Abstract
This paper uses research from two projects, conducted for Sport England and for the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR), to analyze pressures on volunteers in sport in the United Kingdom (UK). Both research projects were contract research, conducted to inform policy and therefore were not designed to build on theoretical insights. However, from the results the research developed an understanding of the interrelated pressures on the voluntary sector in sport, which was informed by theory. This paper describes the pressures and relates them to previous research into volunteers. Contextualizing the issues faced by volunteers in sports organizations suggests several questions for further academic work, not only focussed on sports volunteers, but the voluntary sector in general. In particular, are the pressures experienced by the voluntary sector in UK sport common to sports volunteers in other countries, and to what extent are they also a reflection of general pressures on the voluntary sector?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, J. (1995). Risk, University College London, London.
Allison, M. (2001). Sport Clubs in Scotland: Research Report 75, SportScotland, Edinburgh, UK.
Atchley, R. C. (1999). Continuity and Adaptation in Aging: Creating Positive Experiences, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Auld, C. (1997). Professionalisation of Australian sport administration: The effects on organisational decision making. European Journal of Sport Management 4(2), 17–39.
Brackenridge, C. (2002). “...so what?” Attitudes of the voluntary sector towards child protection in sports clubs. Managing Leisure 7(2), 103–123.
Bunting, N. (Head of officiating and resources, RFU) (2003) Unpublished Presentation to the Rugby Football Union.
Cuskelly, G. (2004). Volunteer retention in community sport organisations. European Sport Management Quarterly 4, 59–76.
Cuskelly, G., and Harrington, M. (1997). Volunteers and leisure: Evidence of marginal and career volunteerism in sport. World Leisure Journal 39(3), 11–18.
Cuskelly, G., McIntyre, N., and Boag, A. (1998). A longitudinal study of the development of organizational commitment amongst volunteer sport administrators. Journal of Sport Management 12(3), 181–202.
Davis Smith, J. (1998). The 1997 National Survey of Volunteering, National Centre for Volunteering, London.
DCMS/Strategy Unit (2002). Game Plan: A Strategy for Delivering Government’s Sport and Physical Activity Objectives, Strategy Unit, London.
Enjolras, B. (2002). The commercialization of voluntary sport organisations in Norway. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 31(3), 352–376.
Frisby, W. (1985). A conceptual framework for measuring the organizational structure and context of voluntary service organizations. Society and Leisure 8, 605–613.
Garrett, R. (2002). The responses of voluntary sports clubs to Sport England’s Lottery funding: Cases of compliance. In G. Nichols (ed.), Volunteers in Sport, LSA, Eastbourne, pp. 55–80.
Gershuny, J. (2000). Changing Times, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Goddard, E. (1994). Voluntary Work, HMSO, London.
Handy, C. (1988). Understanding Voluntary Organisations, Penguin, London.
Henry, I. (2001). The Politics of Leisure Policy, 2nd ed., Palgrave, Basingstoke, England.
Hoggett, P., and Bishop, J. (1985). The Social Organisation of Leisure, Sports Council, London.
Holt, R. (1990). Sport and the British, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Home Office (1998). Compact, Getting it Right Together—Compact on Relations Between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector in England, Home Office, London.
Horch, H. (1994a). On the socio-economics of voluntary organisations. Voluntas 5(2), 219–230.
Horch, H. (1994b). Does government financing have a detrimental effect on the autonomy of voluntary associations? Evidence from German sports clubs. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 29, 269–285.
Houlihan, B. (1997). Sport, Policy and Politics, Routledge, London.
Hoye, R. (2003). Who’s Leading, Who’s Following? Leader–Member Exchange Theory and Voluntary Sport Boards, Paper presented to the 6th biennial conference of the Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies (ANZALS), Sydney, Australia.
Knapp, M. (1990). Time is Money: The Costs of Volunteering in Britain Today, Paper No. 3, The Volunteer Centre UK, London.
Martin, W. H., and Mason, S. (1998). Transforming the Future Quality of Life: Rethinking Free Time and Work, Leisure Consultants, Sudbury, Suffolk, Ontario, Canada.
