the Olympic Games and the athletes, kinds of sports and sport competitions; lesser and more independent ones between the Olympic ideals and the Olympic Games.
More the girls than the boys associated the OG with the Olympic symbols. The relations between the OG and the occurrence of negative phenomena in the Olympic movement like commercialism, strong influence of media and abuse of doping, etc., were more frequently found in males then females.
The sporting youth know more facts about the Olympic movement than their non-sporting counterparts.