When sport facilities prioritize performance over nature

This study explores how athletes practicing in artificial sport environments perceive their sport activities and examines the environmental challenges associated with these increasingly decontextualized sport landscapes. Many outdoor sports are increasingly shifting toward highly controlled and artificial environments that consume substantial resources and may reshape athletes’ relationships with nature. The study is unique in focusing on athletes’ own perceptions and motivations, rather than only institutional or infrastructural sustainability issues.

The study focuses on semi-structured qualitative interviews with eight Swedish athletes involved in cross-country skiing and canoe slalom, ranging from semi-elite to world-class level competitors. The interviews explored motivations for sport participation, perceptions of artificial versus natural sport environments, and views on environmental sustainability, with the data analyzed through thematic content analysis.

The dominant logic guiding athletes’ participation was performance and competition, supported by preferences for predictability, control, and standardized training conditions. Nature experiences and environmental concerns were generally secondary to performance goals, even though many athletes recognized the environmental impacts linked to travel, infrastructure, snowmaking, and equipment.

The authors argue that sport organizations should encourage broader values beyond performance alone and integrate environmental awareness more directly into sport culture, training environments, and athlete decision-making.

CITE: Backman, E., & Svensson, D. (2023). Where does environmental sustainability fit in the changing landscapes of outdoor sports? An analysis of logics of practice in artificial sport landscapes. Sport, Education and Society, 28(6), 727-740. DOI: 10.1080/13573322.2022.2073586