Publication details
Small country coming to terms with sporting migration
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| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Citation | |
| Description | This paper focuses on the issue of migration within the sporting policy of Slovakia, a “small country” which has limited human and economic resources to invest into elite sport. It presents a case study on a “threat” of sporting emigration to another country posed by a young Slovak alpine skier in 2015, which was widely debated in the public and the media. In the background to this stood a problematic situation in the national skiing federation and the recently drafted state sporting policy. While migration of athletes in a commercial manner – moving for better contracts to different clubs abroad – has become a normal part of the sporting world, the migration to different national teams is not yet an accepted practice in the Central-European context. By analysing media texts and debates regarding the case of the skier Adam Žampa and his threat to represent a different country, I look for the arguments regarding the role and responsibility of a national sporting representative/elite athlete. I also observe the identity politics at play in the political proposals regarding the financing scheme for sporting federations in Slovakia. This discussion considers variables, such as the size of grassroots participation and achievements of the elite athletes in the sport in question. The case of alpine skiing is a unique example also due to the wide popularity of the sport, yet low registration base at the grassroots in Slovakia. |