Historical Evolution of the Fitness, Dance and Sports Academies in Rondônia between 1980-2022

Abstract

This study consists of an interrelated development with the research on the institutionalisation and public policies of sport and leisure in Rondônia, in line with the objective of verifying, within the scope of the Board of Trade of the State of Rondônia – JUCER, in the period from January 1980 to December 2022, the number of academies in Rondônia. From the perspective of academy expansion, the recent urbanisation of Rondônia was a significant factor, largely due to the unfolding of the Amazon integration process. This process is a result of the migration that began in the 1970s, leading to the emergence of urban centres, including political, administrative, and economic centres (Nascimento et al., 2012).

In this context, enterprises in the form of gyms for physical conditioning, dance, and sports felt attracted by the economic moment of the State and began to compose the Board of Trade of the State of Rondônia - JUCER, as companies of economic activities related to the arts, culture, sports, and recreation. In the first stage of the research, organisations from 1980 to 2018 are included, and in the second stage, from 2019 to 2022.

1. a) Fitness Companies: According to IBGE (2019), those are understood as physical conditioning activities (fitness): gymnastics, bodybuilding, yoga, pilates, body stretching, and antigymnastics, among others. When comparing the relationship between the general and active indicators, it is observed that 950 units remained and 188 were closed.
2. b) Dance Teaching Companies: There were 277 active dance teaching academies from January 1980 to December 2022, demonstrating significant annual growth over the four decades. Of those companies, 238 have remained active, even during the pandemic.
3. c) Sports Teaching Companies: This class also includes the activities of coaches and assistants of sports activities practised by professional athletes. As one of the axes of research study, this definition reinforces the relationship between the academies and both basic and performance sports.

There were 605 records of sports education companies from January 1980 to December 2022. It shows significant annual growth over the decades and approaches the data of fitness academies.

The indicative number of 455 active sports teaching companies registrations in January 1980 and December 2022 points to annual growth. Likewise, it is observed that, in relation to the data on the general statement, of the 605 companies registered, there were 455 units that remained and 150 units that closed.

Finally, according to the data above, the statement of the relationship between general registration and maintenance (active) in the differences between the numbers of these two parameters is presented, along with the rate of closures in the three categories of gyms. In the total calculation of the three segments, it is possible to observe that, in relation to the data from the general statement of the 2020 registered companies, there were 1643 units that remained and 377 units that closed during the period surveyed, from 1980 to 2022.