ECU Sport & Community Development Lab

This book explores the profound impact of sport on community building, personal growth, and social cohesion. It delves into nostalgic memories of informal sport, the integration of sport management in academia, and the powerful sense of unity fostered through informal and formal sporting events and local traditions. The text builds from Warner and Dixon’s Sport and Sense of Community theory while emphasizing the importance of having a common interest, people-focused administration, and creating leadership opportunities within sport organizations. It also highlights the critical role of social spaces, both physical and virtual, and equitable decision-making in fostering connections and psychological well-being. The author then underscores the necessity of the Sense of Community in Sport (SCS) scale, which developed from this theory. This tool can be utilized to gauge, measure, analyze, and then adopt the scale findings to enhance community dynamics in sport and recreation settings. The author argues that sport managers must understand and implement the strategies outlined to build strong, inclusive communities, especially in the context of contemporary challenges like the loneliness epidemic and mental health crisis across the globe. Ultimately, through well-managed sport and acknowledgment of a shared responsibility, sport can be a solution to addressing the innate desire to belong to a healthy and supportive community. Warner provides a well-defined path and plan for sport managers to lead the way in creating a better together society.

Dr. Stacy Warner is the Dr. Leroy T. Walker Distinguished Professor, Director of Graduate Studies for Recreation Sciences & Sport Management, and the founding Director of the Sport & Community Development Lab at East Carolina University. Her research focuses on the role of sport in fostering community, health, and social cohesion. Warner is known for her interdisciplinary and practical approach to advancing the sport management discipline to enhance the positive impact sport can have on society.