Examining strategic preparation for CEO succession

This research used a case study approach to examine how mid-sized Victorian State Sport Organisations select a new CEO. The specific focus was on the emphasis placed on achieving strategic fit, the usage of organisational strategy throughout the selection process, and what facilitated and hindered a successful hire.

Profiling the Australian high performance and sports science workforce

Australia is viewed as leader in the field of sports science, with Australian sports scientists highly sought after and respected worldwide. However, despite the important contribution of sports scientists to the development of professional sport in Australia, we know little about these sport professionals who play an important role in the development and success of athletes, teams and sport organisations.
This report provides a more formal understanding of the high performance and sports science workforce with the purpose of informing the policy development of Australia’s sport governing bodies and education providers to inform sport management practices that will enhance the support and development of current and future high performance managers and sports scientists. The data presented in this report provides valuable insight about the scope of the profession to enable further development of strategic plans for the industry.

Acceso de la mujer a puestos de dirección en organizaciones deportivas

Dos de los factores por los que se mide el progreso dentro de las sociedades avanzadas son la posición y estatus de las mujeres dentro de dicha sociedad. En el caso de España, la situación de la mujer ha cambiado mucho en de los últimos 40 años, y más concretamente a partir de su ingreso dentro del mercado laboral. De esta forma, sabemos que el avance hacia la igualdad en cualquier campo se ha estado produciendo, pero existen ámbitos en los que dicho avance tiene lugar de forma más lenta. Este es el caso de los puestos directivos donde la infrarrepresentación de la mujer en la toma de decisiones está observada en numerosos estudios anteriores. Pues bien, uno de los objetivos generales de la presente tesis doctoral es conocer las barreras actitudinales, lo que es conocido internacionalmente como el concepto “Techo de cristal”, en la consecución de este tipo de puestos por parte de las mujeres, dentro del sistema deportivo y en la Comunidad de Madrid. La metodología usada en esta investigación ha sido descriptiva, de corte transversal y estandarizada por medio de cuestionario, aplicado a una muestra final de 401 personas. Siendo la población objeto las personas que trabajan ocupando un puesto directivo dentro de entidades deportivas públicas y privadas ubicadas en la Comunidad de Madrid. Con una afijación proporcional según género y tipo de entidad. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que a día de hoy todavía hay diferencias dentro de los puestos de responsabilidad, como por ejemplo, en el porcentaje de ocupación del puesto máximo, los salarios, etc, apareciendo diferentes actitudes que dificultan el acceso o promoción dentro de este tipo de puestos. Una de las principales conclusiones es que todavía no existe la equidad absoluta dentro de los puestos directivos de las organizaciones deportivas ubicadas en la Comunidad de Madrid, pero que el avance paulatino y constante se está produciendo para conseguir la plena igualdad. SUMMARY. Two of the factors that measured progress in advanced societies are the position and status of women within that society. In the case of Spain, the situation of women has changed a lot in the past 40 years, and more specifically from their entry into the labour market. In this way, we know that the progress towards equality in any field has been producing, but there are areas in which such progress takes place more slowly. This is the case of managerial posts where the under-representation of women in decision-making is observed in many previous studies. As well, one of the general objectives of this thesis it is know the attitudinal barriers, what is known internationally as the 'Glass ceiling' concept, in the pursuit of this type of posts by women within the sports system and in the community of Madrid. The methodology used in this research was descriptive, transversal and standardized cutting through questionnaire, applied to a final sample of 401 people. The target population to be people who work occupying a post steering within public and private sports organizations located in the community of Madrid. With a proportional affixation according to gender and type of entity. The results obtained show that today there are still differences in positions of responsibility, as for example, in the percentage of occupation since maximum, wages, etc., appearing different attitudes that hinder access to or promotion within this type of posts. One of the main conclusions is that there is still no absolute equity within the management positions of sport organisations located in the community of Madrid, but is occurring the gradual and steady progress to achieve full equality.

Are coach education programmes the most effective method for coach development?

The purpose of this study is to establish whether coaches from a multi-sport context develop most effectively through coach education programmes and whether formal learning is fostering coach effectiveness. A sample of eight qualified male multi-sports’ coaches participated with an age range of 24 to 52 years (M = 32.6, ± = 8.9) and 9 to 18 years coaching experience (M = 12.6, ± = 3.8). Qualitative semi structured interviews were employed, lasting approximately 30 to 60 minutes. The data then underwent a thematic analysis process reducing the data into six overarching themes: values of the coach; the coach’s role on athlete development; forms of learning; barriers regarding coach education; role of governing bodies; coaches career pathway. The findings of the study indicated coaches access a wide range of sources to enhance their practice, but informal learning was preferred (interacting with other coaches and learning by doing). This resulted from numerous barriers experienced surrounding the delivery, cost and access to coach education programmes preventing coaches from progressing through the pathway. However, coaches in the study feel coach education should be a mandatory process for every coach. The findings have implications for policymakers and sport organisations in developing their coach education structure.

