ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors tease out the main patterns in sports participation, including similarities and differences between the countries, in order to answer the question 'What is Scandinavian or Nordic about Scandinavian and Nordic sport'. Nordic people and the young, in particular, are also engaged in broader and more diverse forms of sport, including lifestyle and adventure sports. Overall, trends in forms of sports participation in the Nordic countries reflect a broadening and diversification of participation rather than a wholesale rejection of sport per se and traditional sporting styles. Average levels of sports participation are an outcome of some groups doing more and others doing less. The 'big picture' provided by averages inevitably conceals differences within socio-demographic groups. While democratisation in sports participation has occurred over time in the Nordic countries, particularly in relation to age and gender, social stratification in sport persists in relation to levels of education and ethnicity.
