Capacity Building in Community Sport Organizations

The general purpose of this dissertation was to examine capacity building in community sport organizations (CSOs). Given the position that CSOs occupy in the Canadian sport system, the increasing attention dedicated to organizational capacity of CSOs, and the lack of understanding surrounding the capacity building process, this dissertation endeavours to build on and contribute to each of these bodies of literature by providing insight into the process of capacity building in the context of CSOs, and nonprofit and voluntary organizations more broadly. Specifically, this dissertation involves the development and proposal of a process model of capacity building (Study 1), the investigation of successful and unsuccessful capacity building efforts based on the process model of capacity building (Study 2), and finally, a more in-depth examination of readiness for capacity building as a critical factor in the process of capacity building (Study 3). The findings of these three studies present important implications for capacity building research and theory development, as well as providing insight into the success of capacity building efforts within the community sport context

The Effects of Cognitive General Imagery Use on Tactical Decision-Making in Curling

The general purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects of cognitive general (CG; images of game plans and strategies) imagery use on tactical decision-making in curling. This dissertation is divided into four studies. Study 1 outlines the two-stage development of the Curling Strategy Assessment Tool (CSAT-2), a computerized measure of curlers’ tactical decision-making (i.e., response accuracy and response speed). During Phase 1, 123 curlers evaluated 75 curling scenarios via an online survey. Twenty-one scenarios showed acceptable interrater agreement for a correct shot option. Pilot testing of the original version of the CSAT indicated that modifications were needed to incorporate strategy style. Thus, Phase 2 was conducted to have 93 updated scenarios assessed by three expert raters (i.e., national-level curling coaches). This process resulted in 104 scenarios that could be used to assess tactical decision-making in curlers undergoing CG imagery interventions using the CSAT-2. Study 2 consisted of a six-week CG imagery intervention aimed at improving the tactical decision-making abilities of varsity curlers. CSAT data indicated that curlers’ response time improved from baseline to post-intervention (p \u3c .05). Study 3 examined the effects of an eight-week CG imagery training program on the tactical decision-making abilities of non-elite curlers using a single-subject multiple-baseline design. One curler improved her response accuracy and two curlers decreased their response time following the intervention. In order to gain a greater understanding of CG imagery use, Study 4 sought to determine how CG imagery is employed in curling using focus groups. Results revealed that skips use CG imagery to fulfill both cognitive and motivational functions, depending on the situation. Overall, this dissertation supports the use of CG imagery to improve tactical decision-making and the use of the CSAT to assess tactical decision-making abilities in curlers. From a practical standpoint, CG imagery training could help improve curlers’ tactical decision-making abilities

Women in the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: An Analysis of Participation, Leadership, and Media Coverage

The published report provides the most accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date examination of the participation trends among female Olympic and Paralympic athletes and the hiring trends of Olympic and Paralympic governing bodies with respect to the number of women who hold leadership positions in these organizations. It is intended to provide governing bodies, athletes, and policymakers at the national and international level with new and accurate information with an eye toward making the Olympic and Paralympic movement equitable for all

Reaching older people with PA delivered in football clubs: the reach, adoption and implementation characteristics of the Extra Time Programme.

Background Older adults (OA) represent a core priority group for physical activity and Public Health policy. As a result, significant interest is placed on how to optimise adherence to interventions promoting these approaches. Extra Time (ET) is an example of a national programme of physical activity interventions delivered in professional football clubs for OA aged 55+ years. This paper aims to examine the outcomes from ET, and unpick the processes by which these outcomes were achieved. Methods This paper represents a secondary analysis of data collected during the evaluation of ET. From the 985 OA reached by ET, n=486 adopted the programme and completed post-intervention surveys (typically 12 weeks). We also draw on interview data with 18 ET participants, and 7 staff who delivered the programme. Data were subject to thematic analysis to generate overarching and sub themes. Results Of the 486 participants, the majority 95%, (n= 462) were White British and 59.7% (n=290) were female. Most adopters (65.4%/n=318) had not participated in previous interventions in the host clubs. Social interaction was the most frequently reported benefit of participation (77.2%, n=375). While the reach of the club badge was important in letting people know about the programme, further work enhanced adoption and satisfaction. These factors included (i) listening to participants, (ii) delivering a flexible age-appropriate programme of diverse physical and social activities, (iii) offering activities which satisfy energy drives and needs for learning and (iv) extensive opportunities for social engagement. Conclusions Findings emerging from this study indicate that physical activity and health interventions delivered through professional football clubs can be effective for engaging OA

