The relation between preparation and participation in municipal sporting events

－How to prepare in one year to increase participation?－

Abstract

Objective: Sporting events have been used as a catalyst to get people to start exercising. The objective of this study was to quantitatively and qualitatively understand what municipalities do to prepare for sporting events.

Methods: Questionnaires were given to 115 municipalities that participated in the Sasakawa Sports Foundation’s Challenge Day in both 2016 and 2017. The questionnaire asked about the types of organizations that helped with publicity and implementations, as well as the number of sport programs that people could participate in on the day of the event. Six municipalities that saw a remarkable rise in participation in the following year were extracted and asked about what they did to prepare and specific examples of how they increased participation, using a semistructured interview method.

Results: An analysis of the data showed that there was a significant increase in participation, from 58 ± 18% in 2016 to 63 ± 16% in 2017. Furthermore, in both years, many organizations helped to publicize Challenge Day and helped with implementations, and participation was significantly higher in municipalities that had help with implementations. When programs were administered in a way that invited participants other than local residents, workers, and students, participation was significantly high. Interview responses were divided into two categories: (1) Ways to get organizations to help with publicity/implementations, and (2) Specific examples of initiatives to increase participation.

Conclusion: In regard to the Challenge Day sporting event, the results revealed the importance of getting implementary help from many organizations, and running programs that allow people from outside the municipality, as well as specific ways to achieve those things. These findings can help to improve preparations for Challenge Day.