A close eye on Athletics spectators - an empirical study

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1 I?^5] «. byla.a.f. A close eye on Athletics spectators - an empirical study Hans Stollenwerk For more than twelve years Hans Stollenwerk has conducted extensive research on spectators ut sporting and cultural evenis. In addition to extensive sludies of audiences al rock, popular, jazz and classical music concerts he has worked with spectators attending high-level soccer, basketball, ice hockey, tennis and handball competitions as well as athletic meetings. This article gives an overview of the mosl imporlant resulis from questionnaires answered by spectators attending the laa F MobU Grand Prix - ASV Köln Meeting, in Cologne, FRG on 25 August Translated from the original German by Jürgen Schiffer Introduction Every year during the monlhs of July and Augusl. world class track and field athleles travel through Europe competing every few days in the athlelics meetings which are an imporlant part of the continent's summer sporis programme. In Stockholm. Oslo, Bruxelles, Berlin. Cologne and various other cities, meeting organizers try to secure the mosl attractive line-up of athleles possible in order to make their event as entertaining and exciting as possible for tho spectators. One can learn a lot about individual evenis and the alhletes themselves. This is particularly true if the athletes are very famous. But what is known about the people who watch these meetings? Nol much! As far as socialscientific aspecis are concerned, actually nothing. The meager informalion available on spectators at sporting events (alhlelics meetings included) is given almost exclusively by the media. Only the number of spectators is reported as a matter of routine and this information must always be taken "wilh a pinch of salt". For example, the size of the crowd at the Bisletl Games in Oslo on 5 July as given by the daily newspapers in lhc Federal Re- 27

2 28 public of Germany, varied between and Reports on athletics meetings now and again comment on a special "capacity for enthusiasm" ("...the spectators spurred them on to the record") or the exceptionally high athletic understanding of the spectators. But who actually are these people who - given their interest in Athletics or sports in general - leave their comfortable armchairs and make their way tc the sladiuin? Why do they come? Whal are their connections wilh Athletics? Many more questions are possible and sensible, but. until now. nobody has asked them. Intact there are no scientific findings on athletics spectators, at least nt)l in German speaking countries. Sports scientists who have dealt with sports spectators have dealt almost exclusively with the sport of Soccer. There the centre of inlerest has been the most spectacular negative phenomenon of the international soccer scene, i.e. fan violence, hooliganism and aggression. Within the framework of a long-term research project on spectators conducted at sporting and cultural evenis. spectators at an athletics ineeting were investigated for the first time in TTiis was done by distributing a questionnaire among the crowd at the ASV Köln Meeting al the Mungersdorf Stadium in Cologne. FRG. on 25 August The meeting was the fourteenth of fifteen meetings (excluding the finals) of the "IAAF Mobil Grand Prix" which was taking place for the first lime that year. Of the questionnaires distributed in the stadiuin. more than 600 were filled in and returned, i.e. a return rale of 60"/o which is comparatively high for this type of field research. 585 questionnaires were evaluated. Thorough careful proportional distribution of the questionnaires in the various areas of the stadium, each spectator had al leasl a theoretical chance to be a part of the sample survey. As far as the spectators at the ASV Köln Meeting are concerned, the findings are certainly representative. If basic social inter-relations arc taken into account, there is no reason lo believe that the spectators at the other large athiclics rtieetings in the FRG are fundamentally different from those at the Cologne Meeting. The demographic structure of athletics spectators Attendance al popular sporting events has always been predominantly a men's affair. They form the majority of spectators investigated up to now. National League Soccer in the FRG. for example, can draw only a few women to the stadiums. Athletics and Tennis, among the sports investigated, are roughly equal as the sports which appeal most lo women. Everv third spectator at the ASV Köln Meeting was female. As far as age structure is concerned, spectators at athlelics meetings do nol differ very much from those at ice hockey or basketball matches. Soccer spectators, on the other hand, are considerably younger. Tennis spectators, however, are on average a little older than athletics spectators. Classification of sports spectators in the FRG according to social class is possible through the variable of education. The majority of athletics spectators have completed a higher level of educalion Ihan those at most other

