Voluntary Sport Research Articles

The Impact of Internal Marketing Activities on Mandatory Volunteers in Sport: A Case from the 2019 Military World Games in China

Given the importance of volunteers to the successful operation of sport events, the current study investigated, based on the volunteer process model (VPM), the role of internal marketing in the relationships between volunteer role ambiguity, commitment, and intention to volunteer among mandatory volunteers in a mega sport event setting. Data were collected, using an online questionnaire, from 507 mandatory volunteers in the 2019 Military World Games held in China and primarily analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that internal marketing was significantly associated with role ambiguity, affective commitment, and intention to volunteer, while role ambiguity was significantly related to affective commitment and volunteer intention. The results suggest that the practice of internal marketing can contribute to volunteer outcomes in the context of mandatory volunteering by reducing role ambiguity, increasing organizational commitment, and enhancing future volunteering intention.

A longitudinal analysis of organisational capacity determinants of the perceived need for change, adoption of ‘light’ sports initiatives and organisational growth in voluntary sports clubs

Considering wider societal developments that reflect a demand for personalised services, this study aims to uncover the relationship between the perceived need for change by voluntary sports clubs (VSCs), their adoption of innovative services to promote flexibility of sports participation (also referred to as ‘light’ sports initiatives) and their organisational growth (in terms of membership evolution). Simultaneously, the impact of key organisational capacity (OC) determinants on each of the aforementioned variables is taken into account. In this study, VSCs in Flanders (Belgium) are examined utilising three (generalised) linear mixed model analyses on longitudinal panel data from 2012, 2015 and 2018. The results show a positive relationship between the need for change on the one hand and the adoption of ‘light’ sports initiatives and organisational growth on the other hand, whilst adopting ‘light’ sports initiatives as types of service innovations do not necessarily lead to organisational growth. The results of this study offer implications for the management and policy of VSCs to cater to shifting member demands. This study serves as a stepping-stone for further research to investigate other types of innovation on organisational change and growth.

Expectation based types of voluntary sports clubs in regional sports federations and the perspectives for professionalisation

Sports clubs in different levels of professionalisation show different organisational problems (Lang et al., 2022). At the same time, one part of the key responsibilities of sports federations as umbrella organisations is the needs-based support of voluntary sports clubs (VSC) as their members. However, different professionalisation levels and heterogeneous organisational problems of member clubs are increasingly challenging the design of appropriate service offerings by sports federations. Thus, services provided by sports federations should be adapted in relation to the expectations and needs of its member clubs. In this way sports clubs also effects with their expectations developments within sports federations to optimise their supporting services in a more targeted manner. This study addresses these challenges by analysing VSCs’ expectations and identify distinct expectation types. The empirical study was carried out in a regional sports federation in tennis, the Bavarian Tennis Federation (BTV). This leads to the research questions: What expectations do VSCs as members generally address to the BTV? To what extent can VSCs be classified in terms of their expectations regarding BTV services? To address these expectations, the performance measurement literature provides a fruitful theoretical frame. In order to base appropriate performance parameters, stakeholders’ expectations need to be identified ex ante (Bayle & Madella, 2002). In the literature it is consensus that measuring the performance of sports federations requires a multidimensional approach (e.g., Winand et al., 2010). To analyse expectations of VSCs an online survey was conducted. Access to the survey was given to BTV member club representatives in a leadership position. For operationalisation, an exploratory factor analysis was performed, which shows the best solution with six reliable factors. The identified factors were used for Ward’s hierarchy cluster analysis with squared Euclidean distances. The analysis showed that an optimal cluster solution can be determined with four clusters. Based on the z-standardised factor values the identified clusters were labelled as follows: (1) “People developer” (n = 57, 32%); (2) “Mass sports clubs” (n = 39, 22%); (3) “Self-governmenters” (n = 40, 23%) and (4) “High expecting communicators” (n = 41, 23%). For validation, the extracted clusters are also reflected by other characteristics of the organisations. The findings reveal that there are heterogeneous expectations of VSCs that need to be addressed more individually by sport federations. The extracted types provide a first empirical step to identify different expectation schemes. These schemes enable managers of sports federations to professionalise their service offer portfolio and at the same time, to design targeted services to contribute to the development and professionalisation of sports clubs.

