Social inequalities and (re)production in the new youth sports economy: examining the case of the Junior Tour Powered by Under Armour

ABSTRACT

This article offers a critical analysis of a competitive junior golf organization called the Junior Tour Powered by Under Armour (UAJT) with a specific focus on its role in (re)producing social inequalities. We conducted a three-year (auto-)ethnography of the UAJT and found that participants were predominately white, middle-class to upper-class families. Utilizing cultural studies methodologies, we contextualize this observation within U.S. neoliberalism, youth sports, and golf culture; and draw from the concept of corporate sport and other critical perspectives to deconstruct the UAJT’s commercial blueprint and uncover the intersecting cultural politics of race, class, and gender operating within the organization. We argue that the UAJT is emblematic of a broader turn to neoliberal corporate sport approaches that are re-shaping the youth sports landscape and problematize the implications of profit-driven sport structures and mechanisms that increasingly restrict access to affluent families and communities. We conclude with suggestions for fostering more inclusive and equitable youth sports experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Youth sports
• golf
• junior golf
• neoliberalism, corporate sport, COVID-19 pandemic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Towson University granted approval for this study (#1946). Note that the IRB did not grant access to interviewing children.

² An incentive structure is in place for league directors to pursue corporate sponsorships for their leagues where they earn 20% commission on deals and 80% goes to the UAJT.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Bridges to Baccalaureate.