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1 – 10 of over 44000Matt Holden, Richard Shipway and Matthew Lamont
In sport tourism, an undeniable recent participation trend is the gravitation of amateur athletes to participatory sport events, particularly cycling sport tourism events. This…
Abstract
Purpose
In sport tourism, an undeniable recent participation trend is the gravitation of amateur athletes to participatory sport events, particularly cycling sport tourism events. This trend presents numerous policy, applied, and scholarly opportunities and challenges. Contemporary trends are identified to guide future research addressing cycling sport tourism events. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a collaborative initiative between a major global sport event management organisation and established sport tourism scholars. Industry data are drawn upon to identify contemporary sport event participation trends and thus inform a future research agenda.
Findings
This paper draws upon industry data and insights to tease out five emerging trends in the participatory sport event sector which scholars should engage with.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the confidential nature of the company data, there were restrictions in the detail which could be reported.
Practical implications
Increasing growth in premium quality, physically challenging cycling sport tourism events is analysed. A five-pronged future research agenda is proposed to address contemporary sport event management issues around measuring event impacts; strategic management of events; and leveraging globalisation and emerging markets.
Originality/value
Based on trends identified in this paper, theoretical concepts are drawn upon to propose a timely, industry-relevant future research agenda into cycling sport tourism events.
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Daniel J. Larson and Doyeon Won
Despite persistent levels of participation in cycling, little research has been undertaken in the context of competitive cycling event management and marketing. This study…
Abstract
Despite persistent levels of participation in cycling, little research has been undertaken in the context of competitive cycling event management and marketing. This study explored participant preferences using conjoint measurement and plausible market segmentations. Results of the survey conducted at three southeastern US cycling events (N=199) suggest that travel distance has primacy across nearly all segment groups and differences in recreational specialisation in cycling are reflected among other preferred event attributes.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the 2015 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Cycling Championship in Richmond, Virginia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the 2015 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Cycling Championship in Richmond, Virginia.
Design/methodology/approach
An array of eclectic methods included in situ witness observations of several of the races, 21 semi-structured random interviews and multiple discussions with elements of UCI, the city of Richmond’s planners, residents and business owners during and after the championship in fall 2015.
Findings
This paper has uncovered five findings: First, the material investment was considerably smaller than that of other events (common good criterion CGC i – good governance); second, pre-planning was critical to successfully hosting the event; third, this event included not only two entities as one would expect at first glance, but many (common good criterion CGC ii – good management); fourth, a filière approach to community service and the exploitation of clustered thematic activities was of critical importance to successfully hosting the 2015 UCI Road World Cycling Championship; and fifth, this event enabled the opportunity to market other city and regional assets (common good criterion CGC iii – good outcomes).
Practical implications
Cities hoping to bid for events ought to consider hosting unique events such as road championships. Those cities will benefit from careful event pre-planning, responsible event hosting and post-event legacies in the form of socio-economic and mindscape memories.
Social implications
Bidding and pre-event planning is increasingly seen as an opportunity to locate, create and develop support for common good urban projects, which will remain valuable after the event is over or which will need to be built in spite of the bid’s result.
Originality/value
This study fills an unresearched gap on the impact of events on a city’s future non-motorized sustainable transportation priorities.
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Simone Fullagar and Adele Pavlidis
The purpose of this paper is to develop a gendered understanding of women's experience of a mass cycle tour event.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a gendered understanding of women's experience of a mass cycle tour event.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses an ethnographic approach to explore women's experiences of a cycle tour event. Qualitative data are analysed through the conceptual framework of post‐structural feminism.
Findings
Key themes included the meaning of women's cycle tour experience as a “shared journey”, the centrality of the “body” in event design (comfort, safety, enjoyment) and an event culture of “respect” (encouragement, skill development, knowledge sharing).
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on a particular sample of women who were largely Anglo‐Celtic, middle to lower middle class and middle aged Australians. Hence, this research does not claim to be representative of all women's experiences. Given the strong focus on quantitative research within event management, this research identifies the need for qualitative and feminist approaches.
Practical implications
The research findings identify a number of gender issues for professionals to reflexively consider in designing, promoting, managing and evaluating mass cycle tour events. The findings have implications for how active tourism events are conceptualised, promoted and managed as gender inclusive.
