The financial cost of cancelling sporting events due to extreme heat is just one of the outcomes of climate change community sports managers need to prepare for, according to new research from La Trobe University.
La Trobe researchers mapped the impacts of climate change on sport with help from 19 community sport managers across four Australian climate zones to provide a framework for further research and action in the area.
Researchers collected data from cricket, tennis, triathlon and soccer organisations.
They found costs were increasing due to delays and cancellations but also repairs from more serious storms.
Participants also noted decreased social benefits of sport when events were disrupted.
La Trobe Senior Lecturer Sport Management Dr Greg Dingle said the research offered a snapshot into how climate change is affecting sport at the community-level.
“This research sheds new light on the impacts of climate change on sport that is grounded in the lived experience of managers of community-level sport organisations and their manager counterparts in local government,” Dr Dingle said.
Senior Research Fellow Dr Alex Donaldson said the research showed that communities needed to design interventions to address how climate change affects sport, with the help of managers at the community level.
“The results of this research show climate hazards are already impacting community sport in multiple regions of Australia in many ways,” Dr Donaldson said.
The study grouped the perspectives into five clusters of climate impacts: management and planning impacts; financial and infrastructure impacts; changes to events; emotional and social impacts; and health and safety impacts.
“Examples of these impacts include costs of repairing and rebuilding sport infrastructure after storms, sport competitions delayed or rescheduled due to extreme heat, and infrastructure costs increasing as summers get hotter,” Dr Dingle said.
“Together, these impacts tend to result in added costs for sport organisations and local governments.
“Our participants also highlighted the emotional and social impacts of such disruptions.
“One manager said that social connectedness that is experienced through sport is affected when events are cancelled or rescheduled.
“The five impact areas shed new light on managing climate change issues for community sport.
“The perspectives of frontline community sport managers in these areas can help sport organisations design ways to reduce disruption to sport participation related to climate change.”
