An unacceptable status quo: A sport development case study of swimming and drownings

Abstract

This case study illustrates the complexity of sport development decision-making and specifically highlights the public health concern of drowning disparities in the United States. Using sport development research to demonstrate the linkage between empirical study and practice, students must consider various factors for the most effective approach to attract and retain participants involved in a local swimming program. The parks and recreation department director, Bob Shell, is tasked with determining the best program structure based on the sets of sport development proposals he received from a member of the management staff. To further ensure students are presented with a realistic scenario, this case offers a combination of fictional and real life events from an innovative swimming program in Memphis, Tennessee. Students must critically evaluate not only sport development practices and the merits of the swimming program, but other organizational partnerships that may be formed in the community. Therefore, students are placed in a decision-making role that is common to managers in many sport contexts beyond swimming. This case study is appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate sport management courses, with specific application to sport development, policy and governance, strategic management, and recreation or leisure topics.

Keywords:

• Sport development
• Swimming
• Drowning
• Sport policy
• Public health

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at The University of Memphis as well as the director for the institute, Ms. Daphene McFerren, for supporting this research with both tangible and intangible means.

Notes

1 The full web address for the WONDER database is as follows: http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortSQL.html.

2 The full web address for the WISQARS database is as follows: http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/dataRestriction_inj.html. Users will need to click on “I Agree” to proceed to the database.

3 Information about the actual swimming program in Memphis, including its current status, can be found at the following link: http://splashmidsouth.org/.