The Sports Development Potential of Sports Event Volunteering: Insights from the XVII Manchester Commonwealth Games

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The sports development implications of investment in major sports events are not well researched, in contrast to an examination of the economic impacts of events. A sample of volunteers at the XVII Manchester Commonwealth is explored to identify how experience of volunteering at a major sports event affects interest, participation and subsequent volunteering in sport, and also volunteering in non-sport contexts. Factor analysis is employed to summarize volunteer experiences, and then regression analysis, which controls for differences in the sports and socio-economic characteristics. While there is some evidence that volunteering at a major event can raise interest, participation and volunteering in sport generally, capitalizing upon this will require focusing efforts on particular triggers for change. There appears to be much stronger potential opportunity to generate wider social capital than necessarily produce changes associated with sport.