Exclusivity In Sports Has A Bad Effect On Community Participation

The committee threw colorful powders at the participants when entering the finish of the Rinjani Color Run event at Sembalun Field, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Saturday (20/8/2022). (ANTARA/Dhimas Budi Pratama/nym/foc/aa)

JAKARTA The public sees that public awareness of exercising has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, according to data, this is not the case. Changes in sports trends that seem more exclusive, giving rise to the assumption that sports can only be done for people to be present.

When the pandemic hit Indonesia starting March 2020, the government defended a policy of limiting activities to minimize the spread of COVID-19. However, at the same time, sports also needs to be done as an effort to maintain fitness, in addition to implementing health protocols such as maintaining distance, wearing masks, and so on.

Sports such as jogging, running, cycling finally seemed to be a trend again. Even now, the sport is still a favorite of many people, until then there is an assumption that exercise is an exclusive activity at high costs, which causes certain groups to have difficulty accessing it.

On the other hand, reports from the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) show that the physical fitness of Indonesia's young generation is still low. Does this have anything to do with sports trends being exclusive?

Label that sports can be done by anyone, from any circle, has recently faded. This happens because in recent years, sports activities need 'additional costs'. The problem is, this extra cost is no longer to support the comfort of exercising, but rather to boost prestige, and feelings to get into a community.

The easiest example to find is the need to carry a modern drinking bottle, or the cool language of the cone, which costs from Rp500 thousand to Rp1 million. Not to mention smartwatches from various brands that force people to spend millions of money.

That doesn't include shoes, which are said to be the most comfortable for jogging or running and sportswear. Not to mention spending money to pay class fees if the sport you follow requires a coach to be trained such as pounfit, pilates, yoga, or even monthly dues for a monthly gym member.

The Jakpat survey institute conducted a poll from January 16 to 23, 2024, on respondents who actively participated in sports events in the last six months.

As a result, 41 percent allocate a special budget to participate in sporting events. This budget is issued for transportation and accommodation, especially if the event is held outside the city. In addition, they also have their own budget for clothes, accessories, and souvenirs from sports festivals that are followed.

If examined further, the survey states that generation Y or millennials are more interested in buying knick-knacks than Generation Z (Gen Z). The same report reveals that 43 percent of millennials are preparing a fee to buy merchandise.

Meanwhile, from the 2023 Sports Development Index (IPO) report conducted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), it was revealed that most of the goods purchased by the public related to sports were in the form of shoes (43.1 percent), then following sports clothes (30.4 percent) and sports equipment (12.1 percent). In addition, there are also those who claim to have participated in buying supplements, accessories, and souvenirs.

Although the trend of sports in several years seems to be increasing, according to data, this is not the case. This can be seen in the IPO report or previously better known as the mention of the Sport Development Index (SDI), it actually reveals something concerning.

This report shows the lack of a percentage of young people aged 16-30 years who have physical fitness in the "good" category. Measurements made on 3,820 teenagers aged 16-30 years spread across 34 provinces in 2023 show that those who have good physical fitness or more are only 5.04 percent. Meanwhile, teenagers who have physical fitness in the category are less than 83.55 percent.

The IPO also shows a declining level of sports participation, which is only 28.4 percent in 2022. This achievement is lower than the previous year's achievement of 28.6 percent and 42.20 in 2006.

Similar conditions occur in the aspect of people's physical fitness, because the level of sports participation is closely correlated with the level of physical fitness. Since the national SDI measurement began in 2004, the physical fitness index has decreased.

The 2004 SDI report states that the physical fitness index was 0.540, and decreased to 0.352 in 2005. The same report shows similar conditions. In 2021 the physical fitness index was 0.203 and in 2022 it fell to 0.185.

The data above seems to justify the opinion of many people that exercise is now an exclusive thing. Not everyone has the opportunity to exercise anymore.

Lecturer of the Sports Health Sciences Masters Program, Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, Prof. Dr. Bambang Purwanto, even thinks that not a few people exercise because there are elements of FOMO or Fear of missing out. Simply put, exercising is just because they join in

"So, it is not inclusive sports that aim to improve fitness but sports that are also related to prestige, with segmentals, with certain groups," he said.

He considers that there is a connection between the index of low public sports participation figures and changes in the trend of sports which was previously inclusive to be exclusive.

If you look back, said Prof. Bambang, sports can be done by anyone before the COVID-19 era. Sports is not something that is segmented because if so, in the end, only certain people do sports, aka people who have it. Whether it has qualifications, has money, has tools, and has access.

"If you don't have it, you can't do it," he concluded