Puerto Rican Sporters as Ecotonal Nodes of Connection and Justice

Drawing on insights across geography, anthropology, sociology, and sports studies, we examine the connection between outdoor sports, coastal ecotonal environments, and environmental justice in Puerto Rico (PR). Four themes emerged from survey, interview, and ethnographic data: (1) the power and breadth of “sports” as word/category/phenomenon in people’s lives; (2) the reciprocal connection between sensing sporting body/mind/soul and coastal environments; (3) the role of sports in knowing and defending places and regions; and (4) the sports-community connection in environmental and other social justice struggles. This study is novel because of its geographic scope connecting diverse ecotonal regions, and its focus on multiple sports. Conceptualizing the sporting body as an ecotonal node of connection across diverse domains advances sports as a geohumanities lens to further probe human-environment relations, place making and belonging, and the values affirmed by movement in people’s everyday lives. While findings are relevant for cases beyond PR, we highlight the intensifying environmental crises and development pressures on coastal communities by helping connect luchas across PR.