Towards a critical sport heritage: implications for sport tourism

ABSTRACT

This paper reflects upon the development and increased acceptance for heritage becoming a key component of sport tourism research. The original sport heritage typology, as posited by Ramshaw and Gammon [2005, More than just Nostalgia? Exploring the heritage/sport tourism nexus. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 10(4), 229–241], is re-examined through a more critical lens, revealing additional dimensions that help augment its key components. More specifically, it is argued that future studies should consider the more intangible features of sport heritage, as well as acknowledging the expanding global nature of sport and its impact upon fandom. Also, the case is made for research to explore the dissonance inherent in much of sports heritage, as well as determining where the power lies in allocating and championing current sport heritages. Lastly, the more general implications to the field of sport tourism are offered with particular regard to motivation, place, and consumption.     

Strategic alliances in sport tourism: National sport organisations and sport tour operators

This qualitative case study provides a sport-oriented perspective of sport tourism. It examines a strategic alliance between an Australian national sport organisation (NSO), the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), and a sport tour operator (STO), FanFirm. The study contributes insights into how NSOs can facilitate and develop sport tourism for major events through alliances with STOs. Findings indicate that by collaborating with the STO, the ARU accrued a range of intangible and financial benefits, which in turn provided an impetus for ongoing maintenance of the strategic alliance. In addition, the alliance was perceived to deliver advantages beyond the NSO–STO nexus, with rugby fans and host governments of rugby events also benefiting. The study demonstrates that sport organisations can play a role in maximising the tourism outcomes of major events and also suggests that smaller-scale, ‘bottom-up’ cross-sector alliances can contribute to maximising tourism outcomes of major sport events.     

Psychological support for sport coaches: an exploration of practitioner psychologist perspectives

In the present study we add to the literature by exploring the degree to which UK practitioner psychologists perceive themselves able to support sport coaches, and how professional training prepares psychologists for coach work across performance domains. Ten participants comprising seven sport and exercise psychologists with Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) practitioner psychologist status and three trainee psychologists studying towards the British Psychological Society (BPS) qualification in sport and exercise psychology (QSEP) were individually interviewed. All participants reported prior experience of working with coaches across all performance domains. We explored: practitioner’s understanding of the challenges coaches face within their job; practitioner’s experiences of coach work; perspectives about the ways in which practitioners could and should support coaches; and, the degree to which professional training prepares practitioners for coach work. Using recommended procedures of Connelly and Peltzer, content analysis revealed practitioners perceived the challenges faced by coaches are different at grassroots level compared to those working with elite athletes, and that practitioners require skills to provide one-to-one coach support and group-based interventions. All practitioners perceived that training programmes do not adequately equip trainees with skills required for coach work. We discuss the implications for enhancing practitioner training in the UK.     

Skating in a life context: examining the significance of aesthetic experience in sport using practical epistemology analysis

The purpose of this article is to suggest and illustrate a methodological approach for studies of learning in physical education (PE) and sport pedagogy in order to investigate and clarify the relation between how people learn and the settings or context in which they learn. Drawing on the work of John Dewey, the later works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and socio-cultural approaches, a practical epistemology analysis (PEA) with a focus on aesthetic judgements is suggested as a way of developing a valuable approach for investigating situated learning. The approach is illustrated by an analysis of a biographical story written by the English author Jenny Diski. As can be seen from the illustration, the significance of aesthetic experience for learning is visible when an author tells us about skating as a child. By using PEA to examine aesthetic experience—operationalised through the aesthetic judgements the author includes in the story—we can shed light on the relation between the skater and the situation in which skating takes place. The fact that aesthetic judgements are used by the author normatively to decide what is to be included and excluded in skating, and also that aesthetic judgements are used to make relations between the skater and her life as a whole, facilitates an exploration of the relation between the sports learner and the life situation in which learning is situated.     

