Sport development has become a leading issue for sport policymakers and sport managers worldwide. Sport development systems have two main objectives: to increase the number of participants actively engaged in sport and to enhance the quality of performances in sport. This is the foundation of the much used, but rarely examined, pyramid analogy in sport development. In this article, the pyramid model of sport development is explored, and its underlying assumptions are critiqued. Three tasks necessary for an effective pyramid model are identified: athlete recruitment, athlete retention, and athlete transitions. Recruitment requires the assistance of significant others, as well as the proliferation of many smaller, local-level sport programs. Retention requires a focus on motivation, socialization, and commitment. Advancement requires that programs be linked vertically and that athletes be aided in processes of locating and socializing into new levels of involvement. Although specific strategies for enhancing recruitment, retention, and transition of athletes can be identified from the literature, further research is needed.

The effect of destination advertising and sport event media (advertising and telecast) were compared experimentally on nine dimensions of destination image and on intention to visit the host destination. Participants' images of Australia's Gold Coast were collected in the United States (long-haul market) and New Zealand (short-haul market) following exposure to one of eight media conditions. The event telecast, event advertising, and destination advertising each affected different dimensions of destination image. There was a wider array of effects in the American market than in the New Zealand market. Some effects of each form of media were negative, with event media having a negative impact on participants' image of the destination's natural environment. Destination image was significantly related to intention to visit the host destination, but the dimensions that affected intention to visit were different for the two countries. Among the New Zealand sample, the dimensions of destination image affected by event media and the destination advertisement were not those impacting intention to visit.

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The sustainability of including medium sized one-time sport events in an event portfolio is examined with reference to the capacity of one such event to stimulate flow-on tourism (i.e., tourism activities beyond the event but around the time of the event), a desire to return to the destination, and positive word-of-mouth. Relationships among four motives (socialising, escape, learning about the destination, and learning about athletics), identification with the event (self and social identity), previous visitation to the host destination, information search, tourism activities, and likelihood of recommending and/or returning to the host destination were examined for four categories of attendees at the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships: primary purpose spectators, casual spectators, athletes, and non-athlete participants. All four categories of attendee engaged in some information search and participated in flow-on tourism, but to a low degree. Information search fostered flow-on tourism. Classic tourism activities (e.g., sightseeing, visiting museums) were motivated by a desire to learn about the destination, and encouraged future visitation and likelihood of recommendation. It is concluded that medium sized one-time sport events can play a sustainable role in event portfolios, but their efficacy requires greater integration of destination experiences with the event. It is suggested that future work should examine the means to cultivate that integration, including creation of more effective alliances between destination marketers and event organizers.