by Anne Tjønndal, Martine Limstrand & Siv Stavang Aune
Vol. 14 2023, pages 177–203
Published November 30, 2023
Abstract
Regional sports democracy: Who participates and what factors impact interest in regional decision-making arenas for sports policy?
In 2022, The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) proposed changes in the composition of delegates at the National Assembly. The aim was to strengthen representative democracy in Norwegian sport. One of the accepted proposals was to adjust the number of delegates from regional confederations, to allow for better equity between large and small regions. The purpose of this study was to examine who participates and what factors impact interest in regional decision-making arenas for sports policy. Empirically, we focus on one of the 11 regional confederations of NIF: Nordland idrettskrets. The study is based on a survey of local sports clubs and quantitative content analysis of protocols from the Nordland sports regional assembly between 2016 and 2022. Using descriptive statistics and regression analysis our findings show that only 8.1 percent of sports clubs belonging to Nordland idrettskrets participated in the regional assembly during 2016-2022. Large sports clubs participate the most, while smaller sports clubs are under-represented at the regional assembly. Three factors impact the respondents’ interest in participating: (1) size of the sports club, (2) interest in sports policy and (3) being a leader of a sports club. Being a member of large sports club impacts interest in participation positively. This also applies to interest in sports policy. However, being a leader of a sports club impacts interest in participation negatively. This is connected to findings suggesting that local sports clubs prioritize daily activities over institutional bonds, collaborations and engagement in regional sports policy.
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About the Authors
ANNE TJØNNDAL is Professor in Sociology of Sport and Head of RESPONSE at Nord University, Norway.
MARTINE LIMSTRAND has a master’s degree in social science with a specialization in sociology from Nord University in Bodø. Her master’s thesis was part of RESPONSE, where she has also worked as a research assistant. Her academic interests include sustainable athlete development, health and eating disorders, and gender differences in sports.
SIV STAVANG AUNE holds a MSc in Sport Sciences from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Her research interests are in the field of sociology of sports. This is primarily linked to cultural differences and social inequalities in sports and outdoor recreation.
