Open AccessSelected Aspects of the Pre- and Post-Match Rituals of Female Football Players
Author(s) -
Katarzyna Rutkowska,
Anna Rut
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
perspektywy kultury
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2719-8014
pISSN - 2081-1446
DOI - 10.35765/pk.2020.2801.11
Subject(s) - football , ceremony , ritualization , psychology , league , athletes , diversity (politics) , social psychology , sociology , history , social science , anthropology , medicine , physics , archaeology , astronomy , physical therapy
Rituals are an interdisciplinary subject. They can carry many meanings and have different values for the person who performs them or believes in superstitions associated with them. Rituals are mysterious and intriguing, and thus more interesting as an area of scientific study. Observation of the sports community shows that ritualization applies not only to the ceremony itself, but also to the behavior and performance of individual players, especially during the pre-match period. This awareness prompted research and discussion on the place/role of rituals in the mental and physical preparation of athletes.
The study included 62 female football players playing in Polish league competitions. They completed a questionnaire called “Rituals in Sport.” The aim of the study was to learn about the ritualized practices of players and their teams. The survey questions also concerned the subjectively felt relationship between rituals and the expected outcome of the match, among other things. The analysis of our findings confirmed that the female footballers’ pre-and post-match practices are ritualized. The scope, diversity, and multiplicity of meanings of the rituals performed by individual players reveal the significance of this interdisciplinary phenomenon.