Walls: Sports and Rules

Sports contain rules, barriers and boundaries, where officials that enforce such things. The rules are put into place in order create an organised environment for the players while boundaries provide a structured atmosphere. Referees and officials are them police force, judge and executioners of the sports world making decisions on the behaviour of the athletes and the outcome of their events. The participants must respect them or face punishments.

These barriers, boundaries or rules are very real. They are the principles of our athletic world. They prevent us from doing things while allowing us to do others, depending on the circumstances. They are constructed to keep us from injury and often embarrassment. They are not only constructed for the integrity of ourselves but also that of others.

I am personally interested in this topic. Firstly sports and the rules that are related to them I am enthusiastic about. Secondly I am interested in how sports relate to our society. How the rules of our sports are like the laws of our community. How the players or participants can be seen as people within our commonality, and the officials as our police force. The boundaries are there to limit what we can legally do, what we are aloud to do in terms of our health and safety. But as in sport and life there are always those who break these rules, and depending of the severity of their offence a suiting punishment is applied. Whether its suspension from the league, or time spent in prison, it all comes down to an infraction of the rules.

The ones on each side of this boundary created by laws and rules are the town folk and the officials on the other side. This barrier is created in order for society to work, for with no laws it would be anarchy. The public are generally content with this but in few occasions prefer to not to abide by the law, just as in sport. As in teenagers the illegal substances used are drugs and alcohol while in the athletic world performance enhancers are riskily used. For to be caught with these substances in your system can lead to the disgracing you team, coach, sponsor or even in some cases your country. This is why in my perception law and rules are a good thing for they prevent people from heinous acts for fear of punishment.

These “walls” as such should not be overcome; if they were anarchy would be inevitable.