Applying the tourist area life cycle within sport tourism: the case of Stellenbosch and German athletes

The popular tourist town of Stellenbosch in South Africa has long been a favoured training destination for European athletes during the northern hemisphere winter months. This paper considers the case study of German athletes – one of the most prominent groups to train in Stellenbosch since the early 1990s. The analysis involves the application of the concept of the Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) to the town’s sport tourism offering. In this regard Stellenbosch continues to experience notable demographic changes, not all of which are related to tourism. The impact of these changes is considered in the context of the factors which have historically made the town a sought-after destination for high performance athletics training camps. Consequently this paper offers an analysis of Stellenbosch’s current and future attractiveness as far as this particular dimension of sport tourism is concerned. This is an important consideration given the availability of alternative training destinations both in South Africa and internationally.     

Embracing the sportification of society: Defining e-sports through a polymorphic view on sport

In this paper, the author argues that, regardless of whether e-sports qualify as sports, they should be examined in sport management because they are a manifestation of sportification. Sportification means to either: (a) view, organize, or regulate a non-sport activity in such a way that it resembles a sport and allows a fair, pleasurable, and safe environment for individuals to compete and cooperate, and compare their performances to each other, and future and past performances; or (b) add a sport component to an existing activity in order to make it more attractive to its audiences. As the sport industry itself is embracing e-sports as a sport, scholars should embrace e-sports as a manifestation of sportification and examine their negative and positive effect on our industry.     

Leveraging sport events for tourism gain in host cities: a regime perspective

ABSTRACT

Proponents often claim that bidding for and hosting sport events have an overall capacity to generate a variety of benefits for cities and regions. Despite limited empirical evidence to support these assertions, cities continue to vie for hosting rights. In an effort to maximise the benefits of hosting, host cities have adopted a strategic approach to event planning and management referred to as event leveraging. A critical concern raised in the leveraging literature is how event-related strategies fit with the broader tourism development agenda of cities and regions, and how they are implemented. This paper uses Urban Regime Theory (URT) to understand how and why cities seek to host events, and how the process of leveraging is undertaken to maximise the benefits of hosting. Viewing events and strategies in the context of regimes, highlights why some cities and regions have been successful in leveraging sport events for tourism gain over time and, importantly, why some have not. This paper synthesises the existing body of work on tourism-based sport event leveraging, identifies three ways academic research has explored leveraging, and uses regime theory as a lens to further our understanding of the leverage process in host cities.     

体育旅游在中国的发展

阐述了体育旅游的概念和类别，研究了世界体育旅游发展现状和原因以及我国体育旅游发展现状及其特点，分析了我国体育旅游发展中的不足，并提出了相应的对策。     

Accumulating subcultural capital through sport event participation: The AFL International Cup

In this study, the authors use participant interviews to examine how participating in an international event enabled the accumulation of subcultural capital. The authors conducted interviews with players (N = 9) in the Australian Football League (AFL) International Cup from Canada, USA, New Zealand, and Ireland. The AFL International Cup created a liminal state offering individuals with opportunities for: (a) national representation; (b) international competition and comparison; (c) cross-cultural learning and interaction; (d) sport subcultural engagement; and, (d) authentic game experiences. The resulting experience enabled participants a deeper connection with the sport subculture, which created the potential for sport advocacy in their home countries. Results will assist international sport event hosts in creating meaningful participant experiences that facilitate deeper personal attachments to the sporting subculture.     

Competition,gender and the sport experience: an exploration among college athletes

Worldwide, sport and physical activity rates of women generally lag behind those of men. One reason for this could be the way that sport cultures typically frame and value competition. This study provides an examination of the meaning and impact of ‘competition’ on the sport participation experiences of men and women. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, individual and group interviews were conducted with 76 current and former male and female collegiate athletes from both varsity and club sports regarding the impact of competition on their sport experiences. Results revealed that women and men tended to view and interpret competition differently, which strongly impacted their sport experiences. Sport programming that embraces a balance of cooperation and competition may be valuable for attracting and retaining both male and female participants.     

