Nature Sports: Concepts and Practice

This book represents the first international collection that challenges current thinking and research in the emerging field of nature sport. Owing to its inherent connections with fields such as business, leisure, health, tourism, and education, this emerging field has attracted perspectives from a wide range of theoretical viewpoints – much of which are discussed within this collection.

In simple terms nature sports refer to a group of sporting activities that predominantly take place in natural and rural areas. Participation can be both competitive and recreational, with the primary aim to work in relation to nature, where participants seek harmony rather than the quest to conquer it. Within this book, experts from around the globe consider the very essence of nature sport(s), including numerous practical examples of it in action, offering invaluable insights to those both familiar and new to the field. Driven by an increase in non-traditional sports, coupled with growing concerns about the environment, nature sports have experienced significant expansion and interest in both participation and academic debate.

This book is a valuable resource for students and academics in fields such as alternative sports, alternative sport subcultures, sport philosophy, sport and social issues, ethics, and phenomenology. It is also a fascinating read for outdoor educators and practitioners. The chapters in this book were originally published as special issues in Annals of Leisure Research.

Ricardo Melo is Professor and Researcher specializing in nature sports and sport tourism, and their contributions to local sustainable development in the environmental, economic, and sociocultural dimensions. Currently, he is also interested in learning communities, ecopedagogy, and the connection between leisure and education, especially education that takes place in nature.

Derek Van Rheenen is a Critical Studies Scholar who uses sport to interrogate historical patterns of alienation, discrimination and inequity in schools and broader society. Adopting a critical pedagogy, his scholarship envisions sport as a potential platform for social and environmental justice. Much of his work focuses on the ways in which the intersection of nature sports and sustainability may foster a more just and healthy planet for future generations.

Sean Gammon has been writing and researching in sport tourism for over twenty years – focussing on the experience(s) of the sport tourist and exploring the breadth and significance of sports heritage in generating tourism. He also continues to contribute to the field of leisure studies, where he is currently researching the health-giving properties of leisure states of mind.