ABSTRACT
Introduction The young people’s responses above to a question asking them to differentiate between physical education, physical activity and sport conveys a certain level of ambiguity, and perhaps this is understandable. Moreover, providing a definitive definition of sport would be illogical in a chapter that seeks to present young people’s voices on their experiences of what they construct as sport, acknowledging that sports themselves are ‘contested (physical) activities’ (Coakley, 2004) and that ‘sport’ is more than just a physical activity. It is feasible, however, to identify some commonalities when young people define and discuss their experiences of sport. These shared views relate to a wide range of informal and formal recreational and fitness-related team and individual activities, competition, being a member of a sport club, concern with improving performance, presence of a coach and being motivated internally and/or by external rewards.
