TRUE NORTH STRONG Canada 150: Canadian Identity and its Contribution to Doping Free Sport

This thesis, a reflective piece inspired by “Canada 150” events, explores the psychosocial and sociocultural factors surrounding the ongoing evolution of the clean sport movement in Canada. A literature review recounts the critical events in the history of doping, viz. the Ben Johnson scandal, which resulted in a call to overhaul sport culture and realign it with fair play values. Theories in sports philosophy and psychology provide a further understanding of the meaning of sport, and psychosocial factors that are inextricably linked to doping behavior, respectively. The autoethnographic method provides insight into current Canadian values to compare with those in its sports history. My intimate experiences with Canadians during the Canada C3 expedition, many of whom demonstrated self-sacrifice in their commitment to cultural and moral progress, lead me to believe that fair-play culture in Canada has grown only stronger with time. Combined with my literature reviews, my research exposed the overlooked vulnerability of athletes and the presence of a broad spectrum when it comes to qualifying institutionalized doping, consequently presenting a rationale for WADA to increase its accountability by reconsidering its strict liability clause.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Kinesiology

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Western Ontario

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Hlas, Helena A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Schneider, Angela J.

• Canada 150
• clean sport
• doping
• fair play
• sport philosophy
• reconciliation

Language dc:language.iso

en_ca

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/28580

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/28580