Introduction
The Swiss Sports Observatory has been conducting the national club survey since 1996. Every six years, the club managers of all sports clubs belonging to an association affiliated to ...Swiss Olympic are asked to complete a questionnaire. The survey is supported by Swiss Olympic, the Federal Office of Sport and other partners and provides information on the development of Swiss sports clubs, their structures and performance, as well as their strategies and prospects. The latest club survey was published at the end of 2023 (Bürgi et al., 2023).
Methods
The 2023 club survey is based on an online survey of 6,782 sports clubs. With a total of 18,229 sports clubs contacted, this results in a participation rate of 37.2%. The results were validated and their representativeness checked through various comparisons with other surveys (survey of the associations and the population surveys "Sport Schweiz 2020" and "Freiwilligen-Monitor").
Results
The number of sports clubs - but not the number of active members - has fallen slightly in recent years. However, the large number of small clubs continues to characterize the Swiss club system. The high density of clubs ensures a wide range of activities, but also ties up a lot of resources and leads to increased fluctuation among members. The vast majority of active members as well as children and young people are active in medium-sized and large clubs. The number of active club members has remained stable for many years. There has been no decline in club memberships, but the clubs cannot profit from population growth and the sports boom. There are also significant changes in the club structure: clubs are growing among children but losing members among adults. This development has an impact on the recruitment of volunteers. Voluntary work therefore remains the foundation of club sport, but also the number one challenge. The problem cannot be solved with increased professionalization. Although there is more paid work in clubs today, the need for volunteers is still growing. Club budgets also place limits on professionalization. Staff cost is already the largest expense item today. The financial situation of Swiss sports clubs has not generally deteriorated in recent years. However, it has not been possible to tap into new sources of income either and membership fees cannot be increased at will.
Discussion/Conclusion
Overall, Swiss sports clubs have coped well with the various challenges of recent years. At the same time, the proportion of clubs facing problems that threaten their existence is increasing. Only with the active further development of club work and differentiated approaches to solutions, which help to meet the growing demands placed on clubs and the associated increased need for volunteers and paid staff, will clubs remain a central pillar of Swiss sport in the future (Lamprecht & Nagel, 2022).
References
Bürgi, R., Lamprecht, M., Gebert, A. & Stamm, H. P. (2023). Sportvereine in der Schweiz 2022. Entwicklungen, Herausforderungen und Perspektiven Sports clubs in Switzerland in 2022: Developments, challenges and prospects. Swiss Olympic.
Lamprecht, M. & Nagel, S. (2022). Sportsoziologie: Einführung Sociology of sport: Introduction. Nomos.
Introduction
Sports clubs in Switzerland face increasing expectations and challenges from internal and external stakeholders. Therefore, more and more sports clubs professionalise their structures ...and processes, e.g., by establishing a club office with (part-time) employees. Since there is little knowledge in the sports management literature about the causes, forms and consequences of establishing a club office, this study answers the following research questions based on the multi-level framework from Nagel et al. (2015): Why and how do Swiss sports clubs establish a club office? What are the consequences of establishing a club office?
Methods
We selected five Swiss sports clubs in the context of a multiple case study design (Yin, 2014). Case selection aimed to include sports clubs of varying sizes, sports and professionalisation types. Data were collected through document analysis, expert interviews with decision-makers and focus groups with club members. Data were analysed using causation coding (Miles et al., 2014).
Results
Findings show different causes for establishing a club office. The main reason was to relieve volunteer board members. The various causes imply different roles and responsibilities of the established club office. While in some sports clubs, the club office is primarily responsible for administrative tasks, in others, it is also responsible for sponsorship. This circumstance explains why some sports clubs did not have to increase their membership fees to finance the club office because they could increase their sponsorship revenue. Although the club office staff is paid in all sports clubs, the volume of work varies. However, the paid staff often works more than agreed (“volunteer professionals”). Regarding the consequences, all sports clubs that established a club office are satisfied with their decision. Positive consequences are that a “place to go” was created for internal and external stakeholders, and many club processes are more efficient now. However, establishing a club office with (part-time) employees raises the question of strategic and operational responsibilities and decision-making power.
Discussion/Conclusion
The findings offer several implications for sports clubs that want to establish a club office. At the same time, the study provides further research perspectives. First, it might be insightful to analyse if there are any relevant differences in whether a sports club transforms its secretariat into a club office or establishes a club office for the first time. Second, there are further changes regarding the organisational structures and processes that are worth looking at when analysing the establishment of a club office, such as creating an executive/management board or employing a (paid) CEO. To conclude, it might be interesting to analyse sports clubs that have established a club office but shut it down after a while.
References
Miles, M. B., Hubermann, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis. A Methods Sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Nagel, S., Schlesinger, T., Bayle, E., & Giauque, D. (2015). Professionalisation of sport federations–A multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences. European Sport Management Quarterly, 15(4), 407–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2015.1062990
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (5th ed.). SAGE.
This study assessed the following among elite athletes and their coaches in Sweden: (i) prevalence of gambling and 'at risk for gambling problems' (PGSI 3+); and (ii) relations between 'at risk for ...gambling problems' and attitudes towards gambling, experiences of gambling, and individual and demographic factors. A total of 1438 athletes and 401 coaches, in four sports, completed an online survey. Overall, 2% of female athletes and 13% of male athletes were classified as being 'at risk for gambling problems'. Using an ordinal logistic regression, the results showed associations between 'at risk for gambling problems' and eight of the investigated variables: 'talk about gambling during training', 'coaches positive attitude towards gambling', 'gambling companies encourage gambling', 'I have gambled on own game', 'someone I know has gambled on their own game', 'gambling is important in the family', 'someone in my acquaintance have/had a gambling problem', 'alcohol consumption' among the athletes. Coaches of men's teams had a higher prevalence (7%) than did coaches of women's teams (3%). The findings suggest that the sports clubs should have greater knowledge about gambling problems as well as a communication strategy of their acquired knowledge to their athletes and coaches.
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