The foregoing discussions imply that elite athletes have specific destination preferences and requirements that relate to important aspects of preparation for competition and competition itself. These preferences and demands will vary considerably between individuals, sports, purpose of travel (e.g., training, acclimatization, competition), places of origin and competition. They will also vary between those travelling and competing either as individuals (e.g., golf players), individuals within a national team (e.g., national track and field team representatives) or as team members (e.g., football and cricket teams). Studies in the fields of sports science, sports management, sport and travel medicine and sport psychology have all started to address the issues faced by elite athletes travelling to foreign places for international competition (Hodge &
Hermansson, 2007). The literature serving the fields of tourism and destina- tion management has, by comparison, been very slow to respond to the needs of this discrete and highly specialized travel market (Francis & Murphy, 2005).
The relative lack of attention paid to the actual places where, following months, years or entire careers of training and preparation, athletes actually engage in international competition is perplexing. Many of the important causes of organizational stress felt by elite athletes, such as those highlighted by Woodman and Hardy (2001), relate directly to the conditions and circumstances encountered at places of competition. It has been noted that part of the failure of the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005 was because the team was cloistered and lacked meaningful interactions with local communities. Historically, a feature of Lions tours has been close interactions with host communities in local/regional places of competition (Wright, Higham & Mitchell, 2007; Morgan, 2007). A single-minded focus on training, competing and winning, it has been argued, contributed to the failure to produce the desired results.
Despite high stakes relating to career achievement, sponsorship, the survival of sports clubs and professional sports franchises and the success or failure or professional sports organizations (Roberts et al., 2001), remarkably little attention has been committed to understanding the destination needs of athletes. One exception is the work of Francis and Murphy (2005:75) who note that ‘a notable gap in the literature pertaining to the optimization of planned or existing sports facilities is the perspective of sports teams and athletes’. Both active (competitor) and passive (spectator) sport tourists have different priorities and perspectives when considering their choice of desti- nation and destination needs as they relate to accommodation facilities, transportation, food and beverage services, retail business and attractions (Francis & Murphy, 2005; Morgan, 2007). ‘Both however, have a higher level of needs that they wish to satisfy and these needs differ’ (Francis & Murphy, 2005:76). The needs of the former are entirely aimed at achieving optimal competitive performance, although it has been noted that high performance requires the establishment of a balance between preparation and focus on one hand and diversion and escape from pressure on the other.
Location, accommodation and service
Elite athletes and professional sports teams are likely to have clear prefer- ences for specific locations where they may feel most at home training and preparing in the days or week immediately before competition. This may extend to groups or entire teams of athletes for whom travelling, living and training together is an essential part of preparation for competition. Chalip
The Supply-Side of Elite Athletic Mobility 93
(2004) notes that the entire British Olympic team was based on the Gold Coast (Queensland) in advance of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. While Olympic teams were identified as a specific Olympic target market by Gold Coast marketers, and with considerable success, the choice of destination on the part of the British Olympic team was due to considerations such as climate and quality and capacity of training facilities as well as the lifestyle values of the Gold Coast which allow athletes to relax and escape from the pressures that build in advance of competition (Chalip, 2004).
Lifestyle, leisure and recreation opportunities should not be under- estimated in these considerations. Francis and Murphy (2005) note that the Crusaders (Christchurch, New Zealand) Super 14 professional Rugby Union franchise established in 2002 new priorities centred on creating the right environment to win ‘away’ games as a strategy to achieve competition success. This strategy extended to creating bases in Australia and South Africa, where the team could be accommodated in familiar and desirable surroundings. The choice of resort on the coastal outskirts of Cape Town (South Africa) was based on team preference, distance from media intrusion and links to team culture. Subsequently, South African teams such as the Sharks (Durban, South Africa) have established team bases in Queenstown (New Zealand) on similar grounds, although the choice of this location centres largely on opportunities to engage in leisure activities to relieve the monotony of training and escape the pressures of competition.
It is intriguing to contemplate the myriad factors that may influence the choice of destination prior to competition. No doubt climate, training facil- ities, air travel connections, lifestyle and ambiance, removal from media attention and access to leisure facilities, recreation opportunities and tourism attractions are important factors. But so too, perhaps, are factors such as previous visitor experiences, success at previous competitions (e.g., personal best times, winning important matches) or even the heritage and history of the destination. Interestingly, the Scottish national rugby team, when on tour in New Zealand, is commonly based for extended periods of time in the southern city of Dunedin (the old Gaelic name for Edinburgh).
