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Factors influencing participation

What are the barriers and motivators of volunteering in sport?

Different people will volunteer, or not, for various personal or societal reasons that will change across their individual life course. 1, 2

The term 'volunteering' covers a diverse range of activities and includes formal volunteering (which takes place within organisations in a structured way), informal volunteering (self-directed acts, outside of a formal organisation), and online volunteering, which may be formal or informal. Volunteering may be private or corporate (organised or endorsed by a person's workplace), regular, or singular, e.g., at sports events. 1, 3, 4, 5, 34

Participant experience research can help clubs and organisations understand the attributes of broad categories of people and how different types of participants (both existing and potential) can be encouraged to start, continue, or increase their volunteering. Examples of these types of studies include the Australian Sports Commission’s 2014 ‘Market Segmentation for Sport’ research and the Archetypes included in the 2021 ‘Future of sport volunteering’ report. 2, 6, 7

Motivators

Motivations for all volunteers (not specific to sport) 8

  • Personal satisfaction / to do something worthwhile
  • Help others / community
  • Personal / family involvement
  • Social contact
  • To be active
  • Use skills / experience
  • To learn new skills / gain work experience
  • Religious beliefs
  • Just happened
  • Felt obliged
C4S-image-Female tennis trainer coaching a Down syndrome child

Facilitators and Barriers

Australian and international research and reports have identified multiple factors that can facilitate or provide barriers to volunteering in sport.

Factors that Impact

Understanding the potential barriers and facilitators to participation in specific contexts can help to grow the number of volunteers who engage and participate regularly in sport. This has flow on effects for the long-term sustainability of individual sports, organisations, and the sport sector more broadly. 6

Although what motivates people to volunteer for sport will be influenced by each person’s unique individual, cultural, and social factors, there are some general factors that may have a high impact on volunteer participation. 10, 22, 32

  • Affiliation

    Affiliation

    Many sports volunteers have a strong personal connection to the sport, often being players or parents of players.
  • Age

    Age

    Age can have a significant effect on the motivations, facilitators, and barriers to volunteering.
  • Culture

    Culture

    Increasing the diversity of volunteers in sport can have positive benefits for sports organisations, communities, and individuals.
  • Investment

    Investment

    A lack of flexibility, personal expenses, and administrative demands may discourage volunteers.
  • Location

    Location

    Volunteer participation can vary based on geographical location.
  • Other population groups

    Other population groups

    Everyone in the community should have the opportunity to be involved in sport regardless of their individual characteristics.

REFERENCES
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  3. A systematic review of motivation of sport event volunteers, opens in a new tab, Kim, Eunjung, World Leisure Journal, Volume 60(4), pp.306-329, (2018).
  4. How can we bolster Australia’s depleted army of volunteers to match the soaring demand for their services?, opens in a new tab Amanda Davies, The Conversation, (17 May 2023).
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  6. Market Segmentation Study for Volunteers, Australian Sports Commission, (2014).
  7. The future of sport volunteering, Australian Sports Commission, (April 2021).
  8. General Social Survey, opens in a new tab, Australian Bureau of Statistics, (June 2021), latest release.
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  16. Pathways to culturally diverse volunteering towards COVID-19 recovery: research report, opens in a new tab, Mursha Gapasin, Thu-Trang Tran, Marijke Fotia, Volunteer West, (November 2021).
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  23. We can do it: Community, resistance, social solidarity, and long-term volunteering at a sport event, opens in a new tab, Kristiansen E, Skirstad B, Parent M, et al., Sport Management Review, Volume 18(2), pp.256-267, (May 2015).
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  25. Longitudinal Study of Australian Children 2018 Annual Report: Chapter 11, Here to help: How young people contribute to their community, opens in a new tab, Constantine Gasser, Tracy Evans-Whipp, Growing up in Australia, Australian Institute of Family Studies, (December 2019).
  26. The great (volunteer) resignation: An evidence-based strategy for retaining volunteers, opens in a new tab, Vivien Forner, Djurre Holtrop, Darja Kragt, et al., Volunteering Australia, (September 2022).
  27. The determinants of the intention to continue voluntary football refereeing, opens in a new tab, Thomas Giel, Christoph Breuer, Sport Management Review, Volume 23(2), pp.242-255, (April 2020).
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  30. Assessing volunteer satisfaction at the London Olympic Games and its impact on future volunteer behaviour, opens in a new tab, Minhong Kim, Steven Suk-Kyu Kim, May Kim, et al., Sport in Society, Volume 22(11), pp.1864-1881, (2019).
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Last updated: 16 July 2025 Content disclaimer: See Clearinghouse for Sport disclaimer

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