Fulbright scholar explains sport and the Christchurch earthquakes

In a presentation at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC, USA, University of Waikato researcher Dr. Holly Thorpe has explained how sport in Christchurch was disrupted by the earthquakes of February 2011.

Visiting the USA on a Fulbright Scholarship, where she has taught semester-long course at Georgetown University entitled 'Sport and National Identity', Dr Thorpe discussed how sport and recreation ultimately helped many Canatabrians recover their equilibrium beyond the earthquake.

Dr Thorpe's findings come from one of the first in-depth studies to examine the role of sport and physical activity in the resilience and recovery of individuals and communities affected by a natural disaster. Drawing upon interviews conducted with residents living in Christchurch before, during and after the devastating February 2011 earthquake, she explained how this event forced many to rethink the importance of sport and physical activity in their everyday lives, and for their connections to space, place, family and community.

Engaging French sociologist and philosopher Henri Lefebvre's theory of 'rhythmanalysis' and particularly the concept of 'arrhythmia', she described how some committed action sport participants adopted highly creative practices in-order to continue their participation in sports such as surfing, skateboarding, mountain-biking and climbing. In so doing, the familiar rhythms of sport helped some cope with the many stresses of daily life, and contributed to the rebuilding of personal and collective identities, and a sense of belonging.

The former competition snowboarder and researcher at the Department of Sport and Leisure Studies at The University of Waikato, presented examples of athletes who had to curtail their action sports and who gained weight from eating and drinking too much and surfers who had to find new breaks away from polluted beaches near Christchurch.

She found that these sportspeople ultimately returned to their rigorous life styles, even if the locations changed.

New Zealand Ambassador to the USA, Mike Moore suggested that aspects of Dr Thorpe's study might be useful to many officials involved in recovery and rebuilding.

During her visit Dr Thorpe explains that she introduced her students "to netball and the Rugby World Cup sports and events a lot of Americans have no idea about.

"The Fulbright scholarships are all about building connections between countries, so the students will learn about New Zealand society through the vehicle of sport, and for me it will be interesting to see how they do things differently both at a US university, and also in terms of extreme sport participation."

The Fulbright Program is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by US Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946.

New Zealand is one of 50 countries where a bi-national Fulbright Commission administers and oversees the Fulbright Program with Fulbright New Zealand offers a range of exchange awards for New Zealanders and Americans wanting to study, research, teach or present their work in each other's country.

Fulbright New Zealand has alumni serving as Campus Advisers on all major New Zealand campuses, who can discuss their own exchange experiences and give basic information about Fulbright awards.

For more information on Fulbright scholarships go to http://www.fulbright.org.nz

Image: Dust rises over Christchurch immediately after one of the earthquakes of February 2011.