It's All About the Games! 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Volunteers

Abstract

Despite volunteers being essential for the success of many mega sport events, there is little known about what motivates them to volunteer at such events. This study aims to address this gap. This article commences by developing getz's event portfolio into a new expanded sport event typology. It continues by presenting the results to three key questions: (1) who is volunteering? (2) what are their motivations for volunteering, and (3) what variables are most likely to be related to their intention to volunteer after the event. The study used an adaptation of the Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale on volunteers at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic winter games. A principal components analysis of the 36 motivation items identified six factors that accounted for 58.3% of the variance, with the main factor entitled "All about the games." A regression analysis conducted to identify those variables most likely to indicate an intention to volunteer more after the games demonstrated that those who could see an advantage in more volunteering pregames were most likely to intend to increase their level of volunteering postgames. People with previous volunteering experience in events, sport, or community groups were less likely to indicate they would volunteer more after the event. The results and recommendations have implications for mega-multisport event organizing committees not just in respect of event delivery but in terms of a post-event volunteer legacy.