Interventions implemented through sporting organisations for increasing participation in sport (Review)

The sport and recreation sector is viewed as a priority area for increasing rates of physical activity. Participation rates have been shown to be lower in females, decline with age, and are reduced in lower socio-economic and minority groups. It is important to determine the most effective interventions rhat sporting organisations can use to increase participation and reduce inequalities. This systematic review of the literature did not find any controlled studies assessing the effects of interventions to increase participation in spar!.

Youth, Sport and the Social Inclusion Agenda

The purpose of this paper is to assess aspects of the British Government's attempts to use sporting participation as a vehicle to re-integrate socially disadvantaged, excluded and 'at-risk' youth into mainstream society. A number of organisations, policy-makers, commentators, and practitioners with a stake in the 'sport and social inclusion agenda' were interviewed. General agreement was found on a number of points: that the field was overly crowded with policies, programmes and initiatives; that the field worked in a 'bottom-up' way, with the most significant factor determining success being effective local workers with good networks and cultural access; that the dichotomising rhetoric of inclusion/exclusion was counter-productive; that the notion of the 'at-risk youth' was problematic and unhelpful; and that they all now dealt with a marketplace, where 'clients' had to be enrolled in their own reformation. There was also disagreement on a number of points: that policy acts as a relatively accurate template for practice, as opposed to the argument that it was simply regarded as a cluster of suggestions for practice; that policy was exceptionally piecemeal in its formulation and application, as opposed to regarding policy as necessarily targeted and dispersed; and that the inclusion agenda was largely politically driven and transitory, as opposed to the optimistic view that it had become ingrained in local practice. Finally, the paper examines some issues that are the most likely points of contribution by researchers in the area: that more research needs to be done on the processes of identity formation associated with participation in sport; that more effective programme evaluation needs to be done for such forms of governmental intervention to work properly; and that the relationship between different kinds of physical activity and social and personal change needs to be more thoroughly theorised.

Public-private partnerships in the promotion of sport and well-being : a governance model

This research focuses on exploring the links between sport, Indigenous self determination and deeper engagement within mainstream Australia especially with regard to the issue of promoting healthy lifestyles and the role of governance, through sport governance. Against all social, economic and health criteria Indigenous Australians are disadvantaged – despite government attention and financial input. It is well understood that education is a basis to better health, employment and lifestyle (Furneaux and Brown, 2008). However, many of the issues confronting Indigenous people have not responded to conventional government approaches based on program development and policy initiatives from single organisations (Ryan et al 2006). As a consequence, new approaches that both tap into the specific interests of Indigenous people and better engage them in the process of governance are required. The case material of the research focuses on the Australian Football League (AFL) Kickstart program.

Current trends and challenges for sport and exercise psychology – What now for our discipline?

With an ever changing landscape including National Registration, endorsed areas of practice, establishment of Sport and Exercise Psychology coordinators within National Sporting Organisations, changes to the National and State Sporting Insitutions, this forum looks to explore through collegiate discussion the impacts, current and future implications for our profession across training, supervision, research and applied practice in Australia.

Child and youth sport in rurally remote regions of Australia: the views of a north Queensland community

This study addresses the under-researched area of community sport in rurally isolated contexts. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with teachers, children, parents, and local community members from a small township in an isolated North Queensland region. The data indicate that community sport for young people is circumstantially difficult in some regional centres, but is none-the-less viewed differently by different sectors of the community. There is much value ascribed to sport as part of the social and cultural capital of the area however, it appears that community opinion is divided on the quality of sport experiences available with the young people of the community being particularly critical of the facilities, equipment, and the level of service from sports organisations in larger towns and cities.

Changing the game: The role of social media in overcoming old media's attention deficit toward women's sport

Social media is now an integral part of modern sports broadcasting, which combines old and new media into a redefined and multidimensional experience for fans. The popularity of social media has particular implications for professional women's sports due to this convergence, and may be utilised by organisations to address some of the issues women's sports face from a lack of traditional broadcast coverage. This article discusses Twitter activity surrounding the ANZ Championship netball competition and analyses the ways social media can help transcend the structural challenges that “old” media has placed on professional women's sports.

