The Three Sectors of the Sports Industry

This essay will describe and analyse the three sectors of the sports industry – the state or public sector, the non-profit or voluntary sector, and the professional or commercial sector. This will be achieved by selecting one organisation that represents each sporting sector and comparing each on its ability to contribute to the values of sport. Also discussed will be whether or not each organisation successfully represents the sector it has been placed in. Finally in conclusion, the sector I would like to gain industry experience in, how I will do this, and why I have chosen that sector will be discussed.

In order to comprehend how each organisation contributes to the value of sport, it is important to first understand what categories the values of sport will be analysed under for this essay. Although there are limitless examples of how sport can provide value to society, for the sake of simplicity I will break down these benefits into three broad categories – social, health, and economic. These will become the building blocks of this essay’s analysis, and the organisations ability to achieve these values will be analysed by looking at one or two of the services, resources, and programs they provide.

Consequently the three organisations to be analysed are: 1 Aus-Kick, which represents the voluntary sector, 2. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which represents the state sector, and 3. National Rugby League (NRL), which represents the commercial sector. Furthermore, analysis on each organisation will be provided via the use of peer-reviewed journal articles, sport organisation web pages, and the content covered in sport management lectures and tutorials to help give evidentiary support to the essay.

First I will analyse the voluntary or non-profit sector. Non-profit organisations are defined as organisations that are institutionally separate from the state, do not return profits to owners, are self-governing, have a significant element of voluntary contribution, and are formally incorporated (Hoye, Smith, Westerbeek, Stewart, Nicholson 2006, P46).

The organisation I have chosen that represents this sector is Aus-kick. Managed by the community for the community, Aus-kick’s role is to give boys and girls the chance to play AFL football in a relaxed social environment, while making friends, improving fitness, ball handling skills, and confidence. It also provides a first step opportunity for budding AFL stars of the future.  It is a highly successful program which boasts 2491 Aus-kick centres, 147,361 participants, and 20,000 parent volunteers nationally. Aus-kick shows it represents the voluntary sector successfully by fitting all the aforementioned necessary criteria of a voluntary organisation, such as the large number of volunteers it recruits and the way it gives back to the community on such a large scale.

Aus-kick runs two different types of programs, the AFL ‘Rookie’ program and the AFL ‘Pro’ program. The rookie program is designed for children aged five to eight years old and helps them develop the fundamental skills they need to participate in AFL. The ‘Pro’ program however is designed with more of a game sense of focus and is for children aged nine to twelve years of age. It is these two programs that provide examples of how Aus-kick contributes to the social and health values of sport. 

Aus-kick shows it understands that there is a need to help children become physically fit, psychologically healthy, and socially apt by catering for these needs through the two programs it provides. By providing children with the fundamental motor skills required for physical activity, educating them on the basic principles of healthy eating and nutrition through specially arranged team activities, children learn important social skills, including cooperation and respect for others. By educating future generations, Aus-kick is helping to reduce self-destructive and delinquent behaviour while fostering a healthy attachment to the community through sport. This creates a stronger social fabric in the community, a higher economic potential in future generations of well-educated children, and also helps reduce crime. Consequently it can be said that Aus-kick successfully provides value to sport through the successful health, economic, and social pathways it creates.

The second sector we shall be discussing is the state or public sector, which includes national, state/provincial, regional, and local governments, and specialist agencies that develop sport policy, provide funding to other sectors, and support specialist roles such as elite athlete development or drug control (Hoye, Smith, Westerbeek, Stewart, Nicholson 2006, P6).

The organisation I have chosen that represents this sector is the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). Since 1981 the AIS’s central role has been to provide Australians with the opportunity to develop their ultimate sporting potential. The AIS boasts having nurtured many successful athletes who have gone on to become Olympic and Paralympic medallists. These results are due to having skilled coaches, dieticians, nutritionists, world-class facilities and cutting-edge sports science and sport medicine services.

