Volunteer retention in community sport organisations

Abstract

An important factor in the operation of community sport organisations is the retention of volunteers. The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain trends in volunteer participation and retention using continuity theory (Atchley, 1989, 1999). Within the context of government policies aimed at increasing participation in community sport, a secondary analysis of a data series from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002) is used to illustrate recent volunteer and player participation trends in sport. This paper argues that government policies aimed at increasing participation in organised sport may not be achievable given apparent decreases in the volunteer work capacity of the community sport system. Problems such as the uneven distribution of volunteer work in sport and the relatively small and decreasing proportions of people volunteering in specific roles in sport are discussed. Based on continuity theory (Atchley, 1989, 1999), this paper develops a ‘transition‐extension’ hypothesis that aims to explain the recruitment and retention of players and ex‐players as volunteers in community sport organisations. It concludes by outlining some directions for further research.