Background/Purpose: Volunteers play a crucial role in successfully staging special sporting events (Twynam, Farrell, & Johnston, 2002/2003). Mega events, like the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and NFL Super Bowl would not be feasible without volunteers who assist with security, technical support, supervision, and event organization (Green & Chalip, 1998; Twynam, Farrell, & Johnston, 2002/03). Many studies have investigated special event volunteers, but the motives of volunteers who have served at mega events have received little attention.The purpose of this research was to determine the motivations of mega sporting event volunteers.
Method: ,2506 (31%) of the 8,000 volunteers who assisted with the implementation of the 2012 Super Bowl completed an online, modified version of the Volunteer Motivations Scale for International Sporting Events (Bang & Ross, 2009).
Analysis/Results: A principal component analysis, with a varimax rotation, revealed four factors of mega sport volunteerism. They were: 1) Purposive (to help others, make the event a success, create a better society, display pride in the community), 2) Solidarity (develop working relationships with others, resume enhancement, gain practical experience, gain career experience). 3) Personal Growth (feel needed, feel important, feel better about myself), and 4) Love of Sport (like sports, like football).
Conclusions: These results show the multifaceted nature of motives for volunteering for mega sporting events. Given the enormous financial commitment and reliance upon human resources needed to host mega sporting events, organizers must understand volunteer motives in order to develop effective recruiting activities as well as retain volunteers for the duration of the event.
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