OBJECTIVE: To determine whether involvement in sporting activity in mid-adolescence would deter delinquent behaviour in late adolescence. METHODS: Members of a longitudinal cohort study were interviewed at ages 15 and 18 years and, among other topics, were asked questions relating to involvement in physical activity and delinquent behaviour. Logistic regression models were used to examine the relation between sports involvement and delinquency at age 15 years and delinquency at age 18. RESULTS: After controlling for delinquent behaviour and psychosocial factors at age 15, females with moderate or high levels of sporting activity, and males with high levels of sporting activity, were significantly more likely to be delinquent at age 18 years than those with low levels of sporting activity. No significant association was found between sporting activity and aggressive behaviour, team sport participation and delinquency, and team sport participation and aggressive behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: This study did not support the deterrence hypothesis and showed that high involvement in sporting activity, but not team sport, was associated with a subsequent increase in delinquent behaviour.

Berger, B. and Owen, D. (1992) 'Mood Alteration with Yoga and Swimming: Aerobic Exercise May Not Be Necessary', Perceptual and Motor Skills, 75, pp. 1331-1343
Note from CE:
Subjects in the swimming and yoga classes participated in a total of 60 minutes exercise per week for a period of 12 weeks. results suggest that exercise does not have to be aerobic to be associated with psychological benefits. Participants in the exercise groups reported greater decreases in Anger, Confusion, Tension and Depression. Males reported significantly greater benefits from yoga than swimming with greater decreases on Tension, Fatigue, and Anger.

Savage, M. and Holcomb, D. (1997) 'Physical Activity Levels and Self-Reported Risk-Taking Behaviour among Rural Australian and American 7th-9th Grade Adolescents' in International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 17(4), pp. 345-360
Note from CE:
This study included a sample of 1040 schools students in Australia and the United States. The Australian sample consisted of 220 students from a rural community. The Australian sample was 65% male and with a mean age of 13.2 years. The cohort filled out a questionnaire that measured physical activties, perceived energy levels, perceptions of body weight and smoking/alcohol use. For the Australian students there was no association between physical activity and risk-taing behaviours and health related attitudes. 97 per cent of the Australian students engaged in physical activity long enough to work up a sweat four times a week or more. Australian males reported greater participation in physical activty, smoking, drinking. 76 per cent of Australian females reported in engaging in strength exercises at least once a week and only 23 per cent were reported as sedentary.

Paterson, I & Pegg, S. (1999). Nothing to Do: The Relationship Between "Leisure Boredom" and Alcohol and Drug Addiction: Is there a Link to Youth Suicide in Rural Australia? Youth Studies Australia, vol. 18, no. 2.

From the 1950s onwards soccer came to be dominated by groups of immigrants, mainly from southern Europe, so much so that it became known as 'wogball'.

Vamplew, W. (1995-96) 'Soccer in Australia: A Lost Cause?', in L. Allison (ed.), Warwick Working Papers in Sport and Society, 4.

'the soccer field offered European migrants ... a slice of their own community, a link with their homelandand a base for the socialisation of their Australian-born offspring' (4).

Mosely, P. (1994) 'Balkan Politics in Australian Soccer', in J. O'Hara (ed.), Ethnicity and Soccer in Australia, Sydney.

'Soccer clubs provided a means of communal networking centred on material support; they served as emotional bulwarks against an often hostile host society; they helped preserve cultural identity' (33).

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Here is a brief summary of Social Capital and Sport.

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The quantitative literature on physical activity participation patterns leaves many questions about the place and significance of physical activity in the lives of young people unanswered. This paper begins to address this absence by attempting to understand physical activity from the point of view of young people and in relation to other aspects of their lives. It discusses interviews with 28 female and 34 male students from three Australian high schools chosen because they provided the opportunity to include students from different geographical, social and cultural locations. Students were asked to reflect upon their past and current engagement in physical activity, and the impact of factors such as their location, family, and school in their access and interest. Different spaces and places proved important in the nature of the physical activity available, its significance to young people and the kinds of identities which could be constructed.