Where do we intervene to optimize sports systems? Leverage Points the way

Figures & data

Table 1. Different examples from research in sport of interventions and where those examples sit within Meadow’s Leverage Points (Meadows, 1997) and Realms of Leverage (Abson et al., 2017).

Depth	Leverage Points (LP) (Meadows, 1997)	Realms of Leverage (Abson et al., 2017)	Examples from sport
Shallow Leverage Points	LP1 – Constants, parameters, numbers	Parameters – the mechanistic, immediate characteristics of the system.	Distance, mass, time, height, force, power, players, coaches, teams, fans, wins, losses, points, income, expenditure, profit, balance sheets, transfer fees and contracts.
	LP2 – Buffer sizes
	LP3 – Material stocks and flows
	LP4 – Relative delays LP5 – Negative feedback loops LP6 – Positive feedback loops	Feedback loops – the interactions between elements within a system of interest.	Training induced fitness changes, training induced fatigue changes, absorption of nutrients, change in ticket price, introducing new funding models, negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement, coaching of athletes to improve their performance, investment in new infrastructure (e.g., stadia, buildings), change in government, promotion/relegation and awarding the Olympics host city/country.
Deep Leverage Points	LP7 – Information flows LP8 – Rules of the system LP9 – Self-organising system structures	System design/structure – the structures and rules in place that manage the feedback loops and parameters.	Introduction of WADA, creation of a National Institute of Sport (e.g., AIS, EIS), case law precedents, introduction of the offside rule, Bosman ruling, European labour laws, team ownership rules, Fit-and-proper-person-test, introduction of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and development of new tournament series (e.g., LIV golf tour).
	LP10 – Goal of the system LP11 – Mindset/paradigm LP12 – The power to transcend paradigms	Mental models – the underpinning values, goals and world views of actors within the system which shape the emergent direction to which the system is orientated.	Focusing a club on youth development to elicit transfer fees in order to fund club development, investment in sport to improve a national and/or organisational reputation (i.e., “sportswashing”), shifting the focus from high performance sport to improving public health through sport.

AIS – National Institute of Sport, EIS – English Institute of Sport, WADA – World Anti-Doping Agency.

Table 2. Examples of different interventions from the included studies across the Realms of Leverage (Abson et al., 2017) and Leverage Points (Meadows, 1997) frameworks.

Realms of Leverage (Abson et al., 2017)	Leverage Points (Meadows, 1997)	Example (Reference)
Parameters	Constants, parameters, numbers	Supplement use patterns in young German athletes (Braun et al. 2009).
	Buffer sizes	Muscle strength and size as a buffer against stress and strain during contractions (Hortobágyi et al. 1999).
	Material stocks and flows	The (mis)application of economic impact analyses of sports facilities and events (Crompton, 1995).
Feedback Loops	Relative delays	-
	Negative feedback loops	Methods of weight loss to make weight during weight across a range of weight categorized combat sports (Brito et al., 2012).
	Positive feedback loops	Government investment in sport and the “virtuous” cycle wherein investment can lead to positive societal outcomes Grix & (Carmichael, 2012).
System design/structure	Information flows	Measuring the concept of “legacy” with respect to sporting mega events (e.g., the Olympics) (Preuss, 2019).
	Rules of the system	Examining how the “legacy” of mega sporting events influences subsequent national policy (Grix et al. 2017).
	Self-organising system structures	Inclusive youth sport structure using the 3P model (participation, performance and personal development) (Côté & Hancock, 2016).
Mental models	Goal of the system	Why organisation support community sport and the drivers of support (Miragaia et al. 2017).
	Mindset/paradigm	The underpinning values held for brand associations in sport in 3 characteristics: attribute, benefit and attitude (Gladden & Funk, 2002).
	The power to transcend paradigms	-

Table 3. The frequency of interventions which were coded to each of the Leverage Points (LP) (Meadows, 1997) and Realms of Leverage (Abson et al., 2017) frameworks from the 10 most cited articles in each of the journals investigated. The largest frequency of coded articles for each of the different journals is shaded in grey.

	Parameters			Feedback loops			System design/structure			Mental models
	LP 1	LP 2	LP 3	LP 4	LP 5	LP 6	LP 7	LP 8	LP 9	LP 10	LP 11	LP 12
British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM)	9	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (IJSEP)	3	–	–	–	–	–	3	1	–	2	1	–
International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (IJSNEM)	6	–	–	–	1	3	–	–	–	–	–	–
International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics (IJSPP)	–	–	–	–	–	3	1	2	1	3	–	–
Journal of Sport Management (JSM)	–	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	7	–
Journal of Sports Sciences (JSS)	8	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Motor Control (MC)	4	1	–	–	–	1	3	–	1	–	–	–
Sports Biomechanics (SB)	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

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