A sports chaplain provides pastoral care for the sports person and the broader sports community including the coaches, administrators and their families.
Chaplains to sports communities have existed since the middle of the 20th century and have significantly grown in the past 20 years. The United States, United Kingdom and Australia have well established Christian sports chaplaincy ministries.
In 1982 a congress held in Hong Kong on sports mission saw sports chaplains and those interested in Mission to people engaged in sports come together from around the world including recognised representatives from North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the sub-continent and Australasia. It was this congress that created the inspiration to further develop or initiate national sports missions and sports chaplains.
Sports chaplains consist of people from many different walks of life. Most commonly, the chaplains are ministers or full-time Christian workers but always, chaplaincy work is done without charge or any financial remuneration. Often, sports chaplains to a particular sport are former participants of that sport. This helps the chaplain to not only provide spiritual support and guidance to a player, but gives them the ability to empathize and relate to some of the challenges facing the participant with whom they are ministering.
There were 193 multi-faith sports chaplains at the London 2012 Olympics.
Read more about Sports Chaplain: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Patron Saint of Athletes, Athletics, and Sports
Famous quotes containing the words sports and/or chaplain:
“It is usual for a Man who loves Country Sports to preserve the Game in his own Grounds, and divert himself upon those that belong to his Neighbour.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“When some one remarked that, with the addition of a chaplain, it would have been a perfect Cromwellian troop, he observed that he would have been glad to add a chaplain to the list, if he could have found one who could fill that office worthily. It is easy enough to find one for the United States Army. I believe that he had prayers in his camp morning and evening, nevertheless.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)