Numerous sport organizations rely on volunteer labor to serve in various capacities that are integral to the effective and efficient delivery of the special events they stage (Green & Chalip, 2004; Fairley, Kellett, & Green, 2007). Motives for sporting events volunteers have been investigated (Twynam, Strigas & Jackson, 2003; MacLean & Hamm, 2007; Bang & Ross, 2009). Motives for volunteering included egoistic, purposive, leisure, love of sport, and material reasons. Although event organizers welcome all volunteers, volunteers who serve at a particular event on a repeated basis are desirable because the organization benefits from the skills and knowledge return volunteers have obtained through repeated experiences. Because retaining volunteers from one year to the next year is a challenge for personnel who organize events, it would benefit event organizers to understand factors that motivate volunteers to return to serve at an event. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the motives of first-time and repeat volunteers who served at a collegiate swimming event.
Method:
A modified version of the Volunteer Motivations Scale (Bang & Ross, 2009) was completed by 194 of 650 (29.8%) volunteers. Volunteers completed the nineteen (19) item survey online after the conclusion of the event. A t-test was used to assess the differences between groups.
Analysis/Results:
Purposive incentives such as making the event a success, helping others and creating a better society were identified as the top motives for volunteering among both repeat and first-time volunteers. Material incentives such as tangible rewards were the least motivating factor for both groups of volunteers, along with leisure factors (volunteering with friends) and egoistic factors (gain career experience and resume-builder). Using an alpha level of .05, results of the independent samples t-test revealed no statistical significance between the groups on any of the motivating factors.
Conclusions:
The results of this investigation demonstrate that, while volunteer motives are multifaceted, they are not altered by previous experiences. Given the enormous reliance event organizers have upon volunteers, researchers must continue to investigate this phenomenon in order to assist organizers in developing effective strategies that will not only entice volunteers to serve at the event, but also entice them to serve on a repeated basis. Suggestions include recruitment strategies that focus on altruistic, purposive outcomes that can be obtained through serving at the event.