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Stayko Tsonev
Sport in the European perspective of Bulgaria
Stayko Tsonev was born in 1938 in Popovo. Master in Physics, Doctor of Philosophy, Assoc. Prof. in Sport Sociology in the National Sport Academy 'Vasil Levski', Academic Secretary of the Bulgarian Society of Sport Science, member of the Managing Board of the Federation of the University Trade Unions (FUNIS), member of the Executive Bureau of the Federation 'Science and Higher Education'. He has over 90 scientific publications in the sphere of the theory and the methodology of the empirical sociological study, theory and methodology of sport science, among which 'Game and Sport' (in Sport & Science), 1944), 'Sport Space and Sportology' (in Sport, Society, Education, 2002), 'Olympism and Globalism' (in Sport & Science, 2002).
Bulgaria's association to the European social space is a logical consequence of the processes of the information globalization. Sport as a social phenomenon and a social practice is the most remarkable catalyzer of these processes. The free movement of capital, commodities and labour forces between the countries of Europe is preceded by the free movement of the information on sport.
Logically comes the question: which are those social characteristics of sport which put it in the forefront as an instrument for European Integration?
In the beginning of the 21st century according to the general recognition sport turns into one of the basic social institutions of modern society together with the family, the education, the politics, the economics, the religion and the media. What has happened in society has already happened in sport before. The world of sport or the sport space represents a model of the contemporary society, in which the basic mechanisms for maintaining the social order manifest themselves. The problem of the social order, presented in modern times by Thomas Hobbs, has to give an answer to the question how regulated social relations are created, maintained, how they function and develop among social players who have opposite interests and have various resources available.
Sport is an example for the answer to this question. In its deep essence sport represents an antagonistic association. The antagonism expresses the opposition of the interests of the participants, interlinked by the sport victory. The association reflects the principle of supporting the opponent to participate in the next competition. And the antagonism and association are regulated by the basic social norm in the sport space, and this is the cultural norm 'fair play' - achieving the sport victory in conformity with the rules approved in advance.
The understanding of the term 'sport' as a category of the scientific knowledge is based on three positions.
First and foremost sport is a game for entertainment, the process of which is in a certain and restricted in time and place part of the social space, on the basics of free, approved in advance, but compulsory rules for the participants. Taking into consideration the generally adopted rules in society on the part of the social actors is the demarcation line dividing barbarity from civilization, and also a basis for the existence of the social order and rule of law. The major rule in sport, the cultural norm for a fair play requires not only meeting the rules, but represents also a model of thinking, a model of behaviour. The sport opponent is perceived as a friend, as a partner in an entertaining game, and not as an enemy to be destroyed.
Second place: the ambition to victory, the so called agonal ambition (from the Greek word 'agon' - I compete to win) in the sport competition, as well as the strife to achieve success in the professional career, represent a major social value in the European culture. This agonal ambition represents another demarcation line between the European agonal culture and the Eastern, unagonal cultures (for instance, at the Olympiade in Sidney 2000 Bulgaria has won 5 gold medals, and India - 1 bronze). The agonal ambition in sport manifests itself by means of a maximum waste of physical energy. The intensive movement of the physical body of man of today is not only a source of muscular joy because of the production of endorphin (the hormone of pleasure), but also an easy accessible means for disease prophylactics caused by lack of movements.
Third place. Modern sport, represented by the Olympic Movement, is the first in the history of mankind global social institution. The social actors- physical persons, occupying some of the basic statuses in the sport space - a sportsman, a sport coach, a sport judge, a sport manager, a sport journalist, a sport fan, implement the respective social roles according to a certain model, consistent with the cultural norm of the fair play and the regulation of the respective sport. And this model of performing the respective social role is compulsory irrespective of the particular characteristics of the local cultures. And the social actors - juristic persons - a sport club, national sport federation, an international sport federation, an International Olympic Committee are the major stages in the hierarchic constructed structure of the international sport movement.
How does sport attract the attention of the politics within the processes of globalization and European Integration?
First, the sport produces a somatic capital. This term in the sportology (the science of sport) means the outer form and the body ability of the human body. The healthy and able human body is one of the major characteristics of the contemporary human being for a full value social realization. And what about the outer form? Under the conditions of the market economy it turns into a necessary condition for the successful placement of the social player on the labour market.
