Striking a balance between inclusion and exclusion in competitive sport
This thesis aims to investigate the regulatory balance between inclusion and exclusion in competitive sport. Society is obsessed with categorising and treating individuals and groups according to their physical and non-physical differences, such as sex, gender, disability and race. This treatment can lead to the inclusion or exclusion of an individual from the tangible and intangible benefits of society. Where this practice becomes discriminatory, there exists a legal framework in place to protect basic human rights and ensure that people are treated with due respect for their similarities and differences. In a sporting context, the inclusion and exclusion of athletes based upon their differences is often a necessary part of the essence of competitive sporting activity. The protection of the essence involves the establishment of rules and categories that can have an unequal exclusionary impact on certain classes of individual such as some women, transgender, intersex individuals and those with a physical or intellectual disability. The essence of sport also embodies a dominant sporting culture that dictates who is suitable to sport and this can have an exclusionary effect upon particular racial populations.
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