The study on the correlative analysis of fair-play in sports and society

Actuality. Sport, through its means, represents the most effective form of education, training and promotion of fair play conduct. Education, in general, involves preparing individuals for life, in the sense of imparting them with knowledge and forming skills that they can use to deal with the various situations they will face throughout their lives. Fair-play conduct is one of the elements that underlie the respect for the other's freedom and offers the possibility of manifesting the physical and intellectual potential without putting the other in inferiority. Educating fair play is an essential condition of civilized coexistence and ensures progress based on mutual recognition of the value of the other. For a wider addressability, school physical education is the discipline within which fair play can be educated and trained, providing the sustainable environment in which the level of internalization of fair play behaviors can be assessed and verified. Also through education, students and athletes must be aware of negative factors, opposed to fair play conduct, such as the desire to win at any cost, non-compliance with regulations, cheating, etc., in order to be able to recognize them and not follow them. Through the educational process, students and athletes must be made aware that the model of the educated athlete is characterized by - simplicity, modesty, balance. In general, fair play is not just ethical conduct or casual behavior. He represents an entire morality, a psychology, a code of unwritten, chivalrous and traditional laws. Philosopher Hans Lenk and sports sociologist Gunter A. Pilz argue that education in the spirit of fair play should not be neglected in a society that threatens to become oriented exclusively after success. Fair play education encourages people to learn to be calm, relaxed and more fair. Fair-play means respecting the rules, renouncing unfairly obtained advantages, equal opportunities, preventive behavior, respecting sports opponents, accepting other peers and offers genuine possibilities for better orientation in a world full of competitive elements. Fair play does not only mean observing the rules of the game, it transcribes the attitude that the athlete must have: respect for the opponent and preserving his physical and mental integrity. Sportsmanship and fair play are characterized by discipline, conduct, honest, loyal, respectful attitude of an athlete towards his partners and opponents. Purpose. In the present study we aim to highlight the impact of fair play behavior in competitions and social life and if there is a correlation between them. The research has an exploratory character and consisted of a documentation and application process, which resulted in the construction of the questionnaire and its application to a number of 150 athletes, who come from different sports clubs. The independent variables of the study were the following: gender (male, female), age (17-23; 24-30; 31-37), sports branch (athletics, football, handball, rugby, volleyball), qualification level (Division National, Division A, Division B, seniors, juniors), level of training (general school, vocational school, high school, university studies, postgraduate studies). Dependent variables that resulted from the statistical analysis were the correlations between fair play in competitions, general fair play and fair play in society. The purpose of our research is to highlight the need for a moral dimension in the training of athletes, embodied in the athletes' fair play attitudes and behaviors. The hypothesis of the undertaken research consists in identifying the direct correlations between the variables of fair play in competitions, fair play in general and fair play in society. Methods of research. Fair play was measured by means of the Fair Play Questionnaire (CFP). It has the role of measuring the way athletes think and act in competitions and in social life from the point of view of fair play and contains a number of 28 items, being structured on two subscales of 14 items each: fair -play in competitions and fair play in society. The subject had to choose a number from a Likert scale with 5 degrees of intensity, the number signifying the degree to which the subject agrees with that statement. The analysis and interpretation of the results was carried out with the help of the SPSS for Windows program and the Pearson bivariate correlation was carried out between the variables general fair play, fair play in competitions, fair play in society. Findings and results. The analysis of the correlation between the variables of fair play in competitions and fair play in society, demonstrates that the higher the score in one of the two dimensions, the more the score will increase in the other. This conclusion was issued following the calculation of the Pearson bivariate correlation coefficient between the fair-play variable in competitions and the fair-play variable in society. There is a direct significant positive correlation between the variables fair-play in competitions and fair-play in society (r = 0.680, p = 0.000), in the sense that athletes who have high fair-play behavior in competitions will have fair-play behavior raised in society and vice versa. The analysis of the correlation between the variables of fair play in society and general fair play, demonstrates a direct correlation between them, in the sense that the higher the score on the dimension of fair play in society, the more the score will increase on the dimension of general fair play. To verify, the bivariate Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the fair-play variable in society and the general fair-play variable. There is a direct significant positive correlation between the social fair-play and general fair-play variables (r = 0.897, p = 0.000), in the sense that athletes who have high fair-play behavior in society tend to have high fair-play behavior in general and vice versa. The analysis of the correlation between the variables of fair play in competitions and general fair play, demonstrates a direct correlation between them, in the sense that the higher the score in the dimension of fair play in competitions, the more the score will increase in the dimension of general fair play. To verify, the bivariate Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the fair-play variable in competitions and the general fair-play variable. There is a direct significant positive correlation between the fair play variables in competitions and general fair play (r = 0.934, p = 0.000), in the sense that athletes who have high fair play behavior in competitions tend to have fair play behavior high in general and vice versa. From a qualitative point of view, for the correlations found between the variables of fair play in competitions, fair play in society and general fair play, we can state that athletes who exhibit a behavior full of fair play in sports competitions will exhibit the same type of behavior and in social life. Conclusions and recommendations Awareness of the sports activity carried out leads to the construction of the athlete's personality by educating morality and will, motivation occupying an important place in the training of athletes. The lack of statistically significant differences between the analyzed groups could be due to the fact that fair play has the same importance for all athletes regardless of age or gender. Accomplishing adequate training in this segment since childhood leads to the internalization of social norms, those imposed by the rules and regulations of sports competitions, fair play being an integral part of the self and behavior of any athlete. Sports norms, rules and regulations, as well as social norms and rules of social coexistence leave their mark on the behavior of athletes who internalize them and behave in the spirit of fair play. Respect for peers, respect for opponents and teammates, the acquisition and observance of game and social rules leads to the formation of sportsmanship in the spirit of fair play, conduct that manifests itself in any life situation. The correlations found between the variables of fair play in competitions, fair play in society allow us to say that athletes who exhibit fair play behavior in sports competitions will also exhibit the same type of behavior in social life. Sports norms, rules and regulations, as well as social norms and rules of social coexistence leave their mark on the behavior of athletes who internalize them and behave in the spirit of fair play. Athletes who demonstrate a fair-play behavior have a greater awareness of their own feelings and a better consolidated sense of Self, live and perceive a sense of choice regarding their own behavior, compared to those whose fair-play is less . In the same way, we can say that with the internalization of social norms and rules, those of sports and social coexistence, athletes will show a much more autonomous behavior than those who only take note of the existence of these rules and norms, behavior that springs from the intentionality of individuals, that is, a self-determined one. The realization of a sports education in the spirit of fair play leads to the formation of the autonomous personality of the athletes, to the manifestation of their capacity to develop themselves in accordance with the principles of fair play.