Professionalisation of sports clubs

Sports clubs play a crucial role as they promote (elite) sport and physical activity and fulfill important societal functions. At the same time, sports clubs are confronted with manifold challenges related to developments in society and sport. Therefore, sports clubs tend to professionalise, a process by which sports clubs transform from volunteer-driven to increasingly business-like organisations (e.g., implement paid work, use management tools, restructure their club) to address these problems. In this symposium - an initiative of the Research Network in Sportmanagement Switzerland - the phenomena of professionalisation will be addressed from multiple perspectives by discussing the triggering causes, the transformative process, and the corresponding consequences with the overall objective of getting a more comprehensive understanding of professionalisation in sports clubs. Mrkonjic addresses good governance and professionalisation of non-profit sport clubs and Stieger et al. analyse professionalisation and its consequences for the governance of sports clubs in semi-professional team sports. Mustafi et al. focus on the transfer market for non-big five soccer clubs of Swiss Super League and Schulz et al. examine expectations of voluntary sports clubs with regard to support services of sports federations.

Modelling the organisational socialisation of volunteers in English associational golf clubs

ABSTRACT Research question The research considers the organisational socialisation process for volunteers in associational golf clubs. Research methods Constructivist grounded theory method was used, with qualitative data collected through 28 semi-structured interviews with volunteers at English associational golf clubs. Results and Findings The article develops a model for the organisational socialisation of golf club volunteers. The model highlights an extended period of organisational socialisation, which locates assimilation during club membership before volunteering begins. This prior period of assimilation allows individuals to acquire organisational knowledge and make informed decisions about whether to volunteer. It also shapes their actions as volunteers and the meanings they derive from volunteering. Our findings emphasise the importance of participation among members as a precursor to volunteering. They also highlight how, in the absence of orientation support from the club, movement through the socialisation process depends on individuals’ biographical assets. Implications The model should help golf clubs, and potentially other voluntary sports clubs, manage their organisational socialisation process to develop established members, improve volunteer recruitment and produce long-term volunteers. Improved management of this process could also enhance the diversity of both members and volunteers.

Female representation at the national level and women sport volunteering in European countries

AbstractThis study examines the moderating effects of national female labor force participation, women in sport leadership positions, and female medalists in recent Olympic Games on women's probability to volunteer in sport. Based on social role theory and the similarity attraction paradigm, we predict that all three factors result in a higher probability of women to volunteer in sport, but with differences among age groups. Linear probability models before and after applying coarsened exact matching were estimated using data from the 2017 Eurobarometer (n = 18,529). The results show that women have a significantly lower probability to volunteer in sport in countries with high female labor force participation and a high share of women in leadership positions in sport organizations. The likelihood of women volunteering in sport is significantly higher in countries with a high share of female Olympic medalists. The age group‐specific analysis asking whether volunteering should be considered an investment in human capital by younger women and/or an acquisition of social capital by older women, reveals that a high presence of women among leaders in sport organizations and Olympic medalists is significantly positively correlated with the probability for young women to volunteer in sport. Managers and leaders of nonprofit sport organizations learn from our study that volunteering should be perceived as an investment in human capital by younger women rather than an attempt to acquire social capital by older women.

A divided house: the foundation and evolution of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, 1965–2013

ABSTRACT In July 1965, members of the Permanent Committee for the First African Games, from diverse backgrounds, met in Congo Brazzaville three days before the games and discussed the formation of a supranational sport organisation in the continent. The Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) was formally constituted in Bamako as a voluntary sport organisation in 1966. In 1977, it assumed the status of an agency of the Organisation of African Unity, until its dissolution in 2013. The SCSA is best remembered for its fight against discrimination in sport; instigation of boycott threats and the boycott of the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, and serving as the main host of the African Games. Based on hermeneutic enquiry, this research analysed archive materials from the International Olympic Committee Historical Archive and the SCSA in Africa Archive to establish a better understanding and interpretation of the internal and external divisions in which the SCSA operated. The historical enquiry provided evidence that, though the SCSA was not founded as a supranational governmental agency in sport, lack of a clear-cut vision and Africa’s political, economic and social realities hampered its efforts to effectively coordinate the development of sport in the continent.

ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ ОРЛОВСКИХ ПРОФСОЮЗОВ ПО ФИЗКУЛЬТУРНО-МАССОВОЙ РАБОТЕ И РАЗВИТИЮ СПОРТА В 1923–1991 ГОДЫ

The purpose of the article is to study the activities of Orel trade unions on the development of physical culture and mass work and sports in 1923-1991. Statistical and reference materials, documents of the Orel State Archive, sports veterans’ memories are used as the main sources. In the course of the study, the system analysis, the retrospective method, the method of historicism are used. The article analyzes the prerequisites for conducting physical culture and mass work and the development of sports by trade unions; the historical stages of this work are identified. The fact that the trade unions of the country looked for new forms of relations with the working class after the October Revolution is established. One of them was physical culture and mass work and the development of sports. Achieving these goals required a significant amount of organizational and financial resources. The activity of the sports society "Trud" was indicative in Orel region. It was established in January 1958 on the basis of voluntary sports societies of trade unions and club work carried out since 1923. As a conclusion, the authors point out that the formation and activity of the sports society "Trud" largely reflects the history of the trade union movement in Russia for the development of physical culture and mass work and sports in the Soviet period.

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SAMBO IN THE VOLUNTARY SPORTS SOCIETY “BUREVESTNIK” OF THE CHUVASH ASSR (1960–1980s)

The stages of sambo formation and development within the framework of the republican student voluntary sports society “Burevestnik” are examined. The need for this is justified by the desire to search for the most significant aspects in the development of modern student sports, which the authors understand as a condition for implementing national projects in the field of social policy and health.
 
 The article provides a brief historical reference on formation and development of the voluntary student sports society “Burevestnik” in the Soviet Union and the Chuvash ASSR. Some statistical data on the participants of the All-Russian and republican championships and Cups of the voluntary student sports society “Burevestnik” in the period of the 1960–1980s are presented. Distinctive features of organizing sambo competitions in the considered historical period are revealed.
 
 Based on the analysis and generalization of archival data, evolvement of sambo in the Chuvash Republican Voluntary Sports Society “Burevestnik” is associated with expansion of the competitive base of student sambo in Chuvashia and the first participation of sambo students in competitions outside the republic.
 
 It is noted that within the framework of the republican voluntary student sports society “Burevestnik” student sambo is a specific social phenomenon and in its history it repeatedly changed its structural content, which, in fact, reflects the specifics of its development.
 
 At this, a number of aspects are updated, implementation of which, according to the authors, will contribute to further development of student sambo in the Chuvash Republic and, in general, will create conditions for a more complete implementation of national health projects.

Volunteer retention: Examining intentions and behaviours in the wrap-Up mode of a professional recurring small-scale sport event

ABSTRACT Research question The purpose of this study was to explore volunteers’ intentions and behaviours in the wrap-up mode of a professional recurring small-scale sport event. Research methods Thirteen volunteers completed an online self-administered questionnaire 10 months after the 2019 Osprey Valley Open, a professional small-scale golf tournament held annually in the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada) since 2015. The questionnaire included closed-ended and open-ended questions about volunteers’ intentions and behaviours. Data were thematically analysed in NVivo12. Results and findings All volunteers reported having positive intentions towards the 2020 Osprey Valley Open. Eleven volunteers continued their involvement with the event as they completed their application to participate again. The positive volunteer intentions among seven participants led to their participation as volunteers in other sport (e.g. organizations and/or events) and non-sport settings (i.e. organizations). The remaining participants indicated no involvement in additional volunteer opportunities after the event. Implications Findings demonstrate positive volunteer intentions can create different types of formal sport participation behaviours among volunteers in the wrap-up mode of the event lifecycle. Notably, legacies in small and recurring sport events occur via volunteers’ ability to repeat their involvement and pursue additional opportunities in and beyond sport.

