ABSTRACT
Sociologists study the way in which humans interact with each other within soci-eties. In studying the intricacies of human behaviour, greater understanding of society as a whole is possible. Donnelly (1981: 568) posed questions over a quarter of a century ago that may still be important today: ‘How is society possible? How and why do people develop the sets of norms, values and sanctions that are manifested as socially acceptable behaviour and, for the most part, conform to them?’ He goes on to suggest two reasons for wanting to study smaller units or subcultures of society: they are interesting cultural phenomena but they can also give important insight into society. Sport sociologists have similar concerns albeit focused upon how generic concepts taken from broader societal studies either play out in or are evidenced within microcosms of sport. Therefore, any sport with both a long tradition and a recent history of current innovation and expansion provides a perfect opportunity to explore sociological concepts. This gave purpose to this chapter which is to recognise that recent development in the differentiated nature of rock climbing in the UK has begun to shape this activity and allow wider participation from varied interests and backgrounds.