The Influence of Demographics on Perceived Sport Event Impacts: 2017 Canadian Women’s Curling Championship

This study examines the perceived event impacts of attendees at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (a national women’s curling event), that was held in St. Catharines, Ontario. Drawing on the recommendations of previous literature, the study investigates the perceived event impacts on attendees of a national sport event – the 2017 Canadian Women’s Curling Championships – by multiple socio-demographic characteristics. Multiple theoretical lenses are applied to understand the perceptions of the respondents. Utilizing a previously developed social impact scale model (Kim, Mun Jun, Walker, & Drane, 2015), a survey was completed by event attendees. In total, a sample size of 239 was used to conduct the study. Following reliability and validity tests on the model, MANOVA tests were completed to explore statistically significant impact factors and the influence that age, income levels, education levels, sport affinity, and residency (local and non-local) had on perceived event impacts. Results indicate that age and sport affinity (demographic variables) have a statistically significant influence on the overall perceived event impact. The study examines the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on perceived impacts at a non-mega sport event. Further, the research provides insight into an approach for conducting sport event impact research in that researchers need to further explore how event characteristics themselves (e.g., total participants, scale or geographic location) can influence perceived impact. Thus, the study suggests that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to event impact research is not realistic. As a result, future research will need to explore the influence of socio-demographic factors and the way in which event characteristics can impact the exchange process that occurs, informing their perceived impact

Leveraging sporting events to create sport participation: a case study of the 2016 Youth Olympic Games

The leverage perspective takes a prospective approach to legacy and focuses on how different organisations use an event as a catalyst to implement their own organisational goals. This paper examines how the second winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lillehammer in 2016 were leveraged to increase participation in organised and non-organised sport among regional youth. The analytical framework is based on available sport participation leverage literature. This is a case study using interviews with representatives from involved organisations, archival materials and observations as its main sources. The findings show that event organisations, sport organisations and non-sport organisations formed alliances to leverage the 2016 YOG for sport participation with intervention programmes and new infrastructure as the two main strategies. The sport participation legacy outcomes of the 2016 YOG were constrained by a lack of long-term strategies and limited resources made available after the Games. To maximise the sport participation goals, strong alliances and long-term commitments need to be formed among local and regional organisations.publishedVersio

The allocation of rewards in athletic contests

Similar to most top-tier matches in professional basketball, baseball and soccer, high-level competitions in individualistic sports, such as the tennis tournaments of Wimble-don and Flushing Meadows, the golf tournaments of Augusta and St. Andrews, as well as the marathons of New York and London attract not only thousands of spectators, but also a TV audience of millions of fans. Moreover, these (and other) individualistic sports have recently received increased attention also from economists trying to test a number of hypotheses that can be derived from "tournament theory" or - as a synonym - from "contest theory". The chapter is structured as follows: We first provide a brief description of the development of prize money levels and structures in the three different individual sports men-tioned in the previous paragraph (and, consequently, athletes' incomes over the last years (section 2). We then summarize the basic insights and the core predictions of tour-nament/contest theory (section 3) and review the available literature on the incentive effects of tournament pay systems in athletic contests (section 4). Finally, section 5 concludes and raises some of the questions that have not been answered yet and that should, therefore, be dealt with in future research.