Sport Events and Residential Happiness: The Case of Two Non-Mega Sport Events^*

* Part of this paper has been presented at the 2015 EASM Conference (Littlejohn, Taks, Wood, & Snelgrove, 2015)

ABSTRACT

This contribution explores whether the hosting of two non-mega sport events affected the happiness of residents (non-attendees) in the host community, and if these feelings differed according to the type of event. The events under investigation were two multi-sport events held in the same community during the summer of 2014: the Ontario Summer Games and the 55+ Summer Games. Residents were intercepted in public spaces to complete a survey, including levels of happiness, event, and socio-demographic variables. Happiness was measured in a holistic way, including overall happiness, satisfaction, positive and reversed negative affect dimensions of subjective well-being. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed: (1) higher levels of happiness for aware, non-attendee residents when measured with a single item of overall happiness, but not for other measures of happiness in the holistic approach (causality cannot be confirmed); (2) aware, non-attendee residents did not need to have the intention to attend the events to experience these higher levels of happiness; and (3) higher feelings of happiness of aware, non-attendee residents were not different according to the type of event. From a practical perspective, these findings stress the importance of informing residents of these events so they become aware that these events are being hosted in their community. Effective communication should include feelings of pride and belonging, as these are expected to stimulate feelings of happiness of non-attendee residents.

体育赛事与居民幸福:以两个非大型体育赛事为例

摘要

本研究主要讨论两个举办非大型赛事对举办地居民(非与会者)幸福度的影响,并且对居民的情感是否会根据这些赛事类型的不同而产生变化这一问题进行了探究。调查对象是举办了两次多种目体育赛事的同一地区:安大略省夏季运动会和55+夏季运动会。居民们在公共场合接受调查,内容包括幸福水平,赛事以及社会人口变量。幸福度采取全面的方式进行测试,包括:总体幸福度,满足度,主观幸福度的积极以及逆转消极影响的程度。多元回归分析包括:(1)高度的幸福感知,当作为非与会者的居民接受总体幸福度的单项测试但不包括其他幸福度的全面测试时(因果关系无法确认);(2)认知,非与会者的居民不需要具有参加体育赛事来体验更高幸福度的想法,以及(3)对幸福感知的高度认识,非与会者居民不会根据体育赛事的不同而表现出差异性。从现实角度来看,这些发现强调了提醒举办地居民正是因为这些赛事在当地的举办他们才被注意到的重要性。有效的沟通应该包括对自豪感和归属感的认知,因为这些认知会刺激非与会者居民幸福感的产生。

KEYWORDS:

• Hierarchical regression analysis
• negative affect dimension
• positive affect dimension
• satisfaction
• subjective well-being

关键词:

• 多元回归分析
• 消极情感层面
• 积极情感层面
• 满足度
• 主体幸福度

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

* Part of this paper has been presented at the 2015 EASM Conference (Littlejohn, Taks, Wood, & Snelgrove, 2015)

Additional information

Funding

We thank the Human and Social Sciences Research Grants (HSSRG) from the University of Windsor and the HSSRC of Canada, and Sport Canada for their financial support to conduct this study.

Notes on contributors

Marijke Taks

Prof. Dr. Marijke Taks obtained her PhD degree in physical education in 1994 from the KULeuven (Belgium). She is currently a full professor of sport management and governance in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Taks' area of expertise is in socio-economic aspects of sport and leisure. Her grant supported research has been published in leading journals of sport management and related fields. She is a past-editor of the European Sport Management Quarterly (2009-2011), an associate editor of the Journal of Sport Management and the Journal of Global Sport Management, and editorial board member and guest reviewer for a wide variety of journals in the field of sport management and related fields.

Meagan Littlejohn

Meagan Littlejohn obtained her Bachelor of Human Kinetics Degree in sport management at the University of Windsor in 2014. She is currently finishing her Master of Arts Degree in human kinetics at the University of Ottawa (completion 2016) in the area of sport promotion for middle-aged adults. Her Masters research project has been funded by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant.

Ryan Snelgrove

Ryan Snelgrove obtained his PhD degree from University of Waterloo, Ontario. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo. Dr. Snelgrove's research interests include organizational development, organizational change, and event management.

Laura Wood

Laura Wood obtained her PhD degree from Western University, Ontario. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo. Dr. Wood's research interests include event management, consumer behavior, and sport tourism.