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Drawing on hegemonic masculinity and critical mass theory, this study investigates the representation of women board members in sport governing bodies (SGB) and the extent to which boards can be assigned to subgroups based on the number and share of women board members. The study examines the organisational characteristics of SGBs with low, medium, and high representation of women on the board. Data were gathered from the websites of German national and state sport associations and federations (n = 930), including information about the size and gender composition of the board and several organisational characteristics (e.g. type of sport, headquarter location, membership figures). On average, SGBs have 1.8 women on the board reflecting a share of 20.1%. Three groups of SGBs emerged from the cluster analysis: Organisations with low (0.08 women; share of women: 0.3%), medium (1.63; 18.4%), and high representation of women (3.87; 42.6%) on the board. These clusters differ significantly regarding organisational characteristics. Specifically, SGBs with low representation of women have on average smaller boards and represent non-Olympic sports or 'typically masculine' sports. Sport federations are more frequently represented in the clusters with medium and high representation of women on the board. SGBs in the third cluster represent 'typically feminine' sports like dancing or equestrian and have the most women and youth memberships. The findings help sport policy makers target respective groups of organisations with interventions to implement gender policies and explain the important role of such policies for attracting new women board members or gaining legitimacy from public institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Primary: To gain a system-wide perspective on factors leading to athlete attrition from a high-performance sport system (HPSS). Secondary: To identify what a sample of system-wide stakeholders and past athletes value as the most important and feasible attrition factors to address to retain talented athletes.Design: Mixed-methods.Methods: Concept mapping was used for qualitative data collection and quantitative data analysis. Sixty-one participants including: (i) past athletes from an Australian state sporting institute; (ii) their families; and (iii) internal and external stakeholders to a HPSS who supported past athletes.Results: Participants brainstormed 83 unique statements (i.e. attrition factors) that were mapped into 13 clusters of attrition factors following multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis performed on the participants sorting data: 'abuse and mismanagement of health'; 'athlete health'; 'limited support/resourcing'; 'coaching'; 'inconsistent processes'; 'financial and career support'; 'pathway structure'; 'organisational dynamics'; 'competitive stress'; 'performance potential'; 'challenges with selection and transition'; 'psychological state'; and 'competing non-sport priorities'. 'Abuse and mismanagement of health' had the highest mean importance (3.76 out of 5) and feasibility (3.31) rating. The 13 clusters were further grouped into four overarching domains: 'sport system policy, structure and processes'; 'pathway structure, transition and support'; 'individual athlete health and capability'; and 'whole-of-life demands and priorities'. The domain 'sport system policy, structure and processes' contained the most important and feasible clusters.Conclusions: Macro (system-level) and micro (intrapersonal and interpersonal) level athlete attrition factors should be considered together. Athlete health was considered the most important athlete retention issue to address. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For the last several months, the world has been dominated by the coronavirus pandemic that effectively stopped the activity of entities in all fields of social life: finance, economy, culture and, broadly defined sport. The dynamic nature of changes and adaptation to a new reality were related to new restrictions and limitations on the functioning of society that were imposed by local governments. Material and methods: The authors analysed available reports that described the general results of the sports market as well as reports and financial statements for the period of the COVID-10 pandemic published by public joint-stock companies operating in different segments of the sports industry. Results: As a consequence of social isolation, society does not regularly practice physical activity, which may lead to deterioration in mental state and increase anxiety and stress. Because of the pandemic, millions of jobs around the world are at risk. Technology, including access to the Internet and on-line content customised to individual users’ needs, is an excellent solution to alleviate the effects of social isolation. E-sports have become very popular in the mass media, not only in the digital world, going beyond internet streaming services, social media and websites for strategic game lovers. Since traditional league games have been suspended or cancelled, the coverage of e-sports events has appeared on television. Conclusions: Today, it can be said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exerted and continues to exert a significant negative influence on the sports market, taking into consideration both economic and social aspects. It does not concern only people who work in professional sports but also those who work in related sectors such as retail or sport services that manage leagues and events. The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be fraught with economic consequences.

Research question: Trust is a critical element within organisational and management literature. It reflects the decisions and behaviour of individual actors and the functioning of organisations and their management bodies. However, within the sport governance literature there is a notable absence of work focusing on trust. This study examines the association of trust and structural features within national governing bodies' (NGBs) boards. Research methods: 242 board members of 65 NGBs from Germany participated in an online survey which comprised questions on trust indicators and boards' structural features. Probit models were employed to analyse the association between trust indicators, individual board membership characteristics, and the boards' structural features. Results and findings: Results suggest that trust is a multifaceted phenomenon, affected by various (beneficial and detrimental) variables in the specific context of NGB boards. The study makes numerous interrelation and governance dynamics recognisable, with board size, board members' skill differentiation and temporal stability of boards appearing to be particularly relevant. Implications: The paper complements the professionalisation literature and the leadership discussion in the context of sport governance, particularly with regard to trust-enhancing working conditions within boards. The study also aligns to the good governance literature, revealing that in some respects the issue may be seen to be about trade-offs between trust-based effects and their resultant (positive or negative) outcomes for organisation, board or individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For the last several months, the world has been dominated by the coronavirus pandemic that effectively stopped the activity of entities in all fields of social life: finance, economy, culture and, broadly defined sport. The dynamic nature of changes and adaptation to a new reality were related to new restrictions and limitations on the functioning of society that were imposed by local governments. Material and methods: The authors analysed available reports that described the general results of the sports market as well as reports and financial statements for the period of the COVID-10 pandemic published by public jointstock companies operating in different segments of the sports industry. Results: As a consequence of social isolation, society does not regularly practice physical activity, which may lead to deterioration in mental state and increase anxiety and stress. Because of the pandemic, millions of jobs around the world are at risk. Technology, including access to the Internet and on-line content customised to individual users' needs, is an excellent solution to alleviate the effects of social isolation. E-sports have become very popular in the mass media, not only in the digital world, going beyond internet streaming services, social media and websites for strategic game lovers. Since traditional league games have been suspended or cancelled, the coverage of e-sports events has appeared on television. Conclusions: Today, it can be said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exerted and continues to exert a significant negative influence on the sports market, taking into consideration both economic and social aspects. It does not concern only people who work in professional sports but also those who work in related sectors such as retail or sport services that manage leagues and events. The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be fraught with economic consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]