Abstract
Sport has often been recognized as a microcosm of broader society. Such acknowledgement demonstrates the potential of sport to shape, and be shaped by, individuals and communities. Indeed, across its many socioecological contexts (e.g., youth, recreational, developmental, educational, organizational, elite), scholars and practitioners from a range of disciplines have shared ways in which sport can contribute to, or undermine, health and well-being. To bridge the chasm between knowledge within sport (e.g., sport psychology, sociology, philosophy) and broader flourishing scholarship, we present a dual conceptual model of sport and flourishing to help align collective efforts and to centralize attention for researchers, practitioners, decision-makers, and sport professionals. First, we discuss the empirical and conceptual challenges that are apparent within sport and why this has limited progress concerning its relations to human flourishing. We also discuss broader contentions about flourishing and how sport could help address these challenges. Second, we discuss the elements of the model pertaining to flourishing within sport (e.g., sport as a sphere for flourishing: comprising embeddedness, purview and scope of well-being, quality of the sport environment) and pertaining to sport for flourishing (e.g., sport as a conduit for flourishing: promoting individual flourishing, communal and relational flourishing, and flourishing of humanity). Third, we conclude with various implications and ‘calls to action’ for methodological (e.g., qualitative and quantitative work), applied (e.g., developing guidelines and interventions for promoting flourishing in sport), and research (e.g., Global Flourishing in Sport Study) advancement to realize a more unified sport and flourishing community.