Social implications
Developing a gender inclusive approach to events can broaden the participant target market and address equity issues relating to women's participation in physical activity.
Originality/value
There has been little exploration of the gendered experience or management of events in the literature. Hence, this paper contributes to empirical research and theorising of women's experiences of active tourism events.
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Harry Arne Solberg, Denis Mike Becker, Jon Martin Denstadli, Frode Heldal, Per Ståle Knardal and Thor Atle Thøring
This paper sought to determine how a major sport event can become trapped in a winner's curse, in which the fierce competition to host the event forces organisers to spend more on…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sought to determine how a major sport event can become trapped in a winner's curse, in which the fierce competition to host the event forces organisers to spend more on acquiring and hosting it than what it is worth in economic terms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a combination of document analysis and 47 in-depth interviews with 51 individuals representing various private and public organisations involved in the implementation of the UCI 2017 Road Cycling World Championship. Snowball sampling and a semi-structured interview guide were used to ensure coverage of all relevant information.
Findings
The organiser and the host municipal lacked the necessary experience with events of this size and character. Information from previous championships events was not transferred, and the municipality administration did not utilise experiences from hosting previous events. Limited financial resources prevented the organiser from hiring enough employees with the necessary competence. Lack of communication between the stakeholders who contributed in hosting the event reduced the quality of planning and preparations. A dubious culture and lack of seriousness within the Norwegian Cycling Federation, which was the owner of organising company, seemed to have been transferred to organiser.
Originality/value
The research identifies some of the reasons why major sports events so often turns out to be more problematic than expected in economic terms, not only for the organiser but also for actors in the public sector in the host city. The novelty is that it goes into depth on the underlying reasons and the dynamic forces behind these problems.
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Luke R. Potwarka, Ryan Snelgrove, Laura Wood, Georgia Teare and Daniel Wigfield
The purpose of this study was to examine whether watching a live track cycling event could increase youths' intention to participate in the sport, and to identify cognitive and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine whether watching a live track cycling event could increase youths' intention to participate in the sport, and to identify cognitive and affective mechanisms associated with post-event intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of youth spectators (n = 362) who experienced the 2016 Milton International Track Cycling Challenge completed pre- and post-event questionnaires to assess intention to participate and cognitive and affective components of their spectator experience.
Findings
Respondents' intentions to participate post-event were significantly higher than pre-event. Results also indicated that state inspiration mediated relationships between three cognitive dimensions of sport spectator experiences (i.e. fantasy, flow, evaluation) and intention to participate.
Practical implications
Sport managers should design youth day events to engage with youth prior to the event to increase their knowledge of the sport. This prior engagement may help youth to evaluate performances effectively. Moreover, event experience should be designed to incorporate vicarious and immersive experiences tailored to youth spectators.
Originality/value
The present study is one of the first to assess intentions to participate among youth spectators at multiple time points (i.e. before and after an event) and identifies specific mechanism within the spectator experience that may lead to a demonstration effect.
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Vajiheh Javani and Vahid Ghasemi
Sports tourism has become an important element of reconstruction, and also considered as a strong tourist activity for tourism development and recovery. Therefore, the main aim of…
Abstract
Sports tourism has become an important element of reconstruction, and also considered as a strong tourist activity for tourism development and recovery. Therefore, the main aim of current research is to study the economic impact of sporting events on host communities based on stakeholder theory in Aras Free Zone of Iran and how it may contribute to rejuvenating tourism destination. Qualitative method has been used for the aim of this chapter. A semi-structured interview is applied for data collection. The sampling method was purposive sampling with maximum diversity or heterogeneity. 21 stakeholders have been interviewed who involved in the Iran-Azerbaijan International Cycling Tour or the International Traditional Archery Competition – Aras Geopark Cup. Potential cycling tour stakeholders are selected to conduct in-depth interviews in terms of the economic impact of sport tourism events specifically cycling tours which can be operated by social distancing rules in Aras Free Zone, Iran. The interviews were analysed by thematic analysis. Extracted codes were categorised into four themes: infrastructure development and services, increased awareness of the host community, managerial and policy development, business development, and investment. This study suggests that small scale sports tourism could be considered as motivation drivers in emerging tourist destinations; Specifically, those sports that can be practiced in the pandemic situation following physical distancing such as cycling. The findings of this study help to policymakers and destination marketers to use appropriate sports tourism events as a tool for economic development and tourism recovery of destinations. Managerial implications and limitations are discussed.
