Young people and sport: from participation to the Olympics – introduction to the special issue

The aim of this paper is to provide a context for the contributions which follow in this special issue. Attention is drawn to the range of possible motives for the increase in interest in youth sport evinced by a selection of major stakeholders including international sport federations, domestic federations and event organizers. The paper draws attention to the changing relationship between young people and sport where the former are seen increasingly as a resource to help meet the organizational objectives of the latter. The paper concludes with a summary of, and commentary on, the nine papers in the special issue.