Особенности развития спортивного добровольчества в России

The promotion of the development and dissemination of volunteerism is one of the priorities of the social and youth policy of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the study is to determine the features of the development of sports volunteerism in Russia, to identify current problems and measures to eliminate them for the sustainable development of sports volunteerism in the subjects of the Russian Federation. Research hypothesis: timely measures to support the development of the sports volunteering movement will be developed and implemented if: the concepts of “sports volunteering”, “sports volunteer”, types of sports volunteering activities are specified; the features and stages of development of foreign and Russian sports volunteerism are identified; scientifically based proposals for creating conditions to support the development of modern sports volunteerism in Russia are elaborated. In the course of the study, information, regulatory, statistical and scientific and methodological sources in the field of development of sports volunteerism in Russia are analyzed; the features and problems of this area of volunteer activity and ways to solve them for the effective development of sports volunteerism in the Russian Federation are identified.

Mind the gap: building bridges between public sector exercise programmes and civil society sports associations. An integrative review of the literature

Governance regimes in sport are changing globally, and welfare states are experiencing the increased pressure of political issues, including the health of their citizens. As seen in the increase in collaborations between public sector exercise, health, and rehabilitation programmes (EHRPs) and voluntary sports associations (VSAs), civil society aids in supporting states with innovative solutions to bridge the gap between the two. A bridge can be built to support post-EHRP adults’ exercise routines in VSA settings to mind the gap; however, evidence is needed to judge the implementation of such collaborations. This integrative review examined how bridge-building relationships between EHRPs and VSAs are organised and implemented and how they influence the exercise routines of adults. We performed a literature search by applying an adapted version of Winter’s integrated implementation model to analyse 27 studies. Our analysis showed an unintended move towards the professionalisation of voluntary instructors as result of close collaboration. Our findings also highlighted that hiring a coordinator enables implementation. On the organisational level of transitions, mandatory visits to VSAs during EHRPs help adults transfer, whilst pleasurable and social relationship-building activities in both settings support adults’ adherence to exercise in their everyday lives.

Do Women Perceive a Payoff from Working without Pay? A Gender Comparison of Perceived Career Outcomes of Sport Volunteering

Gender equality among volunteers and in the labor market are essential for social sustainability. This study examines whether women value benefits of sport volunteering for their job market situation significantly differently than men. Based on signaling and social role theory, we hypothesize that women are more likely to value sport volunteering as a job market signal and as useful for career options than men. According to human capital and ecological systems theory, we hypothesize that this link depends on women’s age and national gender equality. An online survey targeting volunteers in European football clubs (in seven countries; n = 16,989) was conducted. Logistic regressions are estimated to analyze the factors affecting respondents’ agreement that sport volunteering ‘looks good on their CV’ or ‘allows to explore new career options’. The findings show that women are significantly more likely to value sport volunteering as a job market signal but are significantly less likely to explore new career options than men. While older women are significantly less likely to agree, women living in more gender equal countries are more likely to agree. Our findings indicate a link between the male dominance in sport volunteering and the job market, which is determined by social sustainability.

Difficulties and Countermeasures of Community Sports Service in China

In order to promote the rapid implementation of the domestic national fitness plan, promote the sustainable development of social sports services, improve the physical fitness of the whole people, improve the quality of life and lifestyle of the masses, and cultivate the people's awareness of independent fitness; This paper uses the literature method, interview method, and survey method to investigate domestic community sports services. The study found that the supply of community sports service funds and venues and facilities is insufficient, the division of government responsibilities is not clear, the operation efficiency of community sports organizations is inefficient, the quality of service is not high, the infrastructure construction in remote rural areas is not perfect, and it is impossible to enjoy sports and health services. Research conclusion: In the process of the development of social sports services, the government needs to formulate clear community sports policies and regulations, clarify the division of government responsibilities, give lower-level organizations greater rights, and create a management organization that leads multiple participation; Introduce market mechanisms to alleviate government economic pressure; Improve the community sports volunteer system, protect the interests of volunteers, and improve the service quality of community sports organizations.

Analysis of the impact of electronic sports on anxiety and biochemical factors of players

An obvious characteristic of computer games is stress, competition, and physiological alterations in the body. It is regarded as an important subject including those factors in e-sports, getting progressively popular in the digital era. The psychological and physiological impacts of e-sports, conducted in a competitive ambiance, on the body and mind over the course of competitions are not yet known. The aim of the paper is determining the impacts of players performing in e-sports games on some biochemical and hormonal factors shaped in the body during the game. In the group of research, there are twenty electronic sports volunteer players playing in e-sports games. Samples are gathered from the players in the study thirty minutes before and after electronic sports games. Given the results, it is concluded that e-sports players' ACTH, cortisol, and testosterone levels rose substantially.