This city was systematically settled in the late-1840s by Scottish immi- grants, the first arriving on two ships, the John Wickliffe and the Phillip Laing, in 1848 (see Chapter 10,Transnationalism, migration and diaspora).
The city is marketed as the ‘Edinburgh of the South’ and bears many of the names of streets and suburbs (e.g., George Street, Princes Street and Cor- storphine) in Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as a statue of Robert Burns in the inner city Octagon. The descendants of Scottish immigrants go to great lengths to make the Scots welcome in their southern city; some even admit to supporting the Scots when they play the All Blacks in Dunedin. No doubt
these factors explain the contemporary preference for Scottish touring teams to base themselves in Dunedin prior to test matches. The settlement heritage associated with the Scottish diaspora also provides the opportunity to create unique sport experiences for visitors and local residents alike (see Chapter 6, Spectatorship and spectator experiences).
Destination service quality, athlete preference and the desired level of service are critical elements of athletic performance. Shilbury et al. (1999) notes the importance of understanding expectations and perceptions of service quality in terms of strategic sports marketing. In response to this Francis and Murphy (2005) review destination service quality variables that are likely to bear heavy influence over the destinations of preference for elite athletes and professional teams (Table 5.4). In terms of accommodation, for example, they highlight the importance of such variables as exclusive access to lodging facil- ities, security and noise control, controlling unwanted incoming telephone calls, priority check-in and advance checkout. Through all of these consider- ations, perhaps the key variable is flexibility to accommodate the specific needs of professional sports organizations and the athletes or teams that they serve.
Willingness to customize settings and services is most apparent inTable 5.4.
The former includes customizing room specifications and layout, sleeping arrangements, in-room services and business centre facilities, among others.
The latter may extend to providing flexible twenty-four-hour food and beverage service, exclusive access to kitchen facilities for team chefs and dieticians and customized security arrangements.
Transport and infrastructure
Transport and infrastructure demands relate to accessing key points within the destination efficiently as well as transport between the pre-competition base and the place of competition. One of the key considerations for PSOs assessing the suitability of destinations is high-quality sporting facilities for training purposes and the potential for exclusive access to facilities when required (Francis & Murphy, 2005). Maier and Weber (1993) highlight the importance of coordinating the development of sport and tourism resources in regional planning if sports teams are to be a realistic target market for training and/or competition purposes. The sports event portfolios of many destinations are compromised by world class sports facilities existing in combination with inadequate tourist infrastructure (often insufficient high- quality hotel accommodation and limited transport infrastructure) or vice versa.
A recent development in some city sport and tourism development strategies has been a focus on the development of dedicated and specialized
The Supply-Side of Elite Athletic Mobility 95
Table 5.4 Destination Service Requirements of Elite Athletes and Professional Sports Teams
Accommodation and Lodging
Public areas Room specifications Communications Accessibility Management/staff
Privacy from external influences (e.g., public and media)
Door and room size In-room Internet Bus access Professionalism
Noise from road Bedding style Wireless availability Coach parking Willingness to customize
environment
Noise from public areas Bed configuration Telephone ports Access to airport Capacity to accommodate team dietary needs
Security Bed size Business centre Training facilities Accommodate the needs
of team chef/s On-site parking In-room facilities Meeting facilities Playing venue
Porter service Suite availability In-room cable/pay television
Medical facilities Information service Suite availability for
medical staff
Video analysis facilities Business precinct Informal food and
beverage service
Floor layout Parks
Lifts Floor security Entertainment precinct
Door sizes Room key security Tourist attractions
Public transport Proximity to training
facilities (e.g.,see below)
TER5:GlobalizationandtheMobilityofEliteCompetitors
Training facilities
Gymnasium Aquatic facilities Athletic track facilities Training ground/medical facilities
Management/staff
Equipment and layout Layout Surface conditions Training facilities Professionalism of staff Availability for exclusive
use
Availability for exclusive use
All-weather facilities Specialized equipment Willingness to customize environment
Availability for exclusive use
Physiotherapy facilities Medical facilities Surface conditions All weather facilities Able to guarantee complete
privacy for closed training sessions
Post-training warm down facilities (e.g., plunge pools)
Availability for exclusive use (Source: Adapted from Francis & Murphy, 2004: 86–87)
TheSupply-SideofEliteAthleticMobility97
infrastructures to serve elite athletes. Following the Rugby World Cup held in Australia in 2003, the city of Melbourne has witnessed the development of accommodation places dedicated to serving the destination-specific needs of elite athletes (Francis & Murphy, 2005). The Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, a multiple sport/multi-user complex, has the capacity to provide for exclusive use for world championship events, as well as exclusive elite training facilities, in a range of sports. A willingness to create temporary facilities to accommodate elite sports events is also evident. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), an iconic sport stadium with a seating capacity of 90,000, was temporarily transformed into an athletics stadium to host the Commonwealth Games in 2006. Track and field facilities that were con- structed specifically for the event were removed within two weeks of the closing ceremony and the cricket oval restored. These emerging directions in sport and event management have cemented the status of Melbourne as one of the great sport cities.
