Grégory Quin

Outside the Gym Hall: Outdoor sports and their several narratives

 

Friday 5 September, h. 9,30, Room 1

 

As historiography undergoes an environmental turn, we believe it is essential to examine the environmental issues surrounding the long-term development of sports infrastructure, focusing in particular on various outdoor activities. From skiing, which is both a symbol of freedom and often a scar on the mountains, to the highly confined sport of bobsleigh and its tracks integrated into sliding centres, but also mountaineering and trail running, whose proximity between valleys and peaks is not always obvious, the range of activities covered is as wide as possible. In fact, we also want to take into account the links that these practices can have with the dynamics of tourism, especially in societies undergoing a process of metropolisation that tends to distance inhabitants from the nature and the opportunity to practice outdoor sports. Based on our knowledge of the Swiss sports system, located at the crossroads of Europe in terms of social, cultural and political influences, we aim to highlight the convergences and divergences between the narratives accompanying outdoor activities, which are crystallised in infrastructure projects that go far beyond traditional gyms. Furthermore, through our analysis, we also aim to highlight the political cultures surrounding particular sports and the institutions that govern them.