Lifestyle Sports and Public Education in Japan: New Collectivism, Contest(ed) Benefits, and Community Revitalization in Aoshima’s Surfing Bukatsu

Physical activity levels among youth have declined globally during the twentieth century. In Japan, the context of this study, this trend is evidenced through decreasing participation rates in school sports bukatsu [extracurricular club activities], where youth participation in sport and physical activity have become a growing concern. Research suggests that incorporating lifestyle sports into the public education curriculum may better align with current youth trends, thereby helping to address these challenges, but little empirical research exist, particularly outside Western contexts. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by offering contextual insights into how the lifestyle sport of surfing is being incorporated into the public education system in Japan, and how this transforms the meanings of both surfing and bukatsu in new and interesting ways. Drawing on the case of Aoshima Junior High School’s Surfing Bukatsu, ethnographic fieldwork was conducted over a two-week period in July 2021 and included participant observation, focus groups with students and parents, and 22 in-depth interviews with various stakeholders. Three themes emerged that guide the interpretation and discussion: (1) a “new collectivism” fostered amongst members of the surfing bukatsu, (2) a “contest(ed) surf style” that marked a tension between the competitive and the informal benefits associated with lifestyle sports, and (3) the role of surfing bukatsu in school/community revitalization. The study shows how incorporating lifestyle sports in PE curricula has the potential to encourage a co-constitutive practice of student/school/community development.