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This paper explores perspectives of elite female athletes competing at world championship sports events, hosted in extreme climatic conditions. From the athlete perspective, it examines the implications of decisions by global sports federations when selecting host cities and the subsequent impacts upon elite athletes competing in unfavourable climates.

Using an exploratory case study approach at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, this paper explores insider perspectives of four elite female participants competing in the Marathon. Adopting the “elite interviewing” technique, and based on event participant experiences, the paper prioritises the perspective and “voice” of the athlete.

Four key themes emerged from the data. These were (1) the importance of training and preparation; (2) unique challenges of competition day; (3) elite athlete retrospection; and (4) prioritising the perspectives of elite athletes at international sports events. The findings highlight the challenges of managing athlete preparation and performance at world championship events hosted in extreme climatic conditions.

The sample size for this study whilst relatively small is unique. This reflects challenges accessing elite athletes, their reluctance to be interviewed, and the small pool of elite athlete talent available. Given these practical barriers, this represents a good sample size.

This paper secures unique insider access to elite level female endurance athletes competing at world championship events. The study makes a contribution to knowledge in event studies by introducing concepts of “elite event interviewing” and the “athlete-event paradox”.

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.

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.

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.

Due to the confidential nature of the company data, there were restrictions in the detail which could be reported.

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.

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.

Events research is witnessing a gradual increase in experience‐related studies, reflecting a challenge to the dominance of positivist, quantitative‐based studies. This purpose of this paper is to support a paradigm shift to effect a more balanced examination of events within the existing body of literature.

A search of events‐related publications in both events and non‐events journals is conducted in order to identify the level of use of the ethnographic approach by researchers in event studies. The literature on qualitative methods and on ethnography in particular is also examined, in a bid to show how ethnography can be used and how it is specifically suited to inquiry into the consumer experience of events and festivals.

Ethnography is advocated as an appropriate research approach to the events field, and this paper details the extensive potential that this approach offers. Drawing from the wider literature on ethnography, a rationale for an alternative methodology with the associated research methods of observation, interviewing and the use of documentary sources is explored and its applicability to events research is demonstrated.

The academic researcher is introduced to the potential offered by ethnography and is pointed in the direction of the relevant research methods literature that would equip them with the practical tools of investigation.

By alerting the reader to the applicability and value of ethnography, this paper aims to encourage the adoption of the ethnographic approach by event researchers. This will thereby lead to a more diverse literature on events, and will rebalance the current dominance of quantitative‐based research papers, and it is for this reason that this paper makes an original contribution to knowledge in the study of events and festivals.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether attending one‐off sport events might inspire audiences to increase their participation in sport or recreational physical activity.

Primary data collection was undertaken with spectators aged 16 and over at three major sport events held in the UK in 2010. The findings are based on an aggregate sample of 2,312 respondents.

Around two‐thirds of respondents reported that their event experience had inspired them to increase their participation in sport or physical activity. The inspiration effect varied according to age and respondents’ predisposition to sport. The main factors that caused the inspiration were linked directly to the athletes and the competition. The provision of information about opportunities to undertake sport was found to be the most important lever to convert inspiration into participation.

Evidence of the impact of major sport events on mass participation is relatively scarce and inconclusive. In order for any “trickle‐down” effect to occur, it would be reasonable to assume that audiences would first be inspired by their event experience. It is this basic sense of inspiration that the research aimed to measure.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate residents’ perceptions of social impacts from co‐hosting the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship (WMHC09) in a small Croatian city – Split – in response to the need for social impacts research at a variety of sport tourism events and locations. Additional analysis was performed on a number of socio‐demographic factors that may affect the magnitude of residents’ perceptions.

A quantitative methodology was employed using a convenience sampling method. A drop and mail‐back technique with self‐completed surveys was used. A total of 92 completed surveys were returned. Mann‐Whitney U and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were used to test for patterns of social impacts across demographic variables.

Overall, respondents’ perceived the social impacts from co‐hosting WMHC09 as mostly positive. However, the majority of respondents believed that the public monies spent on a new arena construction should have been allocated to construct facilities for which there is a greater public need (healthcare centers, schools, etc.). Variations in respondents’ perceptions generally could not be explained by their socio‐demographic characteristics.

Any future decisions to use public monies for one‐time financially intensive events should perhaps be subjected to a decision by a popular vote.

This is one of the few studies to examine the residents’ perceptions of the social impacts of sport tourism events in transition countries. It also extends social exchange theory and reports validity and reliability of the social impacts scale.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of volunteer's motivation at major sporting events, how those affect future voluntary engagement, and whether there are differences in motivation based on the type of event.

A quantitative research design was chosen and volunteers at two major events in handball (n=96) and equestrian (n=83) were surveyed. Structural equation modelling was used based on a multi‐group analysis to answer the guiding research questions.

The results reveal that the expression of values and personal growth are the strongest factors influencing volunteer motivation and future behaviour. The factor “love of sport” had surprisingly no major effect on volunteer motivation at the handball event. Significant differences in volunteer motivation based on the type of event were detected.

A limitation of this study is the rather small sample sizes. Nonetheless, the results appear reliable. One implication of this research is that a model proposed in previous research to investigate volunteer motivation at mega sport events can be applied to major sport events and the multi‐group approach is useful when analysing different events.

Practitioners should try to find a good match between the interests and abilities of the volunteers and their tasks at the event, which includes their motivations.

The value of this research lies in applying a new methodological approach using multi‐group analysis to volunteer research.

The Comrades Marathon is a world‐renowned ultra marathon that takes place yearly between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. It attracts athletes from around the world, and boasts a participation of more than 14,000. The purpose of this article is to determine the impact that this marathon has on the provincial economy – a manufacturing‐based economy.

Spending data of participants and their accompanying spectators were compiled by means of surveys and participants were split into categories based on their origin. The provincial Social Accounting Matrix is used to quantify the impact of this spending stimulus on production, income and job creation within the province.

The results show that Comrades Marathon contributes significantly to the provincial economy and that more than 600 jobs are dependent on the event.

It has a larger impact on the local economy than many similar sport events and this is attributed to the specialised nature of the event as well as its status as an ultra‐marathon.

This research is one of few on ultra‐marathons and the focus is on participants’ spending behaviour during the event.

The purpose of this paper is to explore social capital emerging from the collective set of activities pursued by a network of stakeholders leveraging tourism benefits from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (the Games).

A case study of an Olympic tourism consortium (the Consortium) established to garner tourism benefits from the Games illustrates the forms of social capital development emerging from this initiative. A three‐phased research process involving a literature review, key informant interviews with Consortium stakeholders, and a follow‐up on‐line survey with these representatives informs the study's data collection and analysis process. Aspects of bonding, bridging and linking social capital creation are examined.

Varying levels of confidence, trust, mutual respect, personal ties, shared values, and human capacity were generated through the Consortium's activities. This social capital was perceived as a valuable but fragile legacy capable of nurturing increased leadership and organizational capacity particularly when tackling issues confronting the industry's overall sustained prosperity. They also felt that the value and momentum of the social capital legacy might be imperiled by a limited appreciation of how to effectively activate it in a post‐Games environment.

Insights are provided into the social capital that networks of stakeholders can generate when working collectively to leverage benefits from sport mega‐events such as the Games.

The research contributes to emerging discussions concerning social capital leveraging in tourism related sport mega‐event management settings.