Abstract
Why do the young participate in sport? What is the perception of sport among sportsmen and sportswomen? Different organizations use sport as a tool to achieve a deeply heterogeneous gamma of goals: some consider the competition very important, others consider the health benefits, some place more emphasis on the aggregative value of the sport and others are attracted by the economic market. Unfortunately sport can also show, sometimes, its negative face: the violence, the discrimination, the shadow of nationalism. The goal of this research is to study the perception of sport among young athletes in Belgrade. Why in Serbia? The whole former Yugoslavia has recently been a theatre of inter-ethnic conflicts: those conflicts left a deep mark in the society, in people's memories. In addition, sport also represents an instrument of social escalation, a way to escape poverty. In this context sport can assume different values and can be used in different development policies. The research is based on quantitative methods: the form, based on Linkert scale, is composed by five batteries of items related to six concepts of sport (education, socialization, health, fun, participation and competition), the final part is related to the sport-idols. All the Junior volleyball players from Belgrade – season 2008/09 – filled the form: according to their opinion, education and socialization are very important, health, competition and participation are relevant, fun is relatively important. An healthy lifestyle is the most important benefits of participating in sports. During training it is very important to improve skills and communication. "To play well for the team" is the main quality of the "champion" and it is also the most important aspect during the game. Important goals during the regular season are those of participating in the championship and getting a good position in the final ranking. The main sport-idols are Serbs and males.