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A Sociology of the World Rally ChampionshipIntroduction: The Paradox of Commercialism

A Sociology of the World Rally Championship: Introduction: The Paradox of Commercialism [From the snow and ice of Scandinavia to the glamour of Monte Carlo, from the heat of Kenya to the thin air in the Argentinian mountainsides, the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has served up a passionate motorsport drama since its inauguration in its current form in 1973. During that time the sport has transformed from a little-known series to a pop-cultural roadshow worth millions of euros, now with 13 rallies scattered around the world and more than 600 million TV viewers annually, fiercely competing for attention in the global landscape of entertainment industries. By and large, it therefore follows the typical development phases in sport (see Beech and Chadwick, 2004) — foundation, codification, stratification, professionalisation, post-professionalisation, commercialisation and post-commercialisation. In the WRC, like in a variety of other sports, this has led to diverging opinions on how to balance sporting identity with commercial concerns. As a consequence the WRC community has become quite polarised.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Sociology of the World Rally ChampionshipIntroduction: The Paradox of Commercialism

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Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014
ISBN
978-1-349-48771-4
Pages
1 –23
DOI
10.1057/9781137405449_1
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[From the snow and ice of Scandinavia to the glamour of Monte Carlo, from the heat of Kenya to the thin air in the Argentinian mountainsides, the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has served up a passionate motorsport drama since its inauguration in its current form in 1973. During that time the sport has transformed from a little-known series to a pop-cultural roadshow worth millions of euros, now with 13 rallies scattered around the world and more than 600 million TV viewers annually, fiercely competing for attention in the global landscape of entertainment industries. By and large, it therefore follows the typical development phases in sport (see Beech and Chadwick, 2004) — foundation, codification, stratification, professionalisation, post-professionalisation, commercialisation and post-commercialisation. In the WRC, like in a variety of other sports, this has led to diverging opinions on how to balance sporting identity with commercial concerns. As a consequence the WRC community has become quite polarised.]

Published: Oct 24, 2015

Keywords: Narrative Inquiry; World Championship; Symbolic Community; Sport Management; Service Park

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