Children and young people form a significant part of sport, but to what extent are they part of decisionmaking and can influence their sporting practice? On what – if any – matters do they have a voice? This study takes its starting point in the so-called participatory agenda which emanates from article 12 in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) stating that every child has the right to express their views in matters affecting them and that the voice of the child should be considered.
The aim of the study presented was to analyse what sporting issues young Swedish athletes feel that they have the power to influence, such as season goals, training frequency, training content, team positions, tactics, and team rules.
A total of 426 athletes aged 15-17 participated by answering a web survey consisting of 40 questions, including four open-ended questions. They were involved in gymnastics (57), football (116), floorball (120) and ice hockey (133). About 25 percent were part of an academy team or a selected competition group.
An important result is that young people's possibility to influence is ambiguous; it is both large and small at the same time. Their voices are hardly heard but they still feel involved to some extent, especially athletes who ranked themselves as being among the best in their group experienced that they had the power to influence the sporting practice.