Degree Project Level: Master’s level Understanding the motivation and satisfaction for volunteering at sports events in the context of Covid-19. The case of the 2021 Lahti Ski Games Author: Carsten Erik Lantz Supervisor: Tobias Heldt Examiner: Tara Duncan Subject/main field of study: Volunteering Course code: TR3008 Credits: 15 ETCS Date of examination: 14.6.2021 At Dalarna University it is possible to publish the student thesis in full text in DiVA. The publishing is open access, which means the work will be freely accessible to read and download on the internet. This will significantly increase the dissemination and visibility of the student thesis. Open access is becoming the standard route for spreading scientific and academic information on the internet. Dalarna University recommends that both researchers as well as students publish their work open access. I give my/we give our consent for full text publishing (freely accessible on the internet, open access): Yes ☒ No ☐ Dalarna University – SE-791 88 Falun – Phone +4623-77 80 00 Declaration This thesis is an original work of Carsten Erik Lantz. All other contributors are properly acknowledged in the text and listed in the bibliography. Carsten Erik Lantz Date: 14.6.2021 Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has helped me throughout the entire process of writing this master’s thesis. As first, I would like to mention my supervisor, Tobias Heldt. His enthusiasm and knowledge in the field of events and Nordic Skiing made me sure from the first day that he would be the right person to guide me on the right path. Besides, I cannot forget about everyone who provided feedback during the thesis seminar. Your thoughts and comments were extremely valuable and enriched this study immensely. I would like to refer in particular to Katharina, who has been extremely supportive and helpful throughout this entire journey. I hope this is just the beginning of a great friendship. Essential elements for this thesis to be fruitful were the nine people who generously donated their free time to participate in the interviews and contribute to this study. Without them, this project would have been impossible. They, again, demonstrated to be exemplary volunteers, and I hope this thesis allowed them to reflect on their volunteering. It certainly gave me that opportunity. This thesis could not be complete without the unconditional support of my mother, Izaskun, of my two best friends, Asier and Borja, and above all, my girlfriend Araitz, who encouraged me to always give my best and coped with my ups and downs during the past months. She provided an external perspective, accompanied by great input and insights that allowed me to see the right path, even when I found myself at a dead end. This is, most likely, not a complete work, but you all own a piece of it already. Erik Lantz Helsinki, 14.06.2021 Abstract Volunteers are essential for the success of almost any organized event. However, volunteering has undergone a process of modernization, in which altruistic or collective forms of volunteering, motivated by intrinsic behaviors, have been replaced by more egoistic or reflexive ones, which are extrinsically motivated. The purpose of this master’s thesis, following qualitative methodologies in the form of semi-structured interviews and my personal observations, the factors of motivation and satisfaction of nine volunteers from the 2021 Lahti Ski Games, as well as how their previous volunteering satisfaction could have impacted their motivation to engage in volunteering action this year have been analyzed. Furthermore, given that the event took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, the implications of the virus on the motives to volunteer and its consequent events on the volunteering experience have been investigated. Results demonstrate that despite both types of motivation to volunteer are shown among participants, modern forms of volunteerism seem to have a higher presence. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that previous volunteering satisfaction has a clear influence on the intentions to volunteer in the future. Finally, it is stated that the event taking place during the Covid-19 pandemic did not influence the motivation as much as the satisfaction of the volunteering experience. Thus, this thesis generates unique knowledge on the topics of volunteering motivation and satisfaction. However, the implications of Covid-19 have not been yet deeply investigated and it suggests that further research could be conducted on the topic. Keywords: Sports volunteering, Volunteering motivation, Volunteering satisfaction, Lahti Ski Games, Covid-19 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. The current context of events due to Covid-19 .................................................................. 1 1.2. Research Aim ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.3. Research questions ............................................................................................................... 2 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 3 2.1. Volunteering at (sport) events ............................................................................................. 3 2.2. Factors of motivation for volunteering............................................................................... 4 2.3. Satisfaction and future volunteering intention .................................................................. 5 2.4. Volunteering at (elite sporting) events in the context of Covid-19 .................................. 6 2.5. Summary ............................................................................................................................... 7 3. STUDY CONTEXT ........................................................................................................... 9 3.1. COVID-19 measures during the Lahti Ski Games .......................................................... 10 4. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 11 4.1. Reasons for topic and methodological choices ................................................................. 11 4.2. Method for data collection ................................................................................................. 12 4.2.1. Semi-structured interviews............................................................................................................. 12 4.2.2. Participants ..................................................................................................................................... 14 4.3. Method for data analysis ................................................................................................... 15 4.3.1. Thematic Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 16 4.3.2. Personal observations ..................................................................................................................... 17 4.4. Ethics ................................................................................................................................... 17 4.5. Trustworthiness .................................................................................................................. 18 4.6. Limitations .......................................................................................................................... 19 5. FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................... 20 5.1. Motivation to volunteer ..................................................................................................... 21 5.1.1. Benefitting others ........................................................................................................................... 21 5.1.2. Benefitting oneself ......................................................................................................................... 22 5.1.3. External factors .............................................................................................................................. 24 5.1.4. Covid-19, influencing volunteering motivation ............................................................................. 26 5.2. Volunteering satisfaction in the context of Covid-19 ...................................................... 29 5.2.1. Organizational level ....................................................................................................................... 29 5.2.2. Task level: challenges and gratification ......................................................................................... 31 5.2.3. Personal level ................................................................................................................................. 33 6. DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................. 36 6.1. Generosity, selfishness, or both? ....................................................................................... 36 6.2. What else motivates me?.................................................................................................... 37 6.3. Why volunteer during