Sports Clubs in Siegfried Nagel University of Bern Odense, 4 December 2017 1
Overview 1) Historical background and context 2) Basic key figures of sports clubs in 3) Selected results of SIVSCE-project in the field of volunteering (comparison with DEN) 2
Historical Background Sports clubs played a crucial role for the introduction of modern sport to in the 19 th century (1) German Turnen and shooting clubs: health and education, social goals, military defense (2) English Sports: sport competitions, leisure time activity, conviviality Important reasons for being a major force in Swiss sport: Club friendly environment (important role of voluntary sector) Clubs as a partial substitute for public initiatives (principle of subsidiarity) Stamm et al. 2015 3
Sports Clubs in Swiss Sports System national regional Swiss Olympic national sports federations regional federations Programme Youth and Sport (J+S) (Funding: ~ 80 mio. CHF) Federal Office of Sport (federal law for promotion sport and exercise) 26 Kantons (sport offices) local sports clubs (~ 19 000) Municipalities (Sport Policy) voluntary sector public sector 4
Revenue proportion of direct public subsidies Country Direct public subsidies (proportion of revenue in %) 14 15 5
Most important club sports and their associations in (2016) Sport Number of active members Number of clubs Football 281 521 1 440 Gymnastics 247 662 2 957 Tennis 163 633 890 Swiss Alpine Club 146 116 111 Golf 89 579 96 Swimming 80 000 200 Skiing 67 560 756 Shooting 58 626 2 943 Riding 39 275 568 Athletics 37 200 524 (vgl. Swiss Olympic, 2016) 6
Sport participation and sport club memberships 80 70 percentage of total population 60 50 40 30 20 Club memberships (total) Sport participation Club memberships (active members) 10 0 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 (vgl. Stamm et al., 2015) 7
Size of clubs 36 44 24 24 5 2 64 Mean (number of members): 121.1 Male Female 27 19 29 10 7 3 41 39 Mean (number of members): 320.3 share of clubs (in %) less than 50 members 51-100 members 101-300 members 301-500 members 501-800 members 801-1'000 members 1'001-2'500 members more than 2'500 members Male 61 Female 8
Type of sport club (single vs. multisport club) 79 21 75 25 share of clubs (in %) single sport club multisport club 9
Foundation years 14 17 11 40 8 11 6 10 10 40 14 22 share of clubs (in %) before 1900 1900-1929 1930-1945 1946-1989 1990-1999 since 2000 10
Club philosophy: Our club aims to involve members when making important decisions 3 15 41 40 10 21 49 18 share of clubs (in %) Don't agree at all Don't agree Undecided Agree Totally agree 11
Democratic participation Did you attend the last annual general meeting in the club? 57 43 22 78 share of respondents (in %) Yes No I speak my mind to key persons in the club 23 24 16 18 10 10 32 20 13 13 10 11 share of respondents (in %) Never Once a year or less Once every half year Once every three months Once a month Several times a month 12
Club philosophy: Our club sets high value on sporting success and competition 12 14 24 31 19 9 14 32 33 12 share of clubs (in %) Don't agree at all Don't agree Undecided Agree Totally agree 13
Share of respondents active in competitive sports 68 22 11 36 20 44 share of respondents (in %) Yes No, but I used to No, never 14
Club philosophy: Our club is committed to offering healthenhancing physical activity programmes 15 21 22 24 18 5 6 40 33 15 share of clubs (in %) Don't agree at all Don't agree Undecided Agree Totally agree 15
Paid manager existent 12 97 4 4 92 proportion of clubs (in %) Full-time Part-time No paid manager 16
Crucial role of volunteering in club management Our club should be run exclusively by volunteers. 2 4 11 28 56 6 10 15 33 35 share of clubs (in %) Don't agree at all Don't agree Undecided Agree Totally agree 17
Volunteering as an existential challenge Problem: Recruitment/retention of volunteers on the board level 14 22 27 22 15 11 25 26 26 12 share of clubs (in %) no problem a small problem a medium problem a big problem a very big problem 18
Emotional commitment I socialize with people from the club, which I did not know before joining, outside of the club 73 27 41 59 share of respondents (in %) Yes No 19
Summary Different club goals: DEN: health enhancing physical activity SUI: sporting success and conviviality probable reason: different gymnastics movements Social integration more important in Swiss sport clubs Differences in democratic dimension (SUI: members more integrated in decision making) SUI: Idea of volunteering in leadership more crucial 20
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