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This commentary considers return to organized sport amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of nonprofit community (grassroots) sport clubs that are the backbone of sport in many countries around the world. Local clubs can be vulnerable to challenging conditions at the best of times, and are at risk of significant negative impact if they cannot weather the storm of the current pandemic and resume their sport delivery. The opportunity and importance of drawing on evidence-based insights during these unprecedented times is highlighted here, by connecting examples of existing knowledge in several key areas (assessing and building capacity, embracing innovation, and adapting top-down policy directives to the local context) with the challenges facing community sport clubs. Potential directions for new research during and post-pandemic that builds on such foundational knowledge are also presented, charting a course for new inquiry that will support a more resilient community sport sector for the future.

Capacity building is a targeted approach to addressing organizational challenges by focusing development efforts on specific needs. Utilizing Millar and Doherty’s process model of capacity building, the purpose of this study was to (a) gain insight into the nature of the conditions and processes of capacity building in the community sport context and (b) examine the veracity of the proposed model. Interviews were conducted with organizational members from two community sport organizations that were purposefully chosen and happened to have introduced new programs: one that experienced successful capacity building that enhanced program and service delivery and one that experienced unsuccessful capacity building where organizational needs were not effectively addressed. Findings revealed that the thoroughness of the needs assessment, the selection of appropriate capacity building strategies, and readiness to build capacity were key factors in the (lack of) success of the capacity building efforts. Implications for practice and future research on organizational capacity building are presented.

This research explored the use of social media within the sport management discipline in a North American context, specifically investigating how sport management academicians use social media as a teaching and learning tool. An online survey garnered the social media literacies of sport management faculty (N = 132). Compared with cross-discipline studies that have measured similar interests, sport management faculty appear to have a limited awareness of social media applications. Only 61% of study participants reported having incorporated social media into their course design. While a majority of faculty agreed that the use of social media in education can provide positive enhancement to both teaching and learning, in practice, participant social media teaching strategies were narrowly employed. Results suggest a potential disconnect between the digital pedagogies currently employed by sport management faculty, the expectations of students, and most importantly, the demands of the sport industry.

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