P03-11 Talking to Danish children/adolescents living with cerebral palsy and their parents about perceived motivators and barriers for being physically active - a family perspective

BackgroundChildren and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) are a vulnerable group who find it challenging to meet current physical activity guidelines, which predispose them to the negative health implications associated with low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary time. For these reasons, a key role for many clinicians, parents, and other practitioners working with children and adolescents with cerebral palsy is to encourage and facilitate an increase in habitual physical activity and reduce the amount of time spent sedentary, in order to optimize long-term health outcomes. Since 2014 Danish schools have been committed to enhance physical activity during the school day, but teachers still find it challenging to include children and adolescents with special needs. In Denmark, there is a strong tradition of practicing habitual exercise in the voluntary sports clubs (83% of children and adolescents). In sports clubs, these children are being physically active as well as experiencing being a part of a community. Children and adolescents living with CP are often not able to participate in these sports clubs which excludes them from the active and social life that's happening there. This study acknowledges that parents of children and adolescents living with CP play an important role in supporting them being physically active. Therefore, this study aims to identify perceived barriers and motivators for being physically active, experienced by this particular group of children and parents. This knowledge can be used by parents, clinicians, coaches, teachers and other practitioners to guide families living with CP towards a more physically active lifestyle and possibly optimize long-term physical and social health outcomes for children and adolescents with CP.MethodsThis study will investigate the children's and parents' perceptions of motivators and barriers. The study is designed as a multi-family member interview study involving 10-14 combined in-depth interviews with children aged 8-15 (GMFCS I-III) and their parents. Interviews will be analysed thematically within and between groups.Results and conclusionsThe study will take place in spring 2020 as a part of a pre-graduate research year and thus data and conclusions will be presented at the conference.

P01-08 Implementing school-based physical activity - putting Policy into Practice

Close to ten years ago, at the beginning of December 2012, the Danish government, announced its intention to implement comprehensive reforms of the public school system. Six months later, in June 2013, a broad-based political alliance agreed on extensive alterations in the legislation guiding Danish public schools.The discussions of the most recent major reform of Danish public schools, established a next to unequivocal consensus among the parties in the Danish Parliament, school employers and employees as well as voluntary sports organizations that children and young people should be more physically active during the school day. Thus, the updated Danish Education Act of 2013 made it compulsory for public schools to offer an average of 45 minutes of physical activity (PA) per school day.It is, however, painfully clear that the subsequent implementation of the primary policy goal to incorporate a minimum of 45 minutes of school-based PA for all pupils per day has been far from complete. According to some of the more exhaustive monitoring reports, in 2019 only six out of 10 schools fulfilled the basic PA-criterion. This was at the same level as in 2016. In spite of much political goodwill at both national, regional and local levels, significant investments of time and other resources by school authorities, professional organizations, a number of private and public foundations, individual employees and work teams, school managers and boards the number of schools actually adhering to current legislative goals related to physical activity has not changed in any substantial way from the adoption of the updated legislative framework in mid-2013 till present time.Based on this state of affairs the presentation explores the question: What factors have influenced the translation of an overall policy ambition, related to school-based physical activity, into practice? The presentation builds on the Integrated Implementation Model, as presented by Winter and Nilsen and Cairney's introduction to Policy implementation research, and covers phases two and three of a total of four into which a given political decision-making process is typically divided: 1) agenda-setting, 2) policy generation, 3) implementation, and 4) evaluation.

Examining the role of affective states in relation to exercise intentions and participation in extra-curricular exercise classes at university: A repeated measurement observational study.