Creating the right environment
For both individual athletes and team members, optimum competitive performance is often a function of creating the right environment for prep- aration and competition (Roberts et al., 2001). Sports managers refer to ‘team culture’ as an essential element of a successful team. In seeking to establish a culture for team success, team management will consider all aspects of the team environment that may influence competitive team performance. It has been noted previously in this chapter that home ground advantage is seen as a product of familiarity with living and playing conditions, home crowd support and uncompromised normal daily routines in advance of competi- tion as well as relief from the rigours of trans-meridian travel. ‘To counter the perceived disadvantages of away games, professional sports teams have invested heavily in addressing these factors in their quest to win away games’
(Francis & Murphy, 2005:78).
A major focus of this effort has been to create the desired team envi- ronment, which may be achieved in a number of ways. One strategy aimed at creating a familiar and homey team environment is to surround athletes with symbols of home. At one level this strategy may be used to instil or enhance a sense of national pride in international competition, reminding athletes of the people and place they represent when they compete. It may also be used to mitigate feelings of isolation, particularly among athletes who may be away from their homes and families for extended periods of time in advance of and during competition. This is a strategy that has been adopted with some success by the New Zealand Olympic Committee during
the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000), Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) as well as during Winter Olympic Games. Iconic images and a Ma˜ori pounamu (greenstone) carving were installed in the Olympic village accommodation used by the New Zealand team in Beijing before the arrival of the athletes. Furthermore, all arriving athletes were welcomed by a traditional Ma˜ori haka (challenge) upon arrival at the Olympic village (Hodge, 2008 personal communication).
Achieving a strategic fit between the destination where the team is based and team culture is a second strategy. Sports teams are not necessarily located in geographical proximity to the place of competition, but in instances where this is not the case, transportation links become an important consideration. Indeed the location of preference, in instances where preference may be accommodated, is increasingly determined by where athletes may be allowed to feel most comfortable and ‘at home’.
Creating the right environment is likely to require meeting a balance between familiarity and novelty. Many sports teams seek an ‘environmental bubble’ in which to prepare for competition in a setting that is low in stress and high in familiarity. However, athletes may also describe the monotony of training and the mental stresses of public expectation and preparing for important, perhaps, career defining contests. Under these circumstances an insular, familiar and routine team environment can become suffocating for athletes.
Therefore, creating the right environment may extend to locating the team at a destination that offers opportunities to engage in tourist and leisure activities, which can serve the function of bringing the desired level of novelty to the competition preparation phase. Distinctive and interesting tourist and heritage attractions may also serve to either provide distraction from the building pressures of imminent competition or to provide mental focus for players.
The All Blacks annual autumn tour of Europe takes place in October/
November each year. In recent years, as part of a now established tradition, the All Blacks team has been based in northern France and, on Armistice Day (11 November), the team undertakes a remembrance visit to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Nine Elms cemetery located west of Poperinge (Belgium) to specifically visit the grave of David Gallaher. Gallaher was the captain and tactical mastermind of the ‘Original’
All Blacks team that toured Europe in 1905. He died in October 1917 serving the Auckland Regiment of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) as a Company Sergeant at Passchendaele. His grave has become a shrine for All Black teams touring Europe. Gallaher’s birthplace (Ramelton, County Donegal) and school in Ireland have also become places of pilgrimage for touring All Black teams, and the homecoming reception that they receive
The Supply-Side of Elite Athletic Mobility 99
from members of the Ramelton community has become an established part of the team’s heritage. The links between contemporary sports teams, heri- tage and diaspora on one hand (see Chapter 10,Transnationalism, migration and diaspora) and travel patterns, team culture and preparation for compe- tition on the other are evident in this case.
