Spectator Engagement at Major Sailing Events

Authors: Henderson, H.E., Guothro, M.B. and Jones, I.

Conference: International Conference on Sport and Society

Dates: 8-10 March 2010

Abstract:

n the UK, coverage of sailing in the media and methods to engage and enhance spectator engagement at the venue has historically been overlooked. This has been acknowledged by Sir Robin Knox Johnson who stated that, “Our sailors are doing extremely well, but the sport does not get the coverage or recognition it deserves in Britain.” At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta, Britain’s sailors left with their best Olympic medal haul for 100 years. This surpasses Team GB Sailing medal total at the past two Games in Athens and Sydney where Britain won five medals apiece while the sailors’ feat in Qingdao mirrors the achievements of the British sailing team at the 1908 London Games. It also means for the third successive Olympics, Britain finished the regatta as the world’s top performing sailing nation. In the build up to 2012 the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) are hosting a portfolio of major international sailing events at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy - the 2012 Sailing Venue. It is necessary within the hosting of these major sailing events that marketing strategies are required to maximise the number of spectators, regardless of their location. The purpose of this research paper is to develop an understanding of sailing spectators’ motivations, identify sailing spectators needs in relation to service quality and customer satisfaction at major sailing events

http://sportandsociety.com/conference/

Source: Manual

Preferred by: Ian Jones