长三角地区体育旅游资源开发的战略研究

分析了长三角地区体育旅游资源的优势,并提出了体育旅游资源的开发对策:通过深化长三角区域旅游竞合及产品结构调整,进一步拓展长三角地区体育旅游深度,注重经济效益、社会效益、生态效益的有机统一,从而实现长三角地区体育旅游的可持续发展。     

我国定向体育旅游发展的现状与对策

定向体育旅游是体育旅游的重要组成部分,发展定向体育旅游已成为保持我国体育旅游可持续发展的一个重要课题。提出并阐述了定向体育旅游的概念,分析了我国目前定向体育旅游发展的现状和存在的主要问题,并提出了发展定向体育旅游的对策。     

The carbon footprint of active sport participants

Researchers examining carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions (carbon footprint) in sport have focused on sport events and, to a lesser extent, sport teams, but provided only average or aggregate values. The author takes the perspective of active sport participants and considers the heterogeneity of individual sport participation behavior. Using online surveys, adult active sport participants (n = 6537) in 20 different sports with main residence in Germany were asked to report their sport-travel behavior in 2015, including traveling in the context of regular (weekly) activity, sport competitions/tournaments, league games, day trips, and training camps/vacations. Annual carbon footprints were estimated using information about travel distances and transportation means. The results revealed an average annual carbon footprint of 844 kg of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, with individual sports producing more emissions than team/racket sports. Participants in nature sports had the highest emission levels. Regression analyses revealed that environmental consciousness significantly reduced carbon footprint in individual sports, but not in team/racket and nature sports, supporting the existence of an environmental value-action gap. Activity years, club membership, weekly exercise hours, performance level, and income were mainly positively associated with annual carbon footprint, while gender was insignificant. The findings have implications for policy makers and managers in sport associations and clubs.     

Managing sport for social change: The state of play

Sport-for-development (SFD) provides a platform for sport to be used as a tool or “hook” to contribute to positive outcomes in areas including economic development, social inclusion, cultural cohesion, healthy lifestyles, education, gender equity, as well as reconciliation and peacebuilding. The area of sport for social change (SFSC) represents a sub-field of SFD that uses sport as a catalyst to build social capacity and develop socially and physically healthy communities. The Managing Sport for Social Change special issue of Sport Management Review brings together a collection of conceptual advances, empirical research papers and teaching case studies from a range of social and cultural perspectives, with a focus on managing sport for social change; aimed at engaging critically with sport management theory and praxis, and discussing associated practical and policy implications. Theoretical gaps and recommendations for future research, including: local engagement, innovative research methodology, and a broadening of the scope of research are also discussed.     

顺应动态竞争:高校对复合型体育旅游人才的培养战略

体育与旅游的有机结合,造就了一个新兴的市场群落——体育旅游市场。而快速发展的体育旅游市场处于动态竞争环境中。发展体育旅游,必须要重视人才培养。采用文献资料法、专家访谈法和问卷调查法,对我国体育旅游人才培养的现状进行分析,阐明高校应顺应动态竞争市场的需要,设计新型的具有高素质、高技能、复合型体育旅游人才培养模式,并在此基础上建构培养体育旅游人才的课程体系。     

我国体育赛事旅游目的地可持续发展:利益相关者视角分析

体育赛事旅游目的地的可持续发展需要对不同的利益相关者建立相应的利益管理机制。运用文献资料法对可持续发展理论和利益相关者理论进行系统归纳和评述,在此基础上,就体育赛事旅游目的地利益相关者的界定、构成和分类进行探讨。体育赛事旅游目的地利益相关者分为:核心利益相关者、蛰伏利益相关者、边缘利益相关者三部分,并主要对体育赛事旅游目的地的政府及其职能部门、体育赛事旅游企业、赛事旅游者、当地居民这四个关系密切和影响力较大的核心利益相关者进行分析,期望通过构建“双向沟通-协调合作-互利共赢”的核心利益相关者管理机制构建体育赛事旅游目的地利益共同体,进而实现体育赛事旅游目的地的可持续发展。     

