Understanding Sporting Event Volunteers’ Experiences: A Critical Incident Approach.

Abstract

With the purpose of bringing added depth to our understanding of sporting event volunteerism by taking a new approach to research on the topic, the current study employed the critical incident technique to explore the perceptions of volunteers at a Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour event. Our findings suggest both connections to and departures from existing work on sporting event volunteerism. Specifically, the current study highlights a range of factors relevant to understanding sporting event volunteers’ experiences, including (a) the prominence of sport interest as a reason for volunteering, (b) the importance of social interaction and a feeling of contribution in the volunteer process, (c) the relevance of management practices in impacting volunteers’ experiences, (d) the gendered, raced, and classed nature of volunteerism, and (e) the implications of the overall high satisfaction levels of volunteers.