RECN 344 Event Management Week 6 Lecture 1

RECN 344: Event Management Week 6 Lecture 1: Serious Leisure

Week 6 Lecture 1: Serious Leisure • • Introduction to serious leisure The dimensions of serious leisure Events and serious leisure Fandom

Week 6 Lecture 1: Readings • • • R 10: Stebbins, R. A. (2007), Ch. 1: The serious leisure perspective, in Serious leisure: a perspective for our time (pp. 1 -23). Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ. R 11: Green, B. C. & Jones, I. (2005), Serious leisure, social identity and sport tourism. Sport in Society, 8(2), 164 -181. Learn: Brown, C. A. (2007). The Carolina Shaggers: Dance as serious leisure. Journal of Leisure Research, 39(4) Learn: Gibson, H. , Willming, C. & Holdnak, A. (2002), “We’re Gators… not just Gator fans”: Serious leisure and University of Florida football. Journal of Leisure Research, 34(4), 397 -425. Learn: Jones, I. (2000), A model of serious leisure identification: The case of football fandom. Leisure Studies, 19(4), 283 -298. Learn: Mac. Kellar, J. (2007), Dabblers, fans and fanatics: Exploring behavioural segmentation at a special-interest event. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 15(1), 5 -24. [Parkes Elvis Festival]

Introduction to serious leisure • Leisure is traditionally viewed as the opposite of work: trivial, fun, relaxing • However, many leisure pursuits involve high levels of obligation, commitment, responsibility • • This type of pursuit has been described by Stebbins as ‘serious leisure’ • Often about the meanings behind activities as much as the activities themselves – state of mind –

Introduction to serious leisure • Three forms of leisure: • Casual leisure, project-based, serious leisure: • “the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer core activity that people find so substantial, interesting and fulfilling that … they launch themselves on a [leisure] career centred on acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge and experience (Stebbins, 2009, p. 5) • Casual – no career development; immediately/intrinsically rewarding, no special training • Project-based – short-term, one off or infrequent

Introduction to serious leisure • Serious leisure takes one of three forms: • Amateurs – where there are professional counterparts • Examples? • Hobbyists – described as collectors, makers and tinkerers, players of sports/games (where no professional equivalens), hobbies, enthusiasts of liberal arts, activity participants • Examples? • Volunteers – can be serious leisure, or casual or project based

What makes leisure serious? • The occasional need to persevere • Danger, hardship (physical or embarrassment) • Negotiation of constraints • Significant personal effort, using their specially acquired knowledge, training, experience and skill

What makes leisure serious? • Finding a leisure career in endeavour • Stages of achievement • Turning points • Beginning

What makes leisure serious? • The pursuit results in durable benefits (positive outcomes • Self actualisation • Self enrichment • Feelings of accomplishment • Social interaction and belongingness • Self gratification (superficial enjoyment & deep personal fulfilment) – main benefit of casual leisure (and benefit of serious leisure)

What makes leisure serious? • There is a unique ethos or social world associated with the activity • Not usually formalised organisation but collective identity

What makes leisure serious? • Serious leisure participants tend to identify strongly with their chosen pursuits • Closely related to the ‘social world’ • Provide sense of belongingness – ‘tribes’ • See Green & Jones (2005)

Social identity and serious leisure • For some, serious leisure forms a significant part of their individual identity • Serious leisure pursuit gives individual meaning, norms and values • Serious leisure indicates a high level of ego-involvement for devotees:

Social identity and serious leisure • Green & Jones (2005) outline serious leisure career stages, where a leisure-related identity might be established • Presocialisation: • Recruitment: • Socialisation: an ongoing process where the participant learns the norms, values, roles and unique ethos of the SL activity • Acceptance/identity confirmation

What makes leisure serious? • Differences in the levels of commitment and devotion • Devotees/core devotees – highly devoted • Moderate devotees – moderately committed and interested • Participant - lower level of commitment • May reflect career stage • For devotees: • “the lifestyle of the participants in a given serious leisure activity expresses their central life interest there and forms the basis for their personal and communal identity” (Stebbins, 2001, cited in Getz, 2013, p. 67).

What is the link between serious leisure and events? • How can attending events (as spectator or participant) be important for a serious leisure pursuit?

Fandom • ‘Fan’ from word ‘fanatic’ - a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause • May spend considerable time and money on the object of their fandom

Fandom • If it is prolonged and intense, it can become a form of serious leisure… Following news Zayn Malik had left 1 D, fans took to Twitter to express their shock and disbelief. * "I thought we were forever. " * "If you really loved me you could have not done this. " * "Im heart broken but i still love you so much. “ * “So many broken souls out there right now”

Fandom • If it is prolonged and intense, it can become a form of serious leisure…

Sport fans • Watch the following video clip about football fans, and answer the following questions: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=i. MH 0 H 45401 o • In what ways do these fans fulfil the characteristics of ‘serious leisure’ in their support of their football team. • Are there any criteria that one, or both, of these fans do not fulfil, in terms of the criteria for serious leisure participation? See also: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=o. RTZ 4 mv. AH 6 A • Celtic vs Rangers rivalry: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=gk. PZz. RB 6 AKU

Conclusion • Serious leisure may play as important, or more important role in the life of an individual as work career • Events play a major role in facilitating leisure careers • Events provide an opportunity to express serious leisure involvement