3 DI.MOGRAPIIK i:)ata SEX Track and field athletic; Soccer Ice hockey Tennis 11) 4(1 51) Wl 71) 80 yd KH) bi-- Hl< lb h-f Basketball Handball EDUCATION Track and fields athletics Soccer Ice hockey Tennis Basketball in (1."^ SO 40 Min 111 I HH) % Handball AGE Track and fields athletics Soccer Ice hockey Tennis \Z 1 Lower, Middle Education Higher No stalement 50 % Basketball Handball Mean value Slandard deviation 29

4 30 Age structure Age in years Up to Over 40 (Six persons did not give their age) N '^o los 19 < 579 KXJ sportmg events. Although lhc number of athletics spectators holding certificates of higher education is comparitively high, il is much lower than thai of basketball spectators. The average education level of athletics spectators resembles that of tennis spectators. Motives for the visit to the stadium The days when entrance fees financed international line-ups for great sporting events are definitely of the lhc job situation of.athletics spcctalon«pupil Apprentice Student Worker Skilled worker Employee Civil servant Self-employed H ousewife Pensioner Unemployed Housewife + working No statement N % IK 3.1 i <5S past. Advertising revenues, sponsorship money and television fees now play an increasingly important role as sources of income. In spile of this, the spectator on lhc spot remains a central and vital element of sporting competitions, mostly because of the stimulating effecl the crowd has on the performers. Apart from the questions which are relevant lo sporis science, it might be interesting for organizers to learn something about the spectators" relationship to the respective sport (in this case: Athlelics). Are the spectators interested in Athlelics generally or in particular events? Do they only go to the stadium because a "big name" performer is on the starting list and they w ish lo see an Olympic Champion or World Record holder in person? Wiihin the international scene of athletics meetings, there will be. no doubt, considerable differences in the responses to these questions. Whereas a number of athietics meetings traditionally take place in fronl of a full house {e.g. Zurich), other organizers must fight afresh for the spectators' favour each year. Among the IAAF Mobil Grand Prix events, bolh the ISTAF in BerUn and ASV Köln Number of meeting First visit 2..V (1,-10. > 10 previous visits lo the ASV N "-;, S(l 29.«

5 meetings belong lo the second category. This can be easily verified in the case of the ASV Köln meeting. Only one in five of the spectators can be termed a regular fan. i.e. he comes to every year's meeting regardless of the weather condilions or the start lisl. Allhough almost three fourths (72%) of the spectators regard themselves as athlelics fans, they do not regularly come lo what is, outside of Koblenz, the only large athlelics meeting in the Rhineland. On average, the spectators responding to our survey at the ASV Köln Meeting had attended 2.5 athletics meetings in Cologne. For almost 30% of the spectators the 1985 ASV Köln Meeting was their first. In other words, in spite of ils long history, attendance at the ASV Köln Meeting (held since 1934) has nol really become a tradition, even for the athlelics fans in and around Cologne. Since importanl athletics meetings are a rarity, most fans observe the sport via the mass media, predominantly via television. With this as background, it seems understandable that nearly half of the spectators at the ASV Köln Meeting said that their motive for attending the event was the wish to "experience, if only once, a live athletics event". This aspect is certainly one of the biggest problems for the organizers. They, and the sponsored athleles, must succeed in crealing such an atmosphere al the sporting event that the spectators will come again and do nol return lo their armchairs to experience Athletics on television. The central ambition of al! organizers is to secure and, if possible, to increase the attractiveness of their own meeting. This is done primarily by signing on well-known athletes and by putting together event line-ups which have the potential of producing a record, especially in the middle and long distances. To whal extent then can the spectator be lured to Ihe stadium by the appearance of certain athletes or by certain competitions? This lype of inlerest is much less than one would suppose, especially when the inlensity wilh which the media devote themselves lo suppo.sed superstars or outstanding competitive line-ups is taken into account. Only 10% of the spectators al the ASV Köln Meeting said that they had come to the stadium only because of certain evenis. The "hit parade" of evenis favoured by these competition orientated spectators has the sprints and middle dis- MotiveN for going to thc ASV meeting I am a track and field fan Iwanlto support the ASV Cologne Percentage of "Yes" - answers I wanted to experience if only once a live track and field event I go to every ASV meeting, no matter who is on the starting list I have only come because of certain athleles I have only come because of certain competitions J

