In 2014, with the generous support of the NIRSA Foundation, NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation awarded a research grant to Dr. Jacob Tingle of Trinity University and his research team, Dan Hazlett of Georgia Tech and April Flint of Emory University, for their study “Exploring NIRSA Championship Series Professional Development Opportunities: Understanding Their Perceived Value to the Association.” The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how recreation directors perceive volunteer experiences at NIRSA Championship Series events as well as to gauge how volunteering may affect professional growth. The full results of the study were presented at the 2016 NIRSA Annual Conference & Expo.
Dr. Tingle notes that this study “confirms what many of us knew to be true through our personal experience”—Championship Series events are a potent vehicle through which NIRSA members grow and develop as professionals in the collegiate recreation field. In the study, participants reported “feeling more confident in their training abilities, using more democratic leadership practices, and being better group and interpersonal communicators” months after the volunteer experience. These traits, and others that are influenced by volunteering at Series events, are those that recreation directors often look for when hiring new staff. Series events should be viewed as opportunities for recreation professionals to develop the skills and traits most desirable in the collegiate recreation field.
NIRSA is currently looking for qualified volunteers for several upcoming Championship Series events including basketball and tennis. For more information on volunteering, please contact NIRSA Director of National Sports Programs Valerie McCutchan. Learn more about Dr. Tingle’s research project in Volume 40, Issue 1 of the Recreational Sports Journal.
- For more information, please contact NIRSA Research Coordinator Ruben Guzman.
Ruben Guzman is currently the Research Coordinator at NIRSA
