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What Is Fair Play?
Fairness means sticking to the agreed
rules, not using unfair advantages, equal opportunities, considerate behavior, respect for the opponent and acceptance of
others. Fairness as basic sporting and moral principle is under threat in today's
world, not only in sport, but also in other areas of civil society. Yet at the same time, fair play offers opportunities that can be understood for finding one's way in a very competitive
world.
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Ten principles for teaching fair play
1. Fair play is used to express a form of human behavior that is characterized by fairness towards one's
self, towards others and towards society and the wider environment. Fair play proves itself in
sport, but not only in sport.
2. Fair play is a core quality with regards to the way in which one approaches human relationships and the society in which one
lives. Appeals, bans and sanctions have proven to be ineffective over the
long-term in promoting fair play across a wide range of situations. Fair play has to be promoted using more effective example-related
means.
3. To play fairly certain skills have to be present. These include
attentiveness, honesty, self-confidence, consideration, being a good loser and empathy - the task is to develop and promote these skills in a targeted way. Moral learning always means working on one's own
personality. While fair play cannot be taught, it can be learned through
example.
4. These skills are best promoted in a learning atmosphere that enables
camaraderie, openness and understanding to flourish.
5. The objective should be to weaken the significance of victory and
defeat in competition. Instead much more emphasis, effort and care should be put into
enjoyment, teamwork, taking part, the quality of a game and individual
emotions.
6. It's not so much what we do that is important, rather how we do it.
7. We should lead by example - it's not what we
say, but how we interact with our pupils and the way in which we resolve conflicts that gives us
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8. To act morally, people have to be autonomous and have a sense of
responsibility. To this end, opportunities for leaning have to be created such as playing a part in the planning of the lesson or in determining the formal and informal
rules.
9. It's important to promote a readiness and the skills necessary to resolve conflict at an early
stage. Conflicts should not be seen only as something negative; conflict can and should be seen as an opportunity for change and
development, but also as a challenge to put more work into the whole issue of fair play.
10. Another aim of teaching fair play should be to reach a situation in which fewer referees are needed rather than
more. The aim should be to "transplant" the referee into each and every one of us. This is expressed in the following
quote: „Everyone is preoccupied with making sure that he his not cheated by his
neighbor. But eventually the day comes when he begins to make sure that he doesn't cheat on his
neighbor.“
[Canadian Olympic Association 1989; taken
from: Schweizerischer Olympischer Verband in Verbindung mit der Deutschen Olympischen Gesellschaft (Hg.): Erziehung zu mehr Fairplay. Anregungen zum sozialen Lernen - im Sport, aber nicht nur dort! Bern 1998]
More sections on the subject of fair play:
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"Fair play is much more than playing to the rules of the game; it's about the attitude of the sportsperson. It's about respecting your opponent and preserving his or her physical and psychological integrity. Sportspeople that empathize with their opponents play fair." (Extract from the "Declaration of the
International Fair Play Committee")
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[Uli Jäger, Institut für Friedenspädagogik Tübingen e.V.]
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