6 lances clearly al the lop. In third place we find the High Jump, ahead of both thc Fole Vault and Long Jump. The special appeal of the High Jump was a result of the participation of the two best FRG high jumpers. Carlo Thränhardt and Olympic Champion Dietmar Mögenburg. who at that lime were members of the ASV Köln Club. Curiously, one event was hardly mentioned: the Triple Jump. Mosl athletics devotees will say, "So what?! The Triple Jump is only a peripheral activity!". This fact is worth mentioning because, among the ranks of athleles whose presence had drawn the spectators to the stadium, triple jumper Willie Banks (USA) was of prime importance, leaving nearest rival Sergey Bubka (URS) well behind. Four time World Champion Carl Lewis (USA), who was supposed to be the "superstar" ofthe meeting followed in only third place. Willie Banks is undoubtedly the premier showman on the international Athlelics scene. He is without equal in attracting the support of the spectators. He manipulates the crowd much like the conductor of an orchestra although, normally, the Tri- Names mentioned by the spectators who agreed to the following statements: "/ have come hecau.se of certain athletes" or "The "hit parade' of track md field. thie es" Willie Banks Sergej Bubka Carl Lewis Carlo Thranh;irdt Dietmar Mögenburg Valeric Brisko-Hooks Joaquim Cruz Sebastian Coe Ulrike Denk Thierry Vigneron Sabine Everts Numberof men tion ings Further 29 athletes were mentioned once or twice respcctivelv, (The sprinters of the USA were altogeth er mentioned 48 limes, without giving specia names) / have come trecause of certain competitions" Sprints Middle distances High jump Pole vault Long jump Numberof mentionings M

7 pie Jump is indeed a peripheral event at meetings. Nowhere else is there such a gap belween the interest in a person and the event as there is in the case of Willie Banks. Thc combination of sporting achievement and showmanships has made him the mosl popular athlele, al least in Cologne. Exactly the opposite is true with the middle distances. The 1984 Olympic Champions al 800m. Joaquim Cruz (BRA), and 1500m. Sebastian Coe (GBR), are only occasionally mentioned by the ASV Köln spectators as their main draw to the stadium. Seen as a whole, however, the middle distances do have great appeal for the spectators. This does nol mean that athletes like Cruz and Coe are unimportant for organizers. On the contrary, lo have a large number of world class runners on the starling line of a middle dislance race is always a special, if nol central attraction of an international athletics meeting. The reason for this is mainly that there has been such a flood of World Records in the middle dislance events in recent years. One danger, however, which must not be ignored, is the increasing obsession with record breaking, This, il seems, sometimes leads lo the feeling that a meeting loses itsimageorisof novalueif it isnot regularly mentioned in the record books. The endeavour to support the organizer (in this case the ASV Köln Club) is another reason for attendance al a sporting evenl. This motivation is presumably rare, if not non-exislant. on the international scene. In order lo understand the situation in Cologne, one must know that the possible profits from thc iticelingare used to a great exlent to further the Iraining work of the ASV Köln Club. This reason -a social motive, solospeak-wasgivenby 30% of the spectators as their motive for buying a ticket. Sports spectators and sporting activities "These lazy people should come down from the stands and do some sporis themselves". For many years, critics of the sports scene have commented on spectator behaviour, which they thought was wrong, in this or in similar ways. This was based on the presumption that, for the majority of spectators, the walk to the stadium was their only "sporlingaclivity". Recently il has been found that this presumption was wrong. Most spectators al sporting events are, in fact, ac- Sports watching and.sports activily Of the spectators ofthe ASV meeting: - 70% do sport in their leisure time - 24% did sport in the past (apart from school sport) - 6% never did any sport (Relation: N = 585) The favoured kinds of sport of the active sportsmen among the athletics spectators Kind of sport 1. Tennis 2. Athletics 3. Soccer 4. Jogging 5. Alpine skiing 6. Swimming 7. Volleyball 8, Squash 9. Cycling 10. Table tennis Number of mentionings

