“Sport” as a framework for institutionalization of new social movements: a case study of the medieval reenactment community

Abstract (English)

Over the past few decades, we have witnessed the institutionalization of new types of sports, including “lifestyle sports”, which have their roots in the countercultural movements of the late 20th century. Notable examples include skateboarding and surfing, which have achieved Olympic status, as well as yoga and Eastern martial arts, whose popularity has been bolstered by the influence of neo-Buddhist religious movements. These new social movements and their associated lifestyle sports foster the construction of both collective and individual identities through continuous micro-mobilization of participants and the integration of novel everyday routines.
However, when these new lifestyle sports engage with external stakeholders – such as mass media, government agencies, traditional “Sport” institutions, or academic researchers – they often encounter challenges in gaining social recognition as legitimate forms of sport. At the same time, the established modernist understanding of “Sport” is frequently appropriated by these countercultural sports to advance their own institutionalization. Lifestyle sports mimic the organizational patterns of modernist sports, such as the creation of federations, judging systems, and athlete classifications, while also developing self-reflective “sport” narratives within their communities.
In this analysis, I aim to explore how the concept of “sport” facilitates a long-term transformation – from local LARP-style performances to the emergence of an international sports network and community. This report based on data collected from the 2017-2025 field study, focusing on “historical medieval battles” (HMB) – a combat sport that originated among medieval reenactors and has seen its most significant development in the post-Soviet region.