Challenging the SD benefits attributed to sport Mega-Events hosting

Sport Mega-event hosting faces opposition that is manifested with different intensity during the different phases of the event, from its inception as an idea to its delivery and legacy. Some Social Movements Organisations (SMOs) have acted as indefatigable monitors of the Sustainable Development (SD) dimension of sporting events in general and, in some of the most recent sport mega-events, in particular the Olympics, they have served as important advisors and facilitators. Nevertheless, in many cases we see enthusiastic supporters turning to vehemently challenging whatever positives have been associated with hosting the event. In addition, there is opposition to sport Mega-events in their entirety. That type of opposition tends to employ a holistic prism that manages to identify multiple interconnected negative aspects of hosting a sport mega-event and incorporate them into an anti-systemic discourse. It is important to bear in mind that irrespective of many proclamations to the opposite as far as megas are concerned (projects and/or events), a number of studies have demonstrated that citizen participation and democratic accountability in decision-making have been notoriously absent. After all, the idea of citizen participation in the planning of sport mega-event is essentially the public response to a plan conceived by others. There were, of course, some notable cases of democratic consultation at the early stages of bidding to host a sport mega-event but these more democratic approaches resulted in the failure of the bid (for e.g. Toronto 1996). The knowledge of this by the groups that initiated the hosting idea and the bidding process has led to discouraging in depth public consultation that may fit perfectly to the democratic process but not to the tight schedules of associated projects completion. That produces ‘autocracy against which opposition may arise’ (Hiller, 2000, p. 198). It is this democratic deficit that has led to important instances of social contestation and protest mobilizations by citizen groups as well as the more regular corps of social activists. From a perspective borrowed from the sociology of protest and social movements, sport mega-events hosting can operate as an issue that stimulates protest activities by an existing protest milieu and new actors as well as an important mobilizing resource. In fact, some scholars have also argued that the Olympic Games were an important frame for the transnational activism that was marked by anti-globalization protest in Seattle in 1999 (Cottrell & Nelson, 201; Lenskyj, 2008). In addition, it’s important not to lose sight of other acts dissent that take place in relatively close proximity, about a year before the event when most infrastructural and societal changes brought by hosting the event and impact start to become apparent by the host communities, like the rioting of August 2011 in the London Olympic Boroughs and the 2012 riots of June 2013 in Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities. This paper starts by outlining the SD claims made in the bidding to host the summer Olympic Games by five prospective hosts (Sydney; Athens; Beijing; London and Rio) proceeds towards examining the opposition and challenges that was manifested in relation to these claims. In Particular it provides an assessment of protest-events over the aforementioned different phases of sport mega-events hosting. A different picture emerges for each of the host nation that is partly explained by local, national and global configuration of protest politics. Whereas the post-event legacy of the first two hosts of the Games can be assessed and that way see the validity of claims made by challengers in the other phases, in the other three cases, the implementation of Olympic Games Impact (OGI) studies offers the tool for discussing the post-event phase for Beijing and London and engage in a speculative exercise for the case of Rio. Judging by available findings, the paper concludes that the SD aspiration made in the bid documents are unlikely to be met and social contestation based on the same issues is likely to increase due to the current global economic crisis and BRICS, like China and Brazil, having entered the process of becoming global economic hegemons.

The Application of a Pluralist Approach of Global Administrative Law on the Governance of Doping in Sport

Plusieurs problèmes liés à l'utilisation de substances et méthodes interdites de dopage dans les sports posent de grands défis à la gouvernance antidopage. Afin de lutter contre le dopage, certains pays ont mis en oeuvre des cadres juridiques basés exclusivement sur le droit pénal tandis que d'autres pays ont plutôt misé sur des mécanismes et organismes spécialisés trouvant fondement en droit privé ou sur un régime hybride de droit public et privé. Ces différentes approches réglementaires ont pour conséquence de faire en sorte qu’il est très difficile de lutter efficacement contre le dopage dans les sports, notamment parce que leur exécution requiert un degré de collaboration internationale et une participation concertée des autorités publiques qui est difficile à mettre en place. À l’heure actuelle, on peut par exemple observer que les États n’arrivent pas à contrer efficacement la participation des syndicats et organisations transnationales liés au crime organisé dans le marché du dopage, ni à éliminer des substances et méthodes de dopage interdites par la réglementation. Par ailleurs, la gouvernance antidopage basée sur les règles prescrites par l’Agence mondiale antidopage prévoit des règles et des normes distinctes de dopage distinguant entre deux catégories de personnes, les athlètes et les autres, plaçant ainsi les premiers dans une position désavantageuse. Par exemple, le standard de responsabilité stricte sans faute ou négligence imposé aux athlètes exige moins que la preuve hors de tout doute raisonnable et permet l'utilisation de preuves circonstancielles pour établir la violation des règles antidopages. S'appliquant pour prouver le dopage, ce standard mine le principe de la présomption d'innocence et le principe suivant lequel une personne ne devrait pas se voir imposer une peine sans loi. D’ailleurs, le nouveau Code de 2015 de l’Agence attribuera aux organisations nationales antidopage (ONADs) des pouvoirs d'enquête et de collecte de renseignements et ajoutera de nouvelles catégories de dopage non-analytiques, réduisant encore plus les droits des athlètes. Dans cette thèse, nous discutons plus particulièrement du régime réglementaire de l’Agence et fondé sur le droit privé parce qu’il ne parvient pas à répondre aux besoins actuels de gouvernance mondiale antidopage. Nous préconisons donc l’adoption d’une nouvelle approche de gouvernance antidopage où la nature publique et pénale mondiale du dopage est clairement reconnue. Cette reconnaissance combiné avec un modèle de gouvernance adapté basé sur une approche pluraliste du droit administratif global produira une réglementation et une administration antidopage mieux acceptée chez les athlètes et plus efficace sur le plan des résultats. Le nouveau modèle de gouvernance que nous proposons nécessitera toutefois que tous les acteurs étatiques et non-étatiques ajustent leur cadre de gouvernance en tenant compte de cette nouvelle approche, et ce, afin de confronter les défis actuels et de régler de manière plus satisfaisante les problèmes liés à la gouvernance mondiale du dopage dans les sports.

