Sport Mega-Event Volunteers' Motivations and Postevent Intention to Volunteer: The Sydney World Masters Games, 2009

Abstract

Investment in mega-sport events is frequently justified on the basis that there are infrastructure and social legacies that remain after the event. This research explores the claims of a social legacy through a pre- and post-Games survey of volunteers at the Sydney world Masters Games 2009 (SwMG). Through online surveys the research explores pre-and post-volunteer motivations, postevent volunteering intentions before the Games and actual volunteer behavior after the Games. The pre-Games survey supports previous research that a desire to be involved in the event motivates people to volunteer. however, the postevent expression of motivations shifted to a more altruistic focus. The postevent volunteering intentions as indicated in the preevent survey would support the claim of a social legacy; however, this was not supported by the postevent measures of volunteering levels. The use of a pre- and postevent survey has highlighted that the timing of measures of motivations can influence responses and one may not depend on preevent intentions as an indicator of postevent behaviors.