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Play, Recreation, And Sport In The Colonial Era

Decent Essays

The concepts of play, leisure, recreation, and sport are often used interchangeably in conversation, however, each concept has a different meaning, and a different role, in both individual lives and society as a whole. After defining, comparing, and contrasting each concept, it is clear just how much they differ from each other. Not only is it important to understand the similarities and differences of each concept, but it’s also important to know that historical factors represent a huge part of what we know play, leisure, recreation, and sport to be today. The Colonial Era has been just one of the many historical factors that has been influential in the development of these terms, specially in the development of recreation and leisure. Along with definitions of the concepts and the role of historical factors, to know the true meaning of play, leisure, …show more content…

Often limited to children only, in today’s society “play” can be associated with adults as well. Play cannot be easily defined, but could be described by activity or behavior desired by an individual for pleasure (Henderson, 2010, p. 32). Often seen in leisure activity, it also has the ability to allow someone to express themselves in a passionate, energetic, imaginary way, whether the play is done in a systematic or an unsystematic manner, with no tangible goal or reward expected (Henderson, 2010, p. 9 & p. 33). Play differs from leisure, recreation, and sport significantly in the fact that play refers to behavior rather than the activity itself (Henderson, 2010, p. 45); however, it could be seen by some as an essential part of life that enables an individual to deal with internal conflict, socialize with others, and grants them the ability to function properly in our everyday life. Leisure is vital to an individual’s “quality of life” (Henderson, 2010, p.

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