LOOKING THROUGH THE KALEIDOSCOPE: PERSPECTIVES ON THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF SPORT EVENT VOLUNTEERING SUSANNE MARIA SHUKURU GELLWEILER A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bournemouth University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2011 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis. AUTHOR‟S DECLARATION This works contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. ABSTRACT The staging of many sport events ranging from small to mega-events, increasingly rely on the availability of a workforce of unpaid helpers. Whilst much research has been carried out in the past regarding the reason why people decide to volunteer at sport events, little is known about how this type of volunteering is experienced by the individual. Adopting an experiential focus, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge and enhances the understanding of this particular form of volunteering by exploring the question ―What it is like to be a sport event volunteer?‖ Using different strands of the concept and theory of role to serve as parameters for this study, the lived experiences of volunteers who assisted at the World Firefighters Games 2008 are analysed and discussed. The research approach that was adopted for this study draws from the work of Hans- Georg Gadamer in form of hermeneutic phenomenology which is an interpretative approach towards collecting and analysing data about a specific phenomenon. Incorporating the hermeneutic circle that advocates the idea that understanding of a phenomenon is co-created by both the researcher and the research participants, hermeneutic phenomenology is concerned with exploring rather than merely describing contextual aspects and structures of lived experiences. A total of eighteen semi-structured interviews involving volunteers who helped with the World Firefighters Games 2008 in Liverpool, were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Using the approach of Van Manen towards analysing the collected data, a number of themes and subthemes emerged which are presented in the thesis in manner that reflects the nature of the hermeneutic circle. Besides providing a working definition of the term ―sport event volunteering‖, the findings of the study critically evaluate the meaning that the volunteers attach to the role and how they make sense of their role as helpers involved in staging large sporting events. The interpretation of the collected data suggests that the enactment of the volunteer role is informed by individuals expectations and needs, e.g. with regards to role allocation, trust, recognition and reciprocity, and the experience of anti-climax and loss after their volunteer engagement has come to an end. Furthermore, the critical synthesis of how the individual manages his/her volunteer role suggests that sport event volunteers can be understood as ―bricoleurs‖ who craft rather than merely take and perform this particular role. Beside contributing to existing research on sport event volunteering with these findings and by identifying further research avenues relating to sport event volunteering that can be explored in future, the findings of these studies might inform the work of practitioners in the respective research fields. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The experience of writing this thesis can be best described as life-altering as it provided me with knowledge about the chosen topic and theoretical and practical aspects of undertaking an extensive piece of research as well as with new insights about my own person that resulted from managing personal strengths and weaknesses. In retrospect, I compare the process of obtaining a PhD degree with a journey during which decisions had to be taken, challenges had to be met, and obstacles had to be overcome. I would not have been able to commence and complete this journey without the help and support of many people: First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to Dr. Ian Jones and Dr. Keith Wilkes who patiently guided me throughout the PhD process. By being open to ideas and giving me space to make my own choices and decisions regarding the research whilst keeping me on track, they contributed significantly to my personal development as a researcher. Both supported me in a positive and cheerful manner right to the end and never grew tired of reading my drafts. Special thanks go to Ian for his invaluable eye for detail! I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Julie Whitfield who encouraged me consider and apply for a PhD degree programme and thank Bournemouth University for offering me a PhD scholarship. I am indebted to those volunteers of the 2006 World-Under-23 Rowing Champion-ships and of the 2008 World Firefighters Games who agreed to take part in this study. This thesis is dedicated to them as well as to all sport event volunteers in general without whose help and hard work many sport events could not be staged. I also would like thank the respective volunteer coordinators for giving me permission to approach and recruit members of their sport event volunteer workforce for my research. Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratefulness to my parents who provided me with ongoing moral and initial financial support, and to my wonderful husband for his never-ending faith in me, who shared all the happy and the dark moments of the PhD journey and gave me the strength and confidence not to give up. Special thanks go to Rambo, my feline muse and companion during the many long hours I‘ve spent in my study. LIST OF CONTENTS COPYRIGHT STATEMENT p.i AUTHOR‟S DECLARATION p.ii ABSTRACT p.iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT p.v LIST OF CONTENT p.vi CHAPTER ONE - Setting the scene 1.0 Introduction p. 1 1.1 Background to the research p. 2 1.2 Aim and objectives of the thesis p. 10 CHAPTER TWO - Towards a working definition of sport event volunteering 2.0 Introduction p.12 2.1 Approaches towards understanding sport event volunteering p.13 2.1.1 Defining sport p.15 2.1.2 Defining events p.17 2.1.3 Defining sport events p.19 2.1.4 Defining volunteering p.21 2.1.5 Defining sport volunteering p.29 2.1.6 Defining event volunteering p.30 2.2 Towards a definition of sport event volunteering p.31 2.3 Conclusion p.33 CHAPTER THREE - The lived experience of sport event volunteering 3.0 Introduction p.35 3.1 Analysis of the term ‗experience‘ p.36 3.2 Lived experiences and meaning p.38 3.3 Lived experience, consciousness and memory p.39 3.4 Experience and ownership p.40 3.5 Lived experiences and understanding p.41 3.6 Research implications p.42 3.7 Conclusion p.43 CHAPTER FOUR - The concept of role 4.0 Introduction p.45 4.1 Dramaturgical perspective of role p.46 4.2 The structural perspective of role p.47 4.3 Symbolic interactionist p.48 4.4 The adoption of a role perspective p.50 4.5 Conclusion p.52 CHAPTER FIVE - Methodology 5.0 Introduction p.54 5.1 Overview of the research process p.54 5.2 The perspective of the researcher p.56 5.3 Research paradigm p.58 5.4 Towards an interpretative phenomenological research approach p.61 5.4.1 Gadamer‘s approach towards hermeneutic phenomenology p.65 5.5 Sampling of events and research participants p.68 5.6 Data collection method p.72 5.7 Data analysis p.74 5.8 Research assessment through qualitative criteria of rigour p.79 5.9 Conclusion p.83 CHAPTER SIX - Understanding the lived experience of being a sport event volunteer 6.0 Introduction p.84 6.1 The hermeneutic circle approach towards interpretation p.84 6.2 The use of metaphors p.87 6.3 Conclusion p.89 CHAPTER SEVEN - Role Entry 7.0 Introduction p.90 7.1 The WFG‘08 volunteer as adventure tourist p.91 7.2 The role preparatory stage: Volunteer recruitment and training p.92 7.2.1 Receiving the role script and role cues p.93 7.2.2 Sense of role (un)preparedness p.95 7.2.3 Role accommodation - making volunteering fit p.98 7.3 The role encounter stage: Coming into touch with role reality p.99 7.3.1 Expectation of structure – volunteer role allocation and supervision p.100 7.3.2 Expectation of structure – specific task allocation p.106 7.3.3 Role ambiguity p.110 7.3.4 Un-everydayness p.113 7.4 Revisited: The WFG‘08 volunteer as adventure tourist p.114 7.5 Conclusion p.117 CHAPTER EIGHT - Role enactment: The social world of the of the WFG‟08 volunteers 8.0 Introduction p.119 8.1 The WFG‘08 volunteer as care-giver, care-taker, care-seeker and care-receiver p.119 8.2 The sport event volunteer and the role-set p.122 8.3 The socioscape of sport event volunteering p.126 8.4 The nature of the relationships within the WFG‘08 socioscape p.128 8.4.1 Empathy p.128 8.4.2 Reciprocity – give and take p.137 8.4.3 Trust p.145 8.5 Revisited: The WFG‘08 volunteer as care-giver, care-taker, care-seeker and care-receiver p.150 8.6 Conclusion p.151 CHAPTER NINE: Role enactment: The WFG‟08 volunteer as changeling 9.0 Introduction p.152 9.1 The WFG‘08 volunteer as changeling p.152 9.1.1 The temporary fugitive p.153 9.1.2 Meeting the ―remembered ― self – being back in the past p.159 9.1.3 Becoming and unbecoming p.162 9.2 Revisited: The WFG‘08 volunteer as changeling p.171 9.3 Conclusion p.172