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Purpose – This chapter examines how activism and advocacy have shaped the policy and politics of cycling.Methodology – Evidence drawn upon includes policy documents and interviews…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter examines how activism and advocacy have shaped the policy and politics of cycling.
Methodology – Evidence drawn upon includes policy documents and interviews with advocates and activists, some carried out as part of the Economic and Social Research Council Cycling Cultures project. The chapter focuses on the United Kingdom but within a comparative context drawing upon material from The Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
Findings – The chapter argues that cycling has always been constructed in relation to social movements and social identities, and so the politics of cycling varies depending on the relationship of cycling to politics more broadly. Understanding this context can contribute to the analysis of policy and infrastructural debates within and between cycling movements.
Research limitations – The research could be strengthened by a comparative focus upon middle- and lower-income countries, where the demographic profile of cyclists is likely to be different leading to distinctively different politics of cycling.
Research implications – The politics of cycling should be considered as crucial in shaping the content and outcomes of cycling policies, particularly in terms of understanding – and redressing – perceived policy failures.
Social implications – The chapter argues that the current political and economic situation is generating distinctive political problems for cycling movements, and this is already beginning to produce new debates and changes in forms of advocacy and activism.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of extreme weather on tourism events through the perceptions of participants, using the case of the 2017 Cape Town Cycle…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of extreme weather on tourism events through the perceptions of participants, using the case of the 2017 Cape Town Cycle Tour (CTCT).
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilized a survey method to collect data. Questionnaires were distributed online to would-be participants in the cancelled 2017 CTCT. The questionnaire included both fixed-response and open-ended questions.
Findings
The results show that participants experienced mixed emotions to event cancellation. Most felt that the weather conditions warranted cancellation, but some concerns emerged as to how the cancellation was managed. In addition, many felt that the organization of the race needs to be rethought due to numerous negative weather experiences in recent years.
Research limitations/implications
The findings in this study are exploratory. They focus on a single event in one city. However, they provide important initial insight into how sporting event participants react to the negative impacts of extreme weather.
Practical implications
These results have important management implications in addressing the impact of weather on the events sector. They are significant in understanding best practice with regard to managing participants in the case of weather impacts on an event. They also demonstrate interesting results with regard to participant loyalty among active sport events tourists.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is in its extension of the broad discussion of the impact of extreme weather and climate change on tourism to the events sector. The implications of changing weather and climatic patterns on events, particularly mass-participation sporting events, are clear and need to be considered in order to effectively manage future impacts on this important economic sector. This is done by providing insight into how participants respond to these types of circumstances.
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John Lau, Nick Hoo, Rob Horsley, Joe Smetana, Dongkai Shangguan, Walter Dauksher, Dave Love, Irv Menis and Bob Sullivan
Temperature cycling tests, and statistical analysis of the results, for various high‐density packages on printed‐circuit boards with Sn‐Cu hot‐air solder levelling, electroless…
Abstract
Temperature cycling tests, and statistical analysis of the results, for various high‐density packages on printed‐circuit boards with Sn‐Cu hot‐air solder levelling, electroless nickel‐immersion gold, and organic solder preservative finishes are investigated in this study. Emphasis is placed on the determination of the life distribution and reliability of the lead‐free solder joints of these high‐density package assemblies while they are subjected to temperature cycling conditions. A data acquisition system, the relevant failure criterion, and the data extraction method will be presented and examined. The life test data are best fitted to the Weibull distribution. Also, the sample mean, population mean, sample characteristic life, true characteristic life, sample Weibull slope, and true Weibull slope for some of the high‐density packages are provided and discussed. Furthermore, the relationship between the reliability and the confidence limits for a life distribution is established. Finally, the confidence levels for comparing the quality (mean life) of lead‐free solder joints of high‐density packages are determined.
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