A Space to Play: the Geographies of Children’s Sport and Physical Activities

Children’s geographies is an active and well-established sub-discipline of the wider subject of geography. Yet, despite the burgeoning interest in the geographies of sport, to date very little work has been done that brings these two fields together. This chapter will review the existing research that can be classified as children’s sports geographies; research which falls broadly into four categories. First, geographers have investigated the spaces of children’s physical activity, both in terms of informal play spaces and organised sport. Second, studies have explored the relationship between socio-economic status and access to sport and coaching. Third, there is a body of research that has considered issues relating to physical education in school settings. Lastly, geographers have developed research from a feminist perspective to shine a light on issues relating to children’s bodies, gender and (dis)ability in a sports context. From this summary, the implications for sports coaching will be discussed, as well as providing suggestions for future directions and opportunities for contributions from research in the field of children’s sports geography.