What in the World are “Children’s Sports” ?:

Thinking about “New Public Commons” in Sports

Abstract

　The aim of this article is to consider the notion of “public” from a few points of view, and to explore how the term “New Public Commons” relates to the site of children’s sports.
　Though it is a highly nuanced word, the term “public” has three main sides to it, namely that it is “official,” “common,” and “open.” In a legal or political context, the “official” component relates to rights and institutional securities. “Common” indicates that it is not in reference to one specific person, but to everybody, and “open” means that everybody equally has access. We can ultimately see that when it comes to sports, the notion of “public” leads us to a discussion about individuality.
　Therefore, this article will use Mizushima’s arguments to examine how individuality in the public sphere (as outlined by Habermas’ theories) relates to the institution of children’s sports. Children’s sports can be used as a means to evaluate the level of “publicness,” of a community and this article endeavors to examine the ways that “publicness” has been implemented through such institutions.