Sporting behaviour

Anyone taking part in sport must take personal responsibility and behave in a certain way which is fully compliant with the rules and the expected behaviours of the sport. This is known as sportsmanship.

Rules

Participants have to follow the rules of the sport. In organised sport, these are developed by each sport's governing body and are upheld by officials during play. Rules make sure that play is safe and fair. Players are penalised if they do not respect the rules or the officials. During informal or adapted activities, participants often agree their own rules. Agreeing adaptations to the rules can make sport more inclusive, but still ensure fairness and safety.

Etiquette

Sport also has unwritten rules or customs – etiquette – to uphold respect and fairness. These help people to play in the 'spirit of the game'. They often require players to take an active approach to respect and fairness, not just avoid breaking the rules. For example, etiquette includes:

acknowledging that a ball was out in tennis
shaking hands with opponents before and after an important football match, regardless of the outcome

Sportsmanship

South Africa fly-half Butch James shakes hands with England winger Mark Cueto after the Rugby World Cup Final match, which South Africa won

Sportsmanship means playing within the rules and understanding and using sports etiquette. It is playing fairly in the spirit of the game, showing respect and fair play to opponents and graciousness in both victory and defeat. Sportsmanship includes:

kicking the ball out when someone is injured in football and the other team giving possession back
helping a rival player up if they are down injured
a player calling the ball 'in' at a tennis match, even though the line judge called it 'out', thereby giving the point to their opponent

Gamemanship

Figure caption,
Brazilian footballer Rivaldo feigns injury during a 2002 World Cup match against Turkey, clutching his face after having had a ball kicked at his leg while waiting to take a corner – his Turkish opponent was sent off and Rivaldo was fined £5,180 after being found guilty of "simulation"

Without breaking them, players may bend the rules and use questionable methods to gain an advantage. Examples include:

deliberately falling after being tackled in the penalty area to try to win a penalty in football
distracting an opponent, for example in cricket where the bowler and fielders verbally abuse or intimidate a batsman to put him off
time-wasting to prevent the opposition from trying to score in hockey

Gamesmanship exists at all levels and in many sports. Due to media coverage, many examples are seen in elite sport. Some sport psychologists and philosophers believe this reflects players' motivation. Competitors who are strongly or are more likely to have a 'win at all costs' attitude, leading to unsporting behaviour. There is less incentive to cheat if someone is and .

Question

A player kicks a ball out of play to stop the game when an opponent is injured. Is this sportsmanship or gamesmanship?

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Ethical factors - WJECSporting behaviour