The Australian Institute of Sport represents the state sector successfully because it is operated and funded by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) which is an organisation run by the Australian Government. The ASC seeks to develop strong grassroots involvement in sport, as well as provide opportunities for developing elite excellence. For more information on the roles and responsibilities of the ASC, check the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989 at, <www.ausport.gov.au>.

The AIS offers 38 sport programs to 29 different sports, as well as a varying number of scholarships, up to 700 per annum, to Australia’s finest sport men and women. Consequently it would take too long to analyse each one of the AIS programs individually. Thus it is necessary to concentrate on the bigger picture by analysing the main services and resources AIS provides to its athletes.

The AIS employs 75 coaches including assistant coaches, scholarship coaches, and head coaches. They are equipped with powerful resources to help them observe, fine tune, analyse, and perfect the techniques, and actions of the athletes. Their goal is to help athletes realise their potential. The AIS also provides as a service to the athletes an individual screening session with a team dietician, this also includes follow up sessions throughout the year to discuss any dietary concerns or issues they may be experiencing. Another service the AIS provides to the athletes is healthy, high quality food which is based on a seasonal menu developed by an experienced dietician.

Also worth mentioning is how the AIS helps prepare athletes for life outside of sport by proving them with the Athlete Career and Education program (ACE). This program gives them training in public speaking, media presentation, career planning, and time management. Consequently the AIS can be seen to be successfully adding to the economic, and health values of sport via the scholarships and programs it provides to the athletes such as the ACE program.

The third sector to be discussed is the commercial or professional sporting sector. This sector is comprised of professional leagues and their team members, as well as allied organizations such as sporting apparel and equipment manufacturers, media companies, major stadia operators, and event managers (Hoye, Smith, Westerbeek, Stewart, Nicholson 2006, P6).

The organisation I have chosen that represents this sector is National Rugby League (NRL). NRL first began in England in the late 1800’s, however it first started in Australia in 1908. The NRL’s main competition is known as the Telstra premiership. It consists of fifteen Australian teams and one New Zealand team. It is known as the world’s elite rugby league championship and is the most viewed and attended football competition in the world. The NRL successfully represents the commercial sector due to the high levels of sponsorship it receives as well as the million dollar salaries many of the footballers command.

In 2009 the NRL launched a program called ‘Eat Well, Play Well, Stay Well’ using the profiles of the game to reduce childhood obesity. The objectives of the program were to communicate positive health messages to children and their families, to provide rugby league development officers with another tool to assist them to build and develop a healthy relationship with local schools, and to increase the profile of rugby league, and promote the positive impact the sport and its players can have on children and parents .

Just like Aus-kick this program helps add value to sport through the economic, health, and social benefits it provides to school children in the community. By creating positive long term outcomes through helping children to grow up fit, healthy, and educated on the benefits of exercise, the NRL’s ‘Eat Well, Play Well, Stay Well’ program successfully adds to the value of sport.

In conclusion I would like to discuss the sector I would like to gain industry skills, knowledge, and experience in, how I will do this, and why? Consequently I believe that the best way to gain these aforementioned benefits initially is through the voluntary sector. This is due to sports management being such a hard industry to get paid work in. To be successful one must first volunteer their time and learn the skills needed to become a paid sports manager. One of the areas I would like to volunteer my time to is surf lifesaving due to the fact I live on the beach, love the water, and want to learn how to save people’s lives. One way I believe this could be achieved is by attending a volunteer expo day at Griffith University and signing up at the surf lifesaving booth. This would give me the opportunity to gain the necessary skills and experience to possibly become a paid surf lifesaver in the future, and maybe even further into the future a manager of a surf lifesaving club or organisation.

By Reuben Franklin

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Hoye, Smith, Westerbeek, Stewart Nicholson, 2006, Sports Management: Principles and Applications.

www.nrl.com/kids

www.ausport.gov.au/ais

www.aflauskick.com.au

The Value of Sport and Recreation, www.dsr.wa.gov.au

Barbara A. Hedges, 2000  pp. 1-27 The value of sport in our Society

Kelinske, Mayer, & Chen, 2001, pp. 75-84, Perceived benefits from participation in sports.