CONCLUSION
Growing investment and heightened interest in maximizing individual and team performances in elite international competition have been at the general neglect of the visitor experience and, to a less degree, travel demands of elite sports people. Francis and Murphy (2005) place emphasis on the importance of understanding how individuals and teams may be able to best perform in international competition. No doubt such an understanding varies between sports, travel circumstances and on the basis of individual preference. Therefore, while some Olympians thrive on atmosphere, team unity and sense of occasion in the games village, others prefer to distance themselves from the hype and expectation through individual location, accommodation and training arrangements of preference.
One important point to emerge from these discussions is the importance of creating environments and routines in unfamiliar destinations, which allows elite athletes to maximize preparations for competition. The concept of ‘tour balance’ (Hodge, Lonsdale & Oliver, see Case study 5.1) aptly describes an important part of this challenge. It applies equally to various competition contexts. One, for example, is the balance required to be in peak physical and mental form for career defining moments of competition.
Another relates to countering the potential for player ‘burnout’ during long tours or competition seasons that place considerable international travel demands on competitors. It is ironic that the activity of elite competition has been so neglected in terms of managing the travel demands, destination preferences and unique needs of athletes preparing for and engaging in international competition. Such a focus raises interesting questions, some of which are addressed in this chapter, although many others remain largely unanswered. How do athletic fortunes in elite performance relate to evalu- ation of the destination, recollection and return travel, perhaps, in post- competition careers? What role can destinations and host communities play in terms of mitigating boredom and isolation in the training environment?
To what extent and in what ways can unique elements of place (e.g., settle- ment histories, cultural heritage) and tourist experiences play a part in the experiences of elite athletes? How and in what ways can these be related to
the unique experiences of spectators and supporters? What role may unique places and visitor attractions play in creating a team culture through shared experiences of new places and the establishment of ‘tour balance’? There exists much scope for collaboration between sport and tourism researchers to better understand the specialized needs of elite athletes as they relate to travel for competition, the search for optimum athletic performances and unique sport/tourist experiences.
Conclusion 101
C H A P T E R 6
Spectatorship and Spectator Experiences
The globalization of sports, in combination with the diverse manifestations of contemporary mobility, have significant implications for tourism and the search for authentic experiences. With globalization (see Chapter 2, Sport and tourism in a global world), multiple fandoms and identities have emerged as new manifestations of spectatorship and team support. Simul- taneously, team fandoms have become entrenched as team heritage and nostalgia provide social and cultural meanings that are to be safeguarded in an increasingly transitory modern life. This chapter is also set within the theoretical context of authentic experiences of sport and place (see Chapter 8, Authentic experiences) as a means of building a sense of collective or personal identity. It explores how spectatorship and multiple fandoms relate to tourist behaviour and the search for authentic experiences. The unique identities of, and experiences sought by, discrete groups of spectators and fans (Morgan, 2007) are the central focus of this chapter.
Within the sport tourism activity that is the subject of this chapter – spectatorship and spectator experiences – there is a diverse range of moti- vations and desired experiences that may be sought by groups or individuals who exist within globalized, highly mobile multi-media western societies.
Table 6.1outlines a categorization of sport spectators and discrete groups of spectators within each category. Memberships of these categories and groups are not mutually exclusive (Hinch & Higham, 2004). Single sports or events may appeal to multiple categories of spectators. Moreover, individual sport spectators may comply with multiple spectatorship categories and groups in different dimensions of time (e.g., life-course phase) and space (e.g., when at home, living away from home or when travelling abroad).
Table 6.1 presents the diversity of different manifestations of sport spectatorship and support as an activity set. The first category presented in
Sport and Tourism
CopyrightÓ2009 Elsevier Ltd, All rights reserved.
C O N T E N T S Sport spectatorship and the search for authentic experiences Live and mediated spectator interests Theorizing live sport spectatorship in a globalized multi- media society Conclusion
103