McIntosh, P. (1987). Sport in Society, West London, London.
Nichols, G. (2000). Risk and adventure education. Journal of Risk Research 3(2), 121–134.
Nichols, G. (2003). Active Citizenship: The Role of Voluntary Sector Sport and Recreation, CCPR, London.
Nichols, G., and King, L. (1999). The changing motivations and frustrations facing volunteers in youth programs: A study of the Guide Association of the United Kingdom. Journal of Applied Recreation Research 23(3), 243–262.
Nichols, G., Shibli, S., and Taylor, P. (1998). Pressures that contribute to a change in the nature of the voluntary sector in British sport. Vrijetijdstudies 16(2), 34–46.
Nichols, G., Taylor, P., James, M., Garrett, R., Holmes, K., King, L., Gratton, C., and Kokolakakis, T. (2004a). Voluntary activity in UK sport. Voluntary Action 6(2), 31–54.
Nichols, G., Taylor, P., James, M., King, L., Holmes, K., and Garrett, R. (2004b). Pressures on sports volunteers arising from partnerships with central government. Loisir et societe/Society and Leisure 26(2), 419–430.
Papadimitriou, D. (2002). Amateur structures and their effect on performance: The case of Greek voluntary sports clubs. Managing Leisure 7(4), 205–219.
Pattie, C., Seyd, P., and Whiteley, P. (2004). Citizenship in Britain: Values, Participation and Democracy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Pearce, J. (1993). The Organizational Behaviour of Unpaid Workers, Routledge, London.
Prime, D., Zimmeck, M., and Zurawan, A. (2002). Active Communities: Initial Findings From the 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey, Home Office, London.
Robinson, J., and Godbey, G. (1999). Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time, Pennsylvania State University Press, PA.
Schor, J. (1992). The Overworked American, Basic Books, New York.
Schor, J. (1996). Work, time and leisure in the USA. In C. Gratton (ed.), Work, Leisure and the Quality of Life: A Global Perspective, Leisure Industries Research Centre, Sheffield, UK, pp. 6–21.
Seippel, O. (2002). Volunteers and professionals in Norwegian sport organizations. Voluntas 13(3), 253–270.
Shibli, S., Nichols, G., Taylor, P., Gratton, C., and Kokolakakis, T. (1999). The characteristics of volunteers in UK sports clubs. European Journal of Sports Management, special issue, 10–27.
Slack, T. (1985). The bureaucratization of a voluntary sport organisation. International Review of Sport Sociology 20, 145–163.
Sports Council (1996). Valuing Volunteers in UK Sport, The Sports Council, London.
Stebbins, R. (1996). Volunteering: A serious leisure perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 25(2), 211–224.
Taylor, P., Nichols, G., Holmes, K., James, M., Gratton, C., Garrett, R., Kokolakakis, T., Mulder, C., and King, L. (2003). Sports Volunteering in England, Sport England, London. Available Online: www.sportengland.org
Theodoraki, E., and Henry, I. (1993). Organizational Structures and Management Processes in the National Governing Bodies of Sport in England. Paper presented to 3rd international conference of the Leisure Studies Association, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
Thibault, L., Slack, T., and Hinings, B. (1991). Professionalism, structures and systems: The impact of professional staff on voluntary sport organizations. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 26(2), 83–99.
Treasury (2002). Online: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/acu/volsector_servicedelivery.pdf
Veal, A. J. (2002). Leisure and Tourism Policy and Planning, CABI, Oxon.
Verhoeven, M., Laporte, W., DeKnopp, P., Bollaert, I., Taks, M., and Vinke, J. (1999). In search of macro-, meso-, and micro- sociological antecedents of conflict in voluntary sports federations and clubs with the Flemish situation as a case study. European Journal of Sport Management 6, 62–77.
Weisbrod, B. A. (1978). The Voluntary Nonprofit Sector, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nichols, G., Taylor, P., James, M. et al. Pressures on the UK Voluntary Sport Sector. Voluntas 16, 33–50 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-005-3231-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-005-3231-0