BackgroundPrevious research has shown evidence on the role of affective states for physical activity behavior. However, there is a lack of research investigating the interplay between affective states, intentions, and exercise behavior, especially with respect to maintaining regular exercise over time. The study aimed to investigate whether post-exercise affective states and changes in affect during exercise (i) are related to exercise intentions; (ii) moderate the relationship between intention and subsequent exercise behavior, and (iii) directly predict future exercise.MethodsParticipants from weekly voluntary sports and gym classes at two universities were recruited. For 13 weeks, 268 individuals’ (Mage = 24.5 years, SD = 5.6, 90% students, 67.4% female) class attendance was documented on a weekly basis. Before and immediately after training, participants self-reported affective states, including affective valence (Feeling Scale) and perceived arousal (Felt Arousal Scale). Participants also reported their intention to re-attend the class the following week. Mixed-effect linear models and Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the relationships between affective states, change in affective states, re-attendance intentions, and class re-attention.ResultsAffective valence at the end of training was significantly positively associated with the intention to re-attend the class on the within-person level (β = 0.880, p < 0.001) as well as the between-person level (β = 0.831, p < 0.001), while higher increases of valence during class were related to smaller intention. For class re-attendance, significant effects of affective states were only found on the within-person level. A one-point increase on the valence scale increased the hazard ratio to re-attend by 8.4% (p < 0.05), but this effect was no longer meaningful after adjusting for intention. No moderation of the relationship between intention and subsequent class re-attendance was found.ConclusionThe results suggest that positive affective state immediately after exercise does not facilitate translation of intentions into subsequent exercise behavior (i.e., do not close the intention-behavior gap). Rather, affective valence was found to be an important predictor of exercise intentions but seemed indirectly related to behavior via intentions. Practitioners should plan exercise programs that allow for positive affective states especially at the end of a training.

The role of the Swedish Sports Confederation in delivering sport in socioeconomically deprived areas

ABSTRACT This study explores the role of the Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC) in its pursuit of supporting sports in socioeconomically deprived areas, specifically targeting ethnic minorities. This is no easy task, seeing as the SSC does so through ‘steering’ voluntary sport clubs towards social policy goals. Utilising multiple qualitative sources from 35 SSC representatives, this study examines the practices of the SSC according to Bronfenbrenner’s Process-Person-Context-Time approach. The results show that the SSC foreground their practices by initiating inter-sectoral collaborations to ensure sustainable funding to clubs and that the ‘principle of closeness’ permeates the practices; every link in the process is locally embedded and builds upon the strength of the clubs. The sport club consultant, acting as the direct link between exo-level directives and the clubs’ micro-setting becomes a key factor whose individual characteristics become a decisive factor. In conclusion, the SSC works in a complex collaborative sphere in which specific individuals become central in reaching the clubs. Importantly, the SSC adopts a bottom-up approach, recognising the strength and resourcefulness of the locals. The results have implications for federations that work under the governance of neoliberal result-oriented regimes – if sport clubs should carry out this work, the federations need to understand how they must accommodate and assist these sport clubs adequately.

Women's Volunteering and Voluntary Leadership Positions in Sport-Secondary Analyses of the German Survey on Volunteering.

For decades, the German sports policy mission statement “Sport for All” has been aimed at attracting women to voluntary work in the sports sector. Nevertheless, women are consistently underrepresented in volunteering within sports organizations and especially on boards. One-dimensional gender analyses that exclude other factors like class and ethnicity cannot, however, adequately describe different modes of disadvantage. In order to analyze the unequal access to volunteering and leadership positions in sport, we refer to inequality theory and intersectional approaches, which include different factors of disadvantage. Our study is based on a quantitative population survey on volunteering in Germany with more than 25,000 respondents conducted in 2014 and 2019. We examine factors and interactions that can predict women's volunteering and leadership in sport. The results show that the proportion of women who volunteer is lower than the proportion of men and that fewer women than men take on leadership positions. The gender differences were not as pronounced in 2019 as they were in 2014. Independent of gender, the likelihood of volunteering increases with higher income, A-levels, no immigration status, marriage and the presence of children in the household. Part-time and marginal employment is more often associated with volunteering among women than among men; however, the likelihood of volunteering decreases more for women than for men when they are not employed at all. Moreover, higher income for women is less likely to be associated with voluntary work than for men while volunteering in other areas has a more positive effect on volunteering in sports for women than for men. Independent of gender, the likelihood of holding a leadership position increases with higher income, with marriage, and decreases with immigration background and with the presence of children in the household. Part-time and marginal employment increase the likelihood of having a leadership position to a greater extent for men than for women. In terms of leadership positions men benefit more than women if there are no children in the household. The results suggest that practical and policy efforts should focus more on improving the conditions for women to gain voluntary leadership positions.