Australian Indigenous youth's participation in sport and associated health outcomes: Empirical analysis and implications

Analysis of the 2012 Mission Australia Youth Survey (MAYS) finds that among Indigenous youth aged 15–19 years there is a positive relationship between self-reported participation in sport and two health outcomes: rating of overall health and risk of mental health disorder. We find that Indigenous youth who participate in sport are 3.5 times more likely to report good general health and 1.6 times more likely to have no probable serious mental illness. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to potential future research and policy. In terms of research, the analysis illustrates the utility of brief and cost-effective measures of health outcomes that could be used in future evaluations of specific programs targeting Indigenous youth participation in sport. We also discuss the potential ramifications, for practitioners and management professionals, of the particular policy paths needed to address the current gaps in service delivery to Indigenous communities, and for the development of grassroots, evidence-based, well resourced, culturally sensitive, inclusive and community-led programs. This can, in part, be achieved by ensuring youth sport development programs are shaped by Indigenous youth themselves.     

Interorganizational cooperation in sport tourism: A social network analysis

Cooperation among organizations is crucial in many fields of sport management. However, little is known about how and why interorganizational cooperation occurs. In this study, cooperative relations among organizations were investigated in an informal sport tourism network in a German community and its surrounding area to explore the structure of interorganizational cooperation and demonstrate the value of social network analysis methods for understanding mechanisms of interorganizational cooperation. Statistical network analyses based on relational data revealed that the network of cooperation is sparse but characterized by substantial clustering, indicating a tendency for cooperation to occur in triangular structures. The most central network actor was a local sports agency, but there was no mechanism of preferential attachment. Other significant mechanisms for cooperative tie formation were brokerage and homophily regarding organizational aims. Lack of time and incompatible goals are the most important barriers to cooperation. The results add to prior qualitative studies and provide implications for managing sport tourism networks.     

The role of sport in community capacity building: An examination of sport for development research and practice

Population health promotion and preventing disease remain important global policy goals. Because of the complex nature of health, and the recognition of the limits of individual-oriented health promotion strategies, recent decades have seen increased interest by public health researchers and practitioners in community-level approaches to health promotion. Increasingly, community-level approaches have been based upon the theoretical concept of community capacity. Community capacity is seen as a critical mechanism for supporting and promoting community-level health and through the sport for development (SFD) model, there is evidence of sport being an important practice for community development. However, little is known about the potential role of sport as a mechanism for building community capacity. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to examine the efficacy of sport to contribute to the process of community capacity building. Using seven established dimensions of community capacity, there is evidence that many SFD practices can effectively facilitate dimensions of community capacity when conducted in intentional, culturally relevant ways. Specifically, sport has demonstrated efficacy in building local skills, knowledge, and resources, increasing social cohesion, facilitating structures and mechanisms for community dialog, leadership development, and encouraging civic participation. More research is needed to understand sport's ability to promote capacity building through collective action, developing value systems that support democracy and inclusion, and encouraging critical reflection. To increase the usefulness of sport to support community health development, SFD principles should be included as part of sport management university curricula. Additionally, practitioners need grounding in community and human development research to support non-sport components of programs. Finally, participatory action research techniques should be used by researchers and practitioners. Sport-based development often generates high interest from residents, funders, and policy makers. By applying principles of community capacity building, sport may be uniquely positioned to enhance sustainable community health development initiatives.     

知识经济对边疆特色体育旅游业发展的影响

知识经济是一种以知识创新为基础的新的经济形态，随着知识经济时代的来临，知识和技术必将成为体育产业的主要组成部分。通过对新疆旅游资源和少数民族传统体育的优势分析，论述了知识经济时代对发展边疆地区有特色的体育旅游业的影响和促进边疆的两个明建设的作用。