Andersen and Ronglan (organization studies, Norwegian Business School and Centre for Training and Performance, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences) bring together 14 researchers from Sweden,
Denmark, Finland, and Norway who examine the organization and leadership of elite sports in the Nordic countries and similarities and differences between them, as part of a project initiated in
2009 and supported by the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Focusing on organizational models, they consider how elite sport is dealt with within the overall organization of sports, how
Nordic countries consistently do well in certain sports, and how efforts relating to the professionalization of elite training and development are organized, with discussion of successes in
Swedish tennis and golf, Norwegian women's handball, Finnish men's ice hockey, and Danish track cycling. They discuss the emergence of modern elite sport systems in each country, focusing on
elite vs. mass sport, critical decisions about organizational structures and resources, and controversies and dilemmas, and how the historical development, successes, and current elite systems
represent variations. The sport of football is excluded. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation 穢2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
