Papers by themistocles kokolakakis
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
A substantial amount of attention has been devoted towards the potential sport legacy of the Olym... more A substantial amount of attention has been devoted towards the potential sport legacy of the Olympic Games. In spite of the increasing academic interest in this topic, there is a knowledge gap as far as sport legacy is concerned by types of different sports. The authors bridge this gap by analysing the evolution of 43 different Olympic/Paralympic sport modalities in the two-year period after the London 2012 Olympics. By using data from the Active People Survey with a sample of 165,000 people annually, and considering some demographic variables and the effect of the economic environment, the paper aims to test the existence of a sport legacy. We have applied time series analysis and ARIMA models for controlling for economic influence and seasonal adjustment and for making comparisons among participation rates. The results show, for the total of the sports analysed, that there were 336,000 individuals who increased their frequency of participation, while there was no significant incre...
World Leisure Journal, 2014
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the factors that determine the extent to which spectato... more The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the factors that determine the extent to which spectators attending one-off sports events feel inspired to increase their own participation in sport. The research considers both the socio-demographic and sport participation profile of the audience as well as the characteristics of an event as predictors of inspiration. The methodological approach involved secondary analysis of data collected from audiences across ten events held in England since 2010. The findings are based on an aggregate sample of 7,458 respondents. The statistical method used to analyse the data was multinomial logistic regression. The results show that the majority of respondents were inspired by the event that they attended, but the strength of inspiration effect varied significantly according to their age; place of residence; ethnic origin; sport participation profile; and, whether or not they had been exposed to information about opportunities to undertake sport. Moreover, events featuring team sports, non-age restricted events, and elite events incorporating a mass participation component were also found to be positively related to inspiration. Several policy implications are identified for event organisers and public funders of both elite and community sport.
Managing Sport and Leisure, 2022
Ali Bowes , Chris Brown , Terri Byers , David Cockayne , Ian Cooper, James Du , Andrea Geurin , E... more Ali Bowes , Chris Brown , Terri Byers , David Cockayne , Ian Cooper, James Du , Andrea Geurin , Emily Jane Hayday , John W. Hayton , Claire Jenkin , James Andrew Kenyon , Niamh Kitching , Seth Kirby , Paul Kitchin , Geoffery Z. Kohe , Themistocles Kokolakakis , Ho Keat Leng , Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen , Eric W. MacIntosh, Hazel Maxwell , Anthony May , Katie Misener, Jimmy O’Gorman , Daniel Parnell , Keith D. Parry , Qi Peng, Daniel Plumley , Martin J. Power , Girish Ramchandani , Mike Rayner , Nicolas Scelles , Tracy Taylor , Tom Webb af and Mathieu Winand ah
European Sport Management Quarterly, 2021
Research question: Can evidence of trickle-down-effects be observed among youth living in the hom... more Research question: Can evidence of trickle-down-effects be observed among youth living in the hometowns of Canadian athletes that competed and/or won medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games? Research methods: Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) rates of male and female youth were extracted from the Canadian Community Health Survey (n > 1,000,000) for 110 health regions during the pre-Olympic (2009/2010), Olympic (2011/2012), and post-Olympic (2013/2014) year periods. The health regions were treated as panel units and, beyond Canadian athletes and medallists, the panel data analysis incorporated population size and previous Olympic hosting as control variables in the model. Results and Findings: The panel analysis revealed that the number of Canadian athletes representing youths' hometowns at the London 2012 Olympic Games was negatively associated with LTPA rates when considering the full sample of youth, and male youth in particular. Interestingly however, winning medals (of any colour) was positively associated with hometown LTPA rates among the full sample of youth and male youth. Hometown population size was negatively associated with LTPA rates for the full sample of youth and female youth specifically. Winning a gold medal and hosting previous Olympic/Paralympic Games were not significantly associated with hometown LTPA rates when considering the full sample of youth or male and female youth separately. Implications: Our study demonstrates a need for researchers and sport managers to consider the spatial reach and scope of trick-down-effects beyond that which can occur within a host nation. These effects have the potential to be a global phenomenon.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2015
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the introduction of the Free Swimming Progr... more The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the introduction of the Free Swimming Programme (FSP) in a local community (not identified to preserve anonymity) in the South East of England. The question has been approached in a variety of ways: by using primary quantitative data from leisure centres and logistic regressions based on the Active People Survey (APS). Problems are identified related to the introduction of the FSP in this community and suggestions are made for future policy. A brief examination of swimming participation in England enables researchers to place this community into a national context. The problems and policies of sport organisation developed in this community are not dissimilar to a more general application reflecting the English experience; in this sense it is anticipated that the findings will enable managers of sport organisations, along with public health policy makers, to focus more effectively on raising sport participation. The unique selling points of this article are the examination of FSP for adult participants, the local analysis of junior and senior participation, and the overall assessment of the policy based on APS.
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Papers by themistocles kokolakakis