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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects that exposure to a youth day event at an elite sport competition has on youth spectators’ motivations to participate in the sport on display.

The paper was underpinned by the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Pre- and post-event questionnaires were administered to local grade seven and eight students (n=318) as part of a youth day event at the 2016 Milton International Track Cycling Challenge in Ontario, Canada. Questionnaires assessed each TPB construct one week before the youth day and immediately following the event.

The paper provides empirical insights about the shifts from pre- to post-event behavioral antecedent measures. Results suggest youth day events can be effective at driving positive shifts in participation intention and subjective norm among youth populations.

A control group was not possible as an ethical limitation was created from the school boards which did not allow for some students/classes within the study to not experience the event. Researchers are encouraged to develop a study which allows for a youth control group and assesses the shift in behavioral antecedents at multiple time points post-event.

The paper includes implications for how to leverage subjective norms as a means of motivating post-event participation.

The paper fulfils a methodological gap to move beyond cross-sectional data and employ pre-post event research designs to measure the effect spectating an elite sport competition can have on youth’s motivation to participate in the sport on display.

Hosting events can attract visitors to an area and provide an opportunity for local businesses in the host community to benefit economically. Restaurants, in particular, have an opportunity to benefit as food is a necessary expenditure. However, previous research suggests that the intentional attraction of event visitors by local businesses has been minimal. The purpose of this paper is to explore perspectives of event leveraging held by restaurant owners/managers and a destination marketing organization (DMO).

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with owners/managers of 16 local restaurants and from three DMO executives in one medium-sized city in Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using initial and axial coding.

Findings indicate that restaurants did not engage in event leveraging. Three common reasons emerged to explain their lack of engagement in leveraging, including: a lack of a belief in benefits from leveraging, inconvenient proximity to event venue, and not being prepared for event leveraging opportunities. The DMO had a desire to assist local business in leveraging, but their ability to do so was negatively impacted by a lack of awareness of events being hosted, disengagement by local businesses, and limited resources.

Findings suggest that there is a need for DMOs and local businesses to create stronger and more supportive working relationships that address financial and human resources constraints preventing the adoption and success of event leveraging. As part of this approach there is a need for cities to make stronger financial investments in supportive agencies such as a DMO.

Traditional sports have seen declining participation at many levels, with football being no different. This is occurring at a time when emergent technologies present new challenges, particularly to the crucial yet ignored cohort of millennials. Without meeting the needs of millennials, football cannot be successful in the future. This research seeks to understand how millennial football fandom (sport, not team) in Australia impacts football participation, whilst empirically examining the impact of football video games (FVGs).

Survey data are collected from online groups, forums and social media pages of Australian football (soccer) fans. Quantitative analysis of millennial fandom and its influence on football participation (for the first time demarcated into play and engagement) is undertaken, including the moderating influence of time spent playing FVGs, amidst covariate influences of age and number of children.

Results highlight the multi-dimensionality of millennial football fandom in Australia, reveal the typical hours spent playing football across a range of participation types (including play and engagement), support fan involvement’s influence on engagement with football, establish that a desire to interact with other football fans manifests in playing more football, specify how playing FVGs moderates these relationships, supports the covariate influences of age and evidences that playing FVGs does not hamper football play.

This is the first study to examine millennial fans of football (the sport, not tied to a club) and the influence of fandom on football participation. By separating football participation into two forms, play and engagement, we highlight discrete influences, whilst evaluating for the first time the moderating influence of the time millennials spend playing FVGs. For sport managers and administrators, these are important findings to facilitate better segmentation, recruitment, retention and participation, each with broader societal health benefits. This is undertaken in Australia where football is not a dominant code, relegating fandom to a niche, thus revealing important findings for sports and business management.