Leisure and Volunteer Motivation at a Special Sporting Event

Abstract

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.

Generation Z’s Sustainable Volunteering: Motivations, Attitudes and Job Performance

“…Existing studies have often addressed the importance of teamwork in the volunteering sector [54][55][56]. This is especially the case with event volunteering, even if individuals independently participate in volunteering in the event [54]. Supporting this, Doherty (2009) found that volunteer satisfaction is significantly influenced by team members [55].…”

“…One empirical study [53] demonstrated the significant role team cohesiveness plays in increasing the positive effect of employee attitudes toward innovativeness upon knowledge use and new product development performance. Existing studies have often addressed the importance of teamwork in the volunteering sector [54][55][56]. This is especially the case with event volunteering, even if individuals independently participate in volunteering in the event [54].…”

Are All My Volunteers Here to Help Out? Clustering Event Volunteers by Their Motivations

“…The Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale (SEVMS) (Farrell, Johnston, & Twynam, 1998) is the most widely tested of these scales. It has been applied by Farrell and colleagues to single events: a women's curling championship (Farrell et al, 1998), a scout jamboree (Johnston, Twynam, & Farrell, 1999), and a world junior curling event (Twynam, Farrell, & Johnston, 2002). It has subsequently been tested by other researchers, including Khoo and Engelhorn (2007) at the Malaysian Paralympiad, Reeser, Berg, Rhea, and Willick (2005) at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Grammatikopoulos, Koustelios, and Tsigilis (2006) at YMCA children's summer camps, and an adaptation used by Dickson, Benson, Blackman, and Terwiel (2013) to assess volunteer motives at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.…”

The Spirit Lives on: The Legacy of Volunteering at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

“…In an event-specific context, research (e.g., Doherty, 2009;Downward & Ralston, 2006;Twynam, Farrell, & Johnston, 2002) has also found that individuals who have a good experience while volunteering at an event are more likely to volunteer at future events. For example, 49% of volunteers from the World Junior Curling Tournament (Twynam et al, 2002); 85% of 2002 Commonwealth Games volunteers (Downward & Ralston, 2006); and 98% of volunteers sampled from the Canada Games (Doherty, 2009) indicated that they would volunteer again after a positive experience at their respective events.…”