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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research reflection is to set the stage for a more detailed research agenda in exploring event sport tourism experiences of support partners (SPs) during events. Using photo elicitation, the article presents a preliminary empirical case study. Visual materials were assembled by three female participants to interrogate how SPs experience “spectator space” and explore the processes that produced those experiences, an area of study that remains relatively unexplored in leisure research. Initial findings show how waiting to see the triathlete can be anxiety-provoking, but the release of emotion when smiles are exchanged constitutes core activities of being there. However, there are more questions than answers, and there is a need for further inquiry. Suggestions for future research on the impact of serious leisure on intimate others are given.
Notes
1 Ironman participants may be engaged in serious leisure (Lamont & Kennelly, Citation2012), which Stebbins (Citation2011) defines as “…the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer core activity that people find so substantial, interesting, and fulfilling that, in the typical case, they launch themselves on a (leisure) career centered on acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge, and experience” (p. 239).
2 Travel to participate in sport is defined as sport tourism and persons traveling to participate have been described as active sport tourists (Weed, Citation2009). Serious leisure finds an outlet in sport tourism: the more involved a triathlete becomes, the more she or he is likely to travel to participate in events, potentially initiating an event travel career trajectory (Getz & McConnell, Citation2011).