Major Sports Events and Their Ability to Benefit Local Sports Clubs: A Case Study of the Auckland Professional Tennis Tournaments Katharine Hoskyn A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) 2011 School of Applied Humanities Primary Supervisor: Geoff Dickson Table of contents Attestation of authorship ................................................................................................................. 6 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... 7 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 9 1.2 Research question and approach ............................................................................................... 12 1.3 Researcher ................................................................................................................................. 13 1.4 Thesis structure .......................................................................................................................... 13 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Tennis participation trends in New Zealand .............................................................................. 15 2.2 Impact and legacies of sport events........................................................................................... 18 2.3 Impact of events on sport development .................................................................................... 22 2.4 The impact of elite sport events on sport participation ............................................................. 24 2.5 Leveraging events to create an impact ...................................................................................... 27 2.6 Chapter summary....................................................................................................................... 31 Methodology and Method ............................................................................................................. 33 3.1 Action research .......................................................................................................................... 33 3.2 Interpretative paradigm............................................................................................................. 36 3.3 Research quality ......................................................................................................................... 36 3.4 Case study research ................................................................................................................... 38 3.5 Role of the researcher ................................................................................................................ 39 3.6 Analysis approach ...................................................................................................................... 39 3.7 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 42 3.8 Chapter summary....................................................................................................................... 47 Context .......................................................................................................................................... 49 4.1 The national sport organisation ................................................................................................. 49 4.2 Regional centres ......................................................................................................................... 51 4.3 Clubs ........................................................................................................................................... 52 4.4 The tournaments ........................................................................................................................ 52 4.5 Chapter summary....................................................................................................................... 53 Findings from Reconnaissance Phase ............................................................................................. 55 2 5.1 Current situation ........................................................................................................................ 55 5.2 Future possibilities ..................................................................................................................... 62 5.3 Chapter summary....................................................................................................................... 64 The Intervention ............................................................................................................................ 66 6.1 Club stand in the exhibitors’ dome at the tournaments............................................................ 66 6.2 Promotion to provide an incentive for spectators to visit a club ............................................... 67 6.3 Information in the tournament programme .............................................................................. 68 6.4 Mini-cycle – identifying a profile of spectators in terms of their playing of tennis ................... 68 6.5 Chapter summary ...................................................................................................................... 69 Evaluation of the Intervention ....................................................................................................... 70 7.1 Findings ...................................................................................................................................... 71 7.2 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 81 7.3 Chapter summary....................................................................................................................... 84 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 86 References ..................................................................................................................................... 91 Appendices Appendix A: Participant information sheet…………………………………. 99 Appendix B: Consent forms…………………………………………………. 102 Appendix C: Photographs of club stand in exhibitors’ dome at tournaments. 105 Appendix D: Half page advertisement in the tournament programmes for 109 club stand……………………………………………………… Appendix E: Half page advertisement in tournament programmes for free 110 lesson promotion…………………………………………. Appendix F: Summary sheet of club feedback……………………………… 111 Appendix G: Half page advertisement in tournament programmes for the 113 Open Days…………………………………………………… Appendix H: Full page details in ASB Classic tournament programme about 114 tennis in Auckland programme…….....……………………. 3 List of Tables Table 1: Tennis participation and club membership in New Zealand, 16 2000/2001 and 2007/2008 ………………………………………. Table 2: Steps in Austrade’s Olympic Leveraging Plan………………….. 29 Table 3: Reconnaissance phase: Interview dimensions and questions……. 43 Table 4: Post intervention interview questions…………………………… 45 Table 5: Suggestions for increasing presence of clubs at 64 tournaments……………………………………………………… Table 6: Overview of analysis of the intervention……………………… 70 Table 7: Profile of spectators at the tournaments…………………………. 76 Table 8: Summary of research findings………………………………….. 80 4 List of Figures Figure 1: Balanced scorecard approach to evaluating events…………….. 20 Figure 2: The attraction process…………………………………………… 23 Figure 3: The frequency escalator for sport attendance and 26 participation……………………………………………………… Figure 4: Model of social event leverage…………………………………. 30 Figure 5: Overview of the theoretical perspective, methodology and 33 research method…………………………………………………. Figure 6: Phases of action research………………………………………... 