What is fair play?

Fairness means sticking to the agreed rules, not using unfair advantages, equal opportunities, considerate behavior, respect for the opponent and acceptance of others. Fairness as basic sporting and moral principle is under threat in today's world, not only in sport, but also in other areas of civil society. Yet at the same time, fair play offers opportunities that can be understood for finding one's way in a very competitive world.

Ten principles for teaching fair play

1. Fair play is used to express a form of human behavior that is characterized by fairness towards one's self, towards others and towards society and the wider environment. Fair play proves itself in sport, but not only in sport.
2. Fair play is a core quality with regards to the way in which one approaches human relationships and the society in which one lives. Appeals, bans and sanctions have proven to be ineffective over the long-term in promoting fair play across a wide range of situations. Fair play has to be promoted using more effective example-related means.
3. To play fairly certain skills have to be present. These include attentiveness, honesty, self-confidence, consideration, being a good loser and empathy - the task is to develop and promote these skills in a targeted way. Moral learning always means working on one's own personality. While fair play cannot be taught, it can be learned through example.
4. These skills are best promoted in a learning atmosphere that enables camaraderie, openness and understanding to flourish.
5. The objective should be to weaken the significance of victory and defeat in competition. Instead much more emphasis, effort and care should be put into enjoyment, teamwork, taking part, the quality of a game and individual emotions.
6. It's not so much what we do that is important, rather how we do it.
7. We should lead by example - it's not what we say, but how we interact with our pupils and the way in which we resolve conflicts that gives us credibility.
8. To act morally, people have to be autonomous and have a sense of responsibility. To this end, opportunities for leaning have to be created such as playing a part in the planning of the lesson or in determining the formal and informal rules.
9. It's important to promote a readiness and the skills necessary to resolve conflict at an early stage. Conflicts should not be seen only as something negative; conflict can and should be seen as an opportunity for change and development, but also as a challenge to put more work into the whole issue of fair play.
10. Another aim of teaching fair play should be to reach a situation in which fewer referees are needed rather than more. The aim should be to "transplant" the referee into each and every one of us. This is expressed in the following quote: "Everyone is preoccupied with making sure that he his not cheated by his neighbor. But eventually the day comes when he begins to make sure that he doesn't cheat on his neighbor."

[Canadian Olympic Association 1989; taken from: Schweizerischer Olympischer Verband in Verbindung mit der Deutschen Olympischen Gesellschaft (Hg.): Erziehung zu mehr Fairplay. Anregungen zum sozialen Lernen - im Sport, aber nicht nur dort! Bern 1998]

"Fair play is much more than playing to the rules of the game; it's about the attitude of the sportsperson. It's about respecting your opponent and preserving his or her physical and psychological integrity. Sportspeople that empathize with their opponents play fair." (Extract from the "Declaration of the International Fair Play Committee")