8 Comparative <jample survey from other kinds of sport Kind of sport Event Dale of questioning Numberof questioned persons Soccer Soccer national league game 1, FC Cologne-Bayern Munich May S0 Handball Three gimicsofthe handball national league (Kiel. Gummersbach, Düsseldorf) December iys5/ January 198(1 900 Tennis Tennis Grand Prix Tournament "'Cologne Cup" in Cologne October Basketball Basketball national league game Saturn Cologne - Gottingen March 1^3 347 Ice hockey Ice hockey national league game Cologne EC - EV Landshut March 1977 ( >]? live sportsmen and sportswomen themselves. Al leasl they are more aciive than the average citizen in the FRG. 70% of athletics spectators have actively taken part in some kind of sport. While this does not match the level of tennis spectators, almosl all of whom lake part in sporting activily, there isonly a minimal numberof inactive individuals if one does not count Soccc r Lf hockcv 1^,43 I \'ollevball Athlelics spectators at other sporting events 2 8 ^ Basketball ^ II Handball -Motor sport Percentage of Athletics spectators who regularly """"^^^ sometimes go to the above mentioned other sporting events 34

9 Who agrees to the following statements' (All givings in %/relation: N = 585) % - All alhletes. no matter whether amateurs or professionals, should be admitted to liic Olympic Games - Top-icvel track and field athletes are actually professionals 93 - The amount of money given to thc best track and field alhletes! > too high 58 - Track and field athletes should be paid according to their performances 88 - Thc joining together ofthe 16 international track and field events in a Grand Prix has lo tie approved 72 fi7 the 24% who are ex-sporlsmen. In the ranks of the favoured participation sports for ASV Köln spectators. Athletics is second, behind only Tennis. Soccer and jogging are of hardly less importance- It is worth remarking that Alpine Skiing is regularly mentioned as the second or third sport favoured by most spectators. The same is true of Squash. Thus, the sporting interests of athletics spectators are compralively strong and by no means limiled to going to the meeting. This includes active parlicipalion in sporting activities and extends even lo visiting other sporting events. Incidentally, athletics spectators are characterized by a marked inlerest in sports reported by the various media. The Cologne alhlelics fans can be called interested and well informed sports spectators. Accordingly, ihey have been asked for their opinions on some topics regarding the international athletics scene. Data, facts, opinions Almosl 75% of ihe questioned spectators approved of the joining together of the most importanl international athletics meetings into the IAAF Mobil Grand Prix circuit. This is a little surprising as one occasionally had the impression that the enterprise of the Grand Prix got off to a slow slarl as its rules were disputed and it was not fully accepted by the athleles. In Athletics, as is the case in mosl areas of life, much revolves around money- Hypocrisy has been the dominant principle for decades when il comes to the payment of athletes. Under the table payments and bogus expenses have long been quite normal. Today the payment of alhletes is tolerated by the official authorities to a large extent. These payments are also tolerated by the spectators, whose argumentation is based on logic. Mosl of those questioned regard the top alhletes as professionals whose sporis activities are jobs for which they should be paid accordingly. However, only 42% of the spectators accept the extremely high sums which are given to the athletes. Another aspect which has been discussed since the first modern Olympic Games, is the questions of the admission of professionals lo the Games. 35

10 Since, in almost all sports, professionalization is advancing, this discussion is more topical than ever. In the responsible sporting bodies, opinions are divided. This is also true of athletics spectators. However. 67% of the ASV Köln spectators approve the admittance of all athletes, regardless of amateur or professional standing. Only 33% do not approve. 36