34 Figure 7: Stages of the analysis process…………………………………… 42 Figure 8: Tennis New Zealand Pathway…………………………………… 51 5 Attestation of authorship I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. Signed:_____________________________ Date: ________________ 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the people in the tennis organisations who supported and participated in this research project. The collaborative process between the participants and me was a key success factor for the study. Through this collaboration an academic project was undertaken ‘in the real world’ with benefits for a community and academia. The research was approved by the AUT University Ethics Committee, application number 09/45. Phase one was approved on 20 April 2009 and phase two was approved on 30 August 2010. My supervisor, Dr Geoff Dickson, provided invaluable guidance in this study. I would like to thank Geoff for his patience, insight, challenging discussion and support. Dr Lesley Ferkins’ advice about the methodology and method section is greatly appreciated. The support from my colleagues in the Faculty of Business was encouraging. My immediate colleagues in MARS (Marketing, Advertising, Retailing and Sales) always showed great interest in my progress both during informal discussion and at department presentations. I would also like to thank the participants on the Faculty of Business Writers’ Retreats, which I attended whilst writing this thesis. These retreats are inspirational as well as offering time-out and practical support for writing. My thanks to the faculty and organisers of the retreats. Finally heart-felt thanks to my husband, who endured months of not being able to use a dining room table that was covered with articles and other papers. At various stages during this process he listened patiently as I was unable to talk or think about anything else. At all stages of the project he was ‘always there’ with encouragement. 7 Abstract Tennis clubs suffer as participation declines. The increasing popularity of the casual ‘pay-for-play’ concept results in further decrease in membership for complacent sport clubs. Yet strategic documents from government sport agencies in New Zealand continue to emphasise the importance of sport clubs. A review of sport event literature reveals a gap with regard to how major sport events directly benefit the sport itself, in particular the potential link between second-tier elite events and participation at non-elite level. This study investigates the question of how local sport clubs can leverage a major sport event for increased participation and/or membership. The research question is explored within the context of two international tennis tournaments held in Auckland, New Zealand in January each year. Specifically the project takes a participatory action research approach with a three-phase collaborative process. During the first and third phases, qualitative research is undertaken with people in the national sport organisation, two regional bodies and sport clubs. In the first reconnaissance phase, participants demonstrate universal agreement about a lack of profile for tennis clubs at the tournaments. They agree this missed opportunity forms the basis for the second phase, the intervention, which comprises three initiatives: a club information stand; a promotional offer of a free tennis lesson at a tennis club for non-club members; and information in the tournament programmes to support these activities. At the third phase of evaluation, participants conclude the intervention is successful. Whilst there is mixed reaction about the outcome of the tennis lesson promotion, the overall perception is that the process used for the study has benefits. Some operational issues are identified as reducing consumer interest in the tennis lesson offered during the promotion. Consumer behaviour theory, however, indicates some drop-off in interest after the tournaments is inevitable. In conclusion, clubs can benefit from sport events by operating as a co- ordinated group and developing a leveraging plan for a specific event or sport using a process similar to the one adopted in this study. In developing plans, local sport bodies can consider the broad principles behind the intervention in this case study of ensuring a profile for clubs at the sport event and providing a direct link between the event and clubs. 8 Introduction 1.1 Background This study investigates how local sport clubs can leverage a major sport event for increased participation and/or membership of their club. The emphasis is on identification of actions that local sport organisations can take to achieve this increase. Previous research tends to focus on whether or not a sport event had impact. This research aims to identify what can be done to create an impact on participation and/or membership within clubs. Sport participation can range on a continuum from informal participation through to club competitions and then on to the peak of performance (elite and professional sport) (Shilbury, Sotiriadou & Green, 2008). Whilst club membership is required to play competitive sport, at the informal level not all participation is within a club structure. The emphasis of this study is on increasing sport participation within clubs. On the continuum of participation, competitions are held with the aim of identifying a winner from a game, match or series of games or matches. Informal matches can be either outside or within a club. Competition can be highly organised between graded players of clubs. Major national or international sport events are those competitions involving elite and professional players and are likely to be accompanied by media interest. A key question that is rarely asked (and even more rarely answered) is `How do major sport events benefit the local sport community?' Shilbury et al. (2008) refer to this issue in the following assertion: "Given the allure of elite sport we do need to better understand how elite sport impacts on participation" (p.222). The scholarly literature reveals very little about the relationship between elite sport and club participation. Gratton, Shibli and Coleman (2006) suggest a model for evaluating sport events which investigates impact in four areas: economic impact, media and sponsor evaluation, benefits for host communities and sport development. The economic impact of sport events is well covered by an extensive body of literature (Chalip & Leyns, 2002; Daniels & Norman, 2003; Gratton, Dobson & Shilbi, 2000; Gratton et al., 2006; Hall, 1992; Hoddur & Leistriz, 2006; Sandy, Sloane & Rosentraub, 2004; Taks, Giriginov & Boucher, 2006). Media and sponsor evaluation studies tend to focus on increased media profile for the sport (Taks et al., 2006); creating successful events based on audience numbers (Chalip, 2004; Slack, 9 2004) and sponsorship (Slack, 2004). Benefits for the host community focus on gains for the host cities and in particular the tourism and hospitality industries in those geographic areas (Gibson, 1998; Hinch & Higham, 2004; Ritchie & Adair, 2004; Robertson, 2006; Schwarz & Hunter, 2008; Taks et al., 2006). In comparison to these three areas, the sport development literature is limited. The event-sport development literature is primarily concerned with the provision of facilities in a host area and the impact an event or events have on sporting infrastructure or policy (Costa, 2007; Giriginov, 2008; Shilbury & Deane, 2001). The relative dearth of event-sport development literature reflects the confused understanding of sport development as a concept. Sport development is multi- faceted. First, sport development includes the process or activity of increasing the number of people playing a particular sport. This can be described as grassroots or mass participation. Secondly, the expression also encompasses the development of players into competent, highly skilled or elite players for international competition (Malcolm, 2008; Shilbury et al., 2008; Sotiriadou, Quick & Shilbury, 2006). This study focuses in the first aspect of sport development. There is growing recognition of the need to move beyond the measurement of event impacts to the measurement of event legacies. Event impact evaluation merely assesses whether or not the event is successful in terms of its short-term effects. Gratton et al. (2006) suggest that with the increasing complexity and aims of major events, evaluations should evolve to understand the "likely legacies of events long after any medals have been presented" (p.57). Preuss (2007) develops this concept further with a definition of legacy as "irrespective of the time of production and space, legacy is all planned and unplanned, positive and negative, tangible and intangible structures created for and by a sport event that remain longer than the event itself " (p.211). Commensurate with the improved understanding of the difference between impacts and legacies is an increased understanding of leveraging (O’Brien & Chalip, 2007). Leveraging is an attempt to create a pre-planned impact. The expression ‘leveraging’ is used in many sectors, each defining the concept differently. The key points that arise from these definitions are that leveraging is intentional, requires some energy or impetus and maximizes the use of some asset for greater benefit. When used in the context of events, the concept remains vague to the point of being contested (Preuss, 2007). Consequently, the definition of the term is often implied 10