Competition: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
James Swan 10.25.13
Originally people learned archery, swordsmanship, spear throwing, fishing, and the like for self-defense and acquiring food. Today, much fewer people use firearms and high-end fishing tackle for fulfilling such basic needs. Instead their use has become a “sport,” a form of “biologically adapted aggression” where instinctual energies are transformed into “play” that’s appropriate with the time and place and supports conserving human nature.
At their best outdoor sports have the potential to build character, self-esteem, maturity, and self-confidence as well as put some food on the table. But there is an aspect of sport—competition—that can sometimes get involved for better or for worse.
“Biggest buck” and “biggest fish” contests have been around for thousands of years in one form or another. Similarly, accuracy contests have an equally long history. Today, in addition to the multitude of local, regional, state, national, and world outdoor sports tournaments, there are a growing number of people who are earning a living from outdoor sports, a lucky few of them on TV with their own shows. The shows may not be about competition but getting and keeping a show can be very competitive.
Professional competition in sports and TV shows about outdoor sports is good for industry sales, pump money into local economies, draw new people into the sports and provide inspiration, when they are done ethically. This is where competition comes in, because its value is closely tied to ethics.
Let’s look at three kinds of competition.
Good competition
Mastering performance skills—focus, concentration, mental attitude, and relaxation—is a big part of becoming a serious competitor, but there’s more to the value of competition. When I was teaching at the University of Oregon, I co-produced a weeklong symposium on the ethical and psychological aspects of sports that included members of the Professional Track Association, a number of other professional athletes from a variety of sports and humanist scholars.
During the week, many athletes spoke about the importance of the mental game of sports, including Lee Evans, who in those days was the fastest man in the world at the 400-meter race. Evans said that for him competing was like “the seasoning you put on a good meal to bring out the flavor so you can really enjoy yourself.”
For Evans, if he performed at his best, it was a high regardless of who won the meet. That’s good, healthy competition; when you use it to test your limits.
One thing that competitive sports can teach is ethical behavior that affects all aspects of life and gives kids role models that will help them for years. Centuries ago, Plato wrote in Laws: “The techniques of fighting [are] skills which all citizens, male and female, must care to acquire.” He knew what he was talking about. The National Archery in the Schools Program is one example of competitive outdoor sports events that do great service to the sport by introducing kids to a new sport and teaching them how to develop skills that increase self-confidence. Another is the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation.
Bad competition
At the same symposium there was a member of the Olympic Team who was in the top 10 in his event in the world. He would pace the lecture room for the entire hour, as he was too wired to sit down.
He later admitted that he was hooked on performance-enhancing drugs. He was so pumped that he had difficulty sleeping, but as his performance was still high, he kept on taking them. He was trying to push his limits beyond what he was capable of doing.
Soon after, he got injured, which gave him a face-saving way out. Almost immediately, he went totally clean. Today he is a successful coach.
When competition forces athletes into using banned substances, that’s one kind of bad competition.
Another type of bad competition is when one contestant tries to do things that will purposefully disrupt others’ performance. This may include distracting people preparing for or during competition. It’s true that in training, one may purposefully haze someone to help them develop concentration, but people do that with the permission of all parties. In competitive events it’s unethical and perhaps illegal, as well as bad sportsmanship.
Sports tournaments have well-established codes of conduct, and for good reasons. Just one selfish, ruthless person’s actions can set off a chain reaction that lowers ethical standards in a whole group. It can even result in harming others.
Such people have invested so much of their self-image in being a star or a celebrity that they cannot allow that inflated self-image to be challenged. Yes, there are libel and slander laws, but the damage is done before they come into play. They should be penalized or thrown out of the match, as soon as possible.
Boxers and martial artists compete in events that can injure their opponent. People understand the risks involved before they start and there are rules that govern behavior throughout the match. Before they begin they know what to expect and when the contest is over, the fighting stops. A referee is there to manage the whole thing. In general, the more structured a sport, the more that the competition can be managed.
There are also situations where there is no formal contest but nonetheless the situation becomes very competitive, such as opening day of the fishing season. If access is limited and there are crowds, things can get ugly. This destroys the joy of the sport for everyone. Regulations help, but people need to set examples of good behavior. That’s what sportsmanship is all about.
Ugly competition
The stakes get higher when a person is trying to join someone’s “Pro Staff,” earn big bucks, or even get their own TV show. Depending on the person, this may bring out the best or worst in someone.
In some states the regulations are so extremely detailed and complicated that anyone can overlook something. Nonetheless, every year we hear about people stuffing lead sinkers into the gullet of a bass, or fishing before the contest begins and keeping a secret stringer of fish hidden in the bushes so they can be “caught” when the tournament begins.
Game wardens have shown me videos of TV hunting shows where people have trained deer to walk in a certain corridor past a blind, or another case where a tame deer was used so the “hunter” could be sure of bagging his buck. In another, snares were used to catch passing animals that hunters shot as if they were fair chase animals.
Yes, sponsors like to have people see their products used by someone who is successful and makes a record kill. Frankly, though, this is not the reality of hunting for most of us. If more shows would honestly show the host not bagging anything but having a great time and learning things, would it kill off hunting on TV?
Another ugly aspect of competition is the “sore loser.” This is the person who doesn’t win and becomes angry, attacking the winner directly or indirectly with name-calling, back-stabbing, or grandstanding. If there is the possibility that ethics or laws have been violated, then third parties can be called in to settle disputes. In some sports “sore losers” can be banned from competition. This is one good reason for creating clear standards that regulate the rules of a sport.
Developing your outdoor sports skills to achieve their fullest potential is very rewarding, regardless whether you win, lose or draw. Then, competition may indeed become an extra incentive to do your best.
James A. Swan, Ph.D is the Co-Executive Producer of the hit reality National Geographic Channel TV series "Wild Justice"; Producer of the 66-minute documentary "Endangered Species: CA Fish and Game Wardens", as well as the CEO of Snow Goose Productions, LLC, that produces documentaries, book trailers and commercials. James is the author and/or co-author of 10 award-winning non-fiction books about environmental psychology published world-wide in four languages, including two Book of the Month Club selections and Sustainable Futures Society award-winning Nature As Teacher and Healer; and one novel. James has published over 300 articles in major magazines. Prior to the Outdoor Hub he has been a columnist for ESPNOutdoors.com (10 years), and National Review Online (4 years). He has taught at the Universities of Michigan, W. Washington State, Oregon and Washington; consulted with federal, state and local natural resources and law enforcement agencies and lectured all across North America, and in Japan and the UK. As an actor, he’s appeared in 20 feature films including "Jack", "Murder In The First," and “Star Trek: First Contact”; the dramatic TV series -- "Midnight Caller," "Jesse Hawkes," and "Nash Bridges," and over 30 commercials and industrials. He’s consulted with and appeared on the "NOVA," "Ancient Mysteries," "Sightings," and "Modern Marvels," "ESPNOutdoors" TV series and written over 100 outdoor TV shows for Engel's Outdoor Experience, Sports Afield TV and Bushnell's Secrets of the Wild. More at: www.jamesswan.com.
