What happened to Church Sports?

[deacon blues]

My older brother and cousins grew up being very involved in Church sports: Basketball, and softball, especially. My brother would have played in the Church wide basketball tournament in 1966, but he aged out. He went as a manager. My cousin played in the 1970 Church wide basketball tournament. I think that was the last year they had a Church wide tournament. When I was a Senior in High School, 1974, we played in a regional basketball tournament. I continued to play play young adult sports but the program seemed to decline.
It seems like in the 1980's that Ezra Benson and Boyd Packer led a charge to get back to the basics and the sports program declined.
What do you remember about Church sports?

[hmb]

The girls had basketball and volleyball. All the wards in the stake competed with each other. There were winners and losers, fun and disappointment. We learned sportsmanship (except for a few of the whiny parents). I remember participating with great fondness. Good times. This would have been in the 70's.

[Cnsl1]

I played a lot of church softball from the 70's continuing into the mid to late 90's. I don't see or hear of it going on anymore. I played some church basketball in those same years but it didn't seem to be as big.

In my current stake, where I've been for 20+years, I was told that a previous stake president nixed church sports due to difficulties with sportsmanship before we moved in, but I'm not sure if it was just this stake. Growing up, there were definitely some fights among church members at church sports events but also a lot of fellowshipping going on as well. I don't hear about any church sports going on, but they're still building chapels with basketball hoops.

Many of the fun activities that were once a part of the church have disappeared. The other day, I was telling one of my kids about the "super activities" we used to have as youth in the summers--activities that often spanned several states. We'd also have weekly stake dances in the summer.

Church isn't as much fun as it used to be.

[Just This Guy]

This is pure speculation on my part, but my guess is liability costs got too high.

Even if it is all volunteer players and staff, the events still happen on church property, so they have potential to be liable for injuries, and what I remember, injuries were not unknown in church ball.