The profit-driven action sport industry working within the not-for-profit Australian sport system : the case of freestyle BMX Australia and the Australian sports commission

When not-for-profit organisations and for-profit organisations are forced to work together, conflict can arise. This paper explores the tensions that have resulted in the Australian sport setting when the Australian Sport Commission (ASC), with its emphasis predominantly directed at not for profit sport, sought to embrace the traditionally for profit sport of Freestyle BMX into the mainstream sport system. This case study traces the development and implementation of the ASC's Street Active program through Freestyle BMX. It was found that Freestyle BMX experienced mission drift and did not provide a product or service relevant to its consumers by adhering to the guidelines required by the ASC. Further, in the development of the program, the ASC did not expect the rivalry between suppliers in the free market action sport industry when it engaged three management groups to deliver the Street Active program. As a result the action sport industry is further fragmented into for-profit agencies, and farther removed from the Australia's federal governing agency, the ASC.

Policy interventions implemented through sporting organisations for promoting healthy behaviour change (review)

Background
Sporting organisations provide an important setting for health promotion strategies that involve policies, communication of healthy messages and creation of health promoting environments. The introduction of policy interventions within sporting organisations is one strategy to target high risk behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, excess sun exposure, unhealthy eating and discrimination.

Objectives
To review all controlled evaluation studies of policy interventions organised through sporting settings to increase healthy behaviour (related to smoking, alcohol, healthy eating, sun protection, discrimination, safety and access).

Search strategy
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsyclNFO, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Sociological Abstracts, Dissertation Abstracts, freely available online health promotion and sports-related databases hosted by leading agencies, and the internet using sport and policy-related key words. We identified further studies in the bibliographies of articles and by contacting authors of key articles in the area.

Selection criteria
We aimed to identify research that had used study designs that incorporated an evaluated intervention and comparison. Uncontrolled studies, meeting other inclusion criteria, were to be reported in an annex to the review.
Types of studies: Studies in which sporting organisations were allocated to a policy intervention or control/comparison group. No minimum follow-up required.
Types of participants: People of all ages.
Types of interventions: Any policy intervention implemented through sporting organisations to instigate and/or sustain healthy behaviour change, intention to change behaviour, or changes in attitudes, knowledge or awareness of healthy behaviour. Policies must address any of the following: smoking, alcohol, healthy eating, sun protection, access for disadvantaged groups, physical safety (not including injuries), and social and emotional health (e.g.. anti-vilification, anti-discrimination).
Types of outcome measures: Behaviour change, intention to change behaviour, change in attitudes, knowledge or awareness of healthy behaviour, and policy presence.

Data collection and analysis
We assessed whether identified citations were controlled evaluation studies and investigated the use of policy implemented in sporting settings. Abstracts were independently inspected by two reviewers and full papers were obtained where necessary. As no controlled evaluation studies were located, no data collection or analysis was undertaken. No uncontrolled studies meeting other inclusion criteria were identified and therefore no annex is presented.

Main results
No rigorous studies were located to test the effectiveness of policy interventions organised through sporting organisations to increase healthy behaviours, attitudes, knowledge or inclusion of health oriented policies within the organisarions.

Authors' conclusions
We were unable to find any controlled studies to guide the use of policy interventions used in sporting settings. The search process revealed a number of case studies with anecdotal reporting of outcomes. We strongly recommend that rigorous evaluation techniques are employed more commonly in this field to illuminate the impact of health promoting policy on outcomes, and the contexts and processes which are likely ro be effective in reducing harmful behaviours.