This paper focuses on constructing and validating a survey instrument to determine the sport management competencies and to develop a sport management competency model. The initial Competencies of Sport Managers (COSM) instrument was constructed by reviewing the related literature followed by the expert jury's validation. It was then pilot-tested on 223 sport managers, from which in 96 competency statements resulted. The final COSM was administered to 1,334 sport managers and the resultant 816 valid responses were randomly split into two equal halves. The first half of the data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and the scree test indicated a Six-Factor Model consisting of 31 competency statements. These six factors were named: (1) governance, (2) sport foundations, (3) budgeting, (4) risk management, (5) computer skills, and (6) communications. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed using the second half of the data and several goodness-of-fit indices indicated that the Six-Factor Model adequately fits the data set.
This article reviews the development of interest in and concern for training and education of sport specialists. A review of research in competency-based education that relates to sport management and related fields provides an overview of the values of learning about specific job tasks of a sport manager. Competencies in sport management presented from a study of educational, municipal, and military settings show no significant difference between settings and certain significant differences in professional level. Further research is presented that shows differences in how educators and practitioners rate the importance of competencies in the field. Implications for practice suggest that more research is needed in order to gain further understanding of leadership requirements in the sport management profession.
Increased sport facility proximity is associated with higher likelihood of meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations in western studies, but it is uncertain whether the findings can be generalized to the Chinese population. From September 2012 to December 2012, 3926 participants drawn from China using a multi-stage sampling strategy were invited to participate in the Study of Community Sports in China. Participants' demographics, commuting time to the nearest sport facility and PA levels were assessed. Among 3926 participants included (51.2% female) in the final analysis, 878 (22.4%) of them met the PA recommendation. Participants who spent ≥30 minutes in commuting time had 80% odds [odds ratio (OR): 0.80 (95% CI: 0.65-0.98)] of meeting the PA recommendation compared to those who spent less than 10 minutes. For every 10-minute increment in commuting time, the odds reduced by 6% [OR = 0.94 (0.88-0.99)]. The observed associations were not appreciably modified by age, gender or education level. In this cross-sectional community-based study, we found that residents in China were less likely to meet the PA recommendation if they needed more commuting time to the nearest sport facility. Increasing sport facility proximity may be effective in improving the PA levels in the Chinese population.
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