Networks and the organization of identity : the case of Norwegian snowboarding

Abstract

In this paper a particular aspect of change in the organization of sport is addressed: the emergence of alternative, flexible types of sport organizations linked to lifestyle sports. Based on a qualitative case study of the Norwegian Snowboard Federation (NSBF), the paper raises the questions of what characterizes such organizations and which challenges occur when they become part of more traditional sports organizations. Network theory is used in order to analyse NSBF¿s processes of establishing legitimacy within the snowboard community while at the same time having to adapt to the formal requirements of the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NOC). The paper demonstrates that networking activities may be used to create and sustain new social entities such as the NSBF. However, networks as organizational forms also create contradictions to traditional sport systems that need to be solved through bargaining, concealment or challenging.