An examination of how voluntary international netball officials view and experience well-being

Barrow, Christina Jane; Westbury, Tony; Cunningham, Ian; Mascarenhas, D.R.D.

Abstract

Research aim
The purpose of this research was to explore the views and experiences of international volunteer netball officials about their well-being and its contributing factors.

Research methods
A qualitative methodology, involving semi-structured interviews, was used. Fourteen participants (10 females and 4 males) occupying different official and official coach roles at the highest qualification tier were interviewed from across all five global netball regions. A thematic analysis was used to inductively code interviews to investigate well-being perspectives and influencing factors.

Results and findings
Five main themes were found to most affect netball officials’ well-being: (i) structured support: uneven or absent; (ii) juggling and prioritising; (iii) feedback: private praise, public criticism and feeling under-valued; (iv) the mentally prepared official; and (v) being a successful “brand”. General findings showed a perceived stigma around revealing well-being issues, the need for further organisational resources and support and unfairness that might contribute to the well-being of officials in high-performance sport.

Implications
The findings suggest a greater focus on individualised and peer-based support mechanisms, other education to enhance well-being literacy and the need for explanation and improvements to be made to processes surrounding the progression pathway.

Research contribution
The research provides new insights that contribute to the current lack of knowledge about well-being in volunteer sport official populations and uniquely studies this in a high-performance, international sport setting.

Citation

Barrow, C. J., Westbury, T., Cunningham, I., & Mascarenhas, D. (online). An examination of how voluntary international netball officials view and experience well-being. Managing Sport and Leisure, https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2024.2326704

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 29, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 18, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 2, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 2, 2024
• Print ISSN: 2375-0472
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2024.2326704
• Keywords: sport official, umpire, mental health, volunteer, support
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3532147