Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explicate characteristics of qualitative study in sports sociology. We will discuss the point that sociology of sports has to illustrate “specific logics of practices”.
Former studies in sports sociology, such as sociological functionalism, supposed that sports are subordinate to the social structures. Such a relationship between sports and “the social” is still a pitfall for qualitative studies. So, in this paper I examined two ethnographies, one is a study on boxers in the Philippines, the other is a study on wheelchair basketball players. The former describes sports practices that exist at the crossing point of daily life in the Philippines and practices in a boxing gym. The latter describes “the social” that appears in sports practices. In other words, sports experiences are accomplished as interaction in the practices. In any case, these two studies pay attention to the “specific logics of practices” in sports practices, and the qualitative research and analysis used to grasp the logics of practices.
The description of “specific logics of practices” does not explain sports practices by inserting social structures or social norms from the outside.
