Leveraging medium-sized sport events to attract club participants

Purpose Sport participation is the lifeblood of community sport clubs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how sport clubs can leverage participation from local, medium-sized, elite sport events. Design/methodology/approach This study used an action research approach where researchers, along with representative stakeholders from two elite tennis tournaments and 23 local tennis organizations, collaborated to develop and implement a series of interventions as part of a wider leveraging plan. The interventions were developed and evaluated in one cycle of action research that incorporated predominantly qualitative research methods. Findings The interventions stimulated the interest of event spectators by offering a free tennis lesson at a participating club. However, the conversion from interest to club participation was limited. Practical implications Key recommendations for clubs to leverage participation from a medium-sized event include: a leveraging plan should consider the resources and capacity of local community sport clubs; clubs should act collectively and collaboratively; and clubs should have a strong physical presence at the event(s). Originality/value Regional sports organizations can utilize existing collaborative networks to enable community clubs to design and implement event-leveraging initiatives. This study also highlights the limited capacity of community sport clubs to leverage participation outcomes from medium-sized annual events. The use of collaborative networks may ameliorate the organizational capacity deficiencies of clubs.