Lakehead University, OntarioThe purpose of this study was to investigate attributes of satisfaction and motivation for volunteers at an elite sporting competition and the implications of this for effective event management. A survey of 300 volunteers was undertaken immediately following the Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian Women's Curling Championship, held in Thunder Bay in March 1996. The 28-item Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale was tested in this study, resulting in four empirically supported factors termed purposive, solidary, external traditions, and commitments. The study measured the level of satisfaction with the general volunteer experience and with specific aspects of the administrative and managerial conditions. This study found that particular attributes of the event organization and competition facility played a role in volunteer satisfaction.Hosting a major sporting event requires organizing and coordinating numerous activities in addition to controlling the competition and dealing with athletes. Many major sporting events "depend on volunteer labor and are one-shot or annual occurrences of relatively short duration . . . [making] their organization and management quite different from those of permanent [or commercial] attractions and facilities, leading to an emphasis on strategies for resource acquisition, as well as development and retention of community support" (Getz, 1991, p. 41-42). Key activities of organizers include promoting the event to sponsors and spectators, solving ancillary needs such as parking and food, and recruiting and supervising volunteers. The volunteer team is a critical part of the overall success of many major sporting competitions (Williams, Dossa, & Tompkins, 1995). It is vital that organizers understand volunteer motivation and their satisfaction with the volunteering experience in order to respond effectively to management needs in the J.M. Farrell is with the School of Kinesiology at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5E1. M.E. Johnston is with the Department of Geography at Lakehead University. G.D. Twynam is with the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Tourism at Lakehead University. Volunteer Satisfaction 289areas of recruitment, retention, and daily operations. While much of the volunteer literatye emphasizes intrinsic and extrinsic benefits as the source of satisfaction for volunteers, we suggest that organizational and management factors may have a role in satisfaction. Other aspects of the volunteer experience, such as the communication style of the supervisor, interactions with other volunteers, and the nature of the working environment, could also play a significant role in overall satisfaction. Both the day-to-day operations of the organizing committee and the features of the venue could influence the volunteer experience. How well organizers understand these sources of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with event organization is likely to be important in their management of volunteers and, consequently, the overall efficiency of...

Volunteering as a form of leisure has been of interest to researchers for some time. This study examines volunteer motivation at a special sporting event in order to identify the links between special event motivations and volunteering as a leisure experience within the context of the work/leisure continuum developed by Cuskelly and Harrington (1997). A questionnaire was administered to volunteers to assess motivation using the Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale (SEVMS). Analysis revealed four motivational factors: Solidary, Purposive, Commitment, and External Traditions, of which the least important for this group of volunteers was External Traditions. The results suggest that for many of these special event volunteers, volunteer motivation is multifaceted and for some can be viewed as a serious leisure experience, one which is motivated by the desire to contribute to society and to develop the self.Résumé. Depuis un certain temps, des chercheurs s'intéressent au bénévolat comme une forme du loisir. Cette étude examine la motivation des bénévoles à un événement sportif spécial afin d'identifier les liens entre des motivations d'un événement spécial et le bénévolat comme une expérience en loisir dans le contexte du continuum: 363 travail/loisir développé par Cuskelly et Harrington (1997). Un questionnaire a été distribué parmi des bénévoles afin d'évaluer leur motivation en utiliser l'Echelle de motivation de bénévoles d'un événement spécial (EMBES -angl. SEVMS). Une analyse des résultats du questionnaire dévoile quatre facteurs de la motivation -ceux de solidarité, de but commun, d'engagement et de traditions externes, parmi lesquels le facteur le moins important pour ce groupe des bénévoles a été celui de traditions externes. Les résultats suggèrent aussi que pour la majorité de ces bénévoles d'un événement spécial la motivation de volontaires est un phénomène à facettes multiples. En plus, elle peut être considérée comme une vraie expérience en loisir, celle motivée par le désir de la contribution à la société et par le développement du soi-même.

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Special events are a popular component of tourism and economic development strategies for communities and regions in many parts of the world. Researchers continue to develop an understanding of the positive and negative aspects of the events, and to assess residents' support for these events and their views about impacts. The main objective of this paper is to assess residents' reactions over a one-year period to hosting a special sporting event. The analysis is based on three community surveys, one undertaken before the event, the next immediately following the event, and the final one six months later. The research found that support remained high over this period, though a decline in overall support was evident. Over time, views about changes to facilities and services in the community shifted and there were distinct differences in residents' opinions on the impacts of hosting the event. The paper concludes that longitudinal studies must include a time-frame that extends beyond the immediate post-event period and, further, that a comprehensive event hosting impact scale would be useful for research in this field.

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