ABSTRACT
While many types of sport volunteers are a clearly visible component of the sport experience, this is not always the case with volunteer administrators. Despite the high public profile of a small number of volunteer administrators involved with elite international sport, it is more likely that at the club, state/provincial and NGB level most sport participants probably are not aware who is involved in planning and organizing the sport in which they participate. This is despite administrators typically being one of the largest categories of sport volunteers (see Chapter 2). Because volunteer sport administrators are involved in the day to day management of VSOs, they are the most likely volunteer group to feel the expectations arising from the more complex operating environment in sport. As a consequence of their large numbers and because they are instrumental to the viability of the sport system, volunteer sport administrators have attracted a great deal of interest from researchers, government and the sport industry. The purpose of this chapter is to review the roles and nature of the contribution made by volunteer sport administrators and to examine the critical issues in developing, managing and working with volunteer sport administrators. Furthermore, the chapter focuses on the process and impacts of professionalization and the dynamics of volunteer staff relationships introduced in Chapter 6.