Second, the sport produces a social welfare. The sport space offers a social situation of a free choice, equal chance, difference as far as s everyday life of the family and the labour are concerned, joy, fascination and enthusiasm.
Third, sport represents one of the basic technologies for socialization and integration to the required standpoint maintaining the social order, particularly among the children and the youth. In other words, sport produces consciousness necessary for the efficient functioning of the society. The basic social values of sport - cooperation, justice, solidarity are also among the major values of the parties, which form the present Socialist International.
Fourth, sport, as one of the basic social institutes in the global era, is undoubtedly an institute of the civil society. The state assists, supports sport, but it does not participate in the governing of its organizational structures - the sport club, the national sport organization, the international sport organization, the International Olympic Committee, are nongovernmental organizations, not part of the state. The noninterference of the state in running the sport is a characteristic feature of the democratic state, an indication for the development of civil society.
The abovementioned social characteristics and products which sport proposes to society, are well understood and evaluated by the political elite of the European Union. In the Declaration on Sport, adopted as an appendix to the Agreement from Amsterdam (1997), in the Protocol on Sport, adopted by the European Council in Helsinki (1999), in the Declaration for the specific characteristics of the sport and its social functions in Europe, adopted by the Intergovernmental Conference in Nice (2000), there have been systematically and consistently proposed regulations, recommendations and decisions, which substantiate the actual importance of sport in the processes of the European Integration. Nowadays, at the 2004 Olympic games in Greece this political line is being promoted as a result of resolution No 291/6 February 2003 of the European Parliament and the European Council for the conduct of an European year on education through sport (see www.eyes-2004.info/).
Sport takes an important position in the acceleration strategy for the processes related to Bulgaria's accession to the EU
The exchange of sport information is a two way process. The Bulgarian media provides enough information concerning the competitions held, the media image of sportsmen and coaches from the European countries, but above all in the sphere of the professional sport.
The status of sport and the sport events for everyone, for the presence of sport in the life of the common citizen of the European Union does not find its place in the Bulgarian mass media. For instance, the 18th World Congress of the International Association 'Sport for All' (TASISA) in October 2003, conducted in Germany, was not only without a Bulgarian participation, but did not either find any reflection in the sport media. To compare one has to note that the IV World Congress of this organization was conducted in Bulgaria in 1992. And the subject of the XVIII Congress was exceptionally topical - how to preserve and expand the number of the public figures - leaders, sport coaches and instructors, who assist the development of sport on a voluntary basis.*
There are no scientific studies in the specialized scientific literature which have to reflect the presence of the Bulgarian sport in the information space of the European countries. Of course, incidental presence was noticed for instance on the occasion of the match 'Levski' - 'Liverpool' for the UEFA Cup. The problem is in the establishment of a purposeful presence of the Bulgarian sport in the communication strategies of our country for the improvement of the information for the various target groups from the European society for Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian sport science and the Bulgarian sport education have traditions, experience and achievements of interest not only for the European but also for the world sport society.
The successes of the Bulgarian sport at the Olympic Games are higher than those of a number of European countries. These successes would not have been possible without the serious scientific support, without the achievements of our sport science. It should highlighted that the Bulgarian scientist Prof. Angel Stoychev, working in the sphere of sport sociology was honoured to chair the plenary session of the World Olympic Congress in 1980, conducted within the frames of the XX Summer Olympic Games.
The Bulgarian sport education of almost 60-year history offers Bachelor's, Master's and Doctor's degrees on the specialty 'Sport Coach'. This can be evaluated by taking into consideration the fact that in a number of European countries the higher education specialty for a sport coach is to be introduced in the future. In this direction the Bulgarian experience is with no doubt of a definite interest.
The existing opinion that the sport goes together with politics, that under the conditions of globalization the ideological function of the national sport decreased, is strongly exaggerated. The contemporary Olympic movement is a social model on a big scale to manifest the dialectic unity between the global and the local cultures. The Olympic champion realizes one's own achievement by taking into consideration the rules of the global Olympic culture, but at the same time it is a bearer also of the particular features of his national culture. The mere fact of the presence of one national state and the achievements of its representatives at the Olympic Games realize the advertising effect of the national sport.
I have tried in this brief exposé to present some problems related to the possibilities of the Bulgarian sport contributing to the processes of globalization and European Integration.
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