Having set out a provisional ‘typology of violence’, the question of violence in sport is considered in its historical perspective, with numerous examples. The question of violence in relation to social bonding is then considered and distinctions are drawn between the types of violence inherent in two differently structured societies, the segmentally and functionally bonded. Contemporary football hooliganism is then considered as developing from segmentally bonded elements in present-day society.

The part played by radio and television coverage of sport in developing public appreciation of sports is covered, and consideration is given to the responsibilities involved in dealing with sports in which violence occurs. The duties of the television producer in relation to the players, the viewers and the sponsors of sport are discussed.

A wide ranging coverage is given of the issues involved in the interaction between women and sport. The pressures on girls and women to take part in or to refrain from various sports are considered. The question of the leisure time available to women in various situations, and the pressures on that leisure time, are discussed, and space is also given to the opportunities available at school level, the Equal Opportunities Commission's involvement in sport and the problems of sportswomen at the highest level.

In a wide-ranging survey, ways are examined in which human personalities can be categorized and the relevance of these categories to sporting performance is examined. The profiles produced by studies of the Eysenck and Cattell type, the significance of the ‘trait’ and the ‘interactional’ approaches and the correlation of personalities with physical performance are considered. The importance of such factors as achievement motivation, causal attribution, selfefficacy, mental rehearsal and concentration is examined. Consideration is given to the role of sport in the fulfilment of the personality.

The role of sport is considered in the light of the health and physical capabilities of the average members of the population. It is shown how the different aspects of physical capacity can be extended, not only in the average sedentary person, but also in the elderly and the physically incapacitated. The efficacy of sport in the prevention of disease is also discussed.

The contribution of mental health to sports performance in sports populations is discussed. Athletes' psychological needs and problems, and the various ways in which these may be resolved, are considered.

The benefits of physical activity in the treatment of psychiatric populations and the elderly are reviewed.

Recent emphasis on sports participation for its intrinsic rewards and the psychological benefits derived are also considered, and attention is drawn to the particular needs of children.

Aptitude for a particular sport is governed by many factors, not least of which are obvious environmental influences. There are, however, individuals who, through genetic endowment, have the necessary biological characteristics which identify them as potentially elite athletes. These characteristics have been described more fully for endurance athletes because prolonged, almost steady-state running, lends itself more readily to investigation by biologists, than do the more complex sports.

These studies show that the potentially elite endurance athlete is an individual endowed with an above average cardio-respiratory system, capable of a high rate of oxygen transport and carbon dioxide elimination. Not only does the elite endurance athlete have a greater rate of oxygen transport than the average sportsman or sportswoman, but the muscles receiving the oxygen are composed mainly of type I, i.e. low-twitch oxidative fibres, which are designed for endurance exercise. Furthermore, the elite endurance athlete also appears to be pre-programmed genetically to lay down less fat, in the form of sub-cutaneous adipose tissue, than the average sportsman or sportswoman of the same age and sex.

Although genetic endowment dictates the potential ability of an individual for sustained high speed running, only appropriate training will allow the realization of this potential and so enable the individual to join the fraternity of the world's elite endurance athletes.

Attention is drawn to fresh data available on female sporting performance and the narrowing gap between male and female performance in many sports. The author discusses attempts made to compare athletic potential in males and females and postulates the existence of a factor called athletic predisposition. The differences in performance amongst males and females possessing this factor are much smaller than in the population at large.