Slippery Slopes Report

How climate change is threatening the Winter Olympics

Produced in partnership with Loughborough University London

and Protect Our Winters UK.

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Sports for Nature: Setting a Baseline

A UNEP report, authored by many SEG members:

Madeleine Orr, Jack Pippard, Ugo Arbieu, Jonathan Casper, Tim Kellison, Jordan Howell, Walker Ross, Jessica Murfree, Brian McCullough, and Sylvia Trendafilova.

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Research

Here, we cover all research related to sport and the natural environment: the recent, the relevant, the revolutionary.

Our goal is to synthesize sport ecology research in one place, so researchers and practitioners have access to the latest information.

If you would like more information about any of the studies included here, please contact our team!

For students: We will help you find the original work (full length texts). Get in touch.

For academics: if you've published something about - or related to - sport ecology and we've missed it, get in touch.

Note: The SEG does not own the intellectual rights nor copyright to the texts discussed herein. We share summaries of relevant research, and cite the original work, to make academic articles more accessible to people outside the academic community.

This database is searchable - Start here

Big picture: the impacts of sport on climate change

Preliminary estimates of annual carbon emissions from the sport sector suggest they could be as high as 350 million tCO2e. However, little is known about where those emissions come from, how they are calculated, and what is being done to reduce this footprint. Here, for the first time, the authors undertake a systematic, meta-analysis of peer-reviewed and gray literature on the impacts of sport emissions on climate. The findings indicate that research in this space took off i

Can we reschedule?

Climate change has presented a new suite of health and safety, legal, and operational challenges to which the sport sector must respond. At the same time, many professional leagues and sport federations are adopting environmental strategies that include emissions reductions, such as the UN Sport for Climate Action Framework’s Race to Zero, which will see its signatories halve emissions by 2030, and reach carbon neutrality by 2040. In this paper, we argue climate change is pro

Impacts of climate change on sport

This scoping review sought to identify all the research that addresses the impacts of climate change on organized sport (as opposed to tourism and recreation) to understand how climate change is impacting sports, and how sport organizations are adapting. A total of 57 articles were retained which specifically address climate change's impacts on sport, though the authors note there are dozens of articles that address the issue in the context of physical activity and recreation

Predicting climate impacts to FIFA World Cups and Olympic Games

By examining historical weather and air quality data as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 5th Assessment Report, this paper predicts climate conditions for the Olympic Games and FIFA Men's World Cups between 2022 and 2032. The intention behind this reseach was to provide these predictions for organizers to better plan for the impact of climate on their events and legacies in the long-term. The most immediate concern for all of these events will be extre

How will climate change impact skiing in Eastern Canada and the US?

In this paper potential climate change impacts are examined at 171 ski areas in Ontario, Québec and the US Northeast using the SkiSim2 model with regional parameterizations of snowmaking capacity. With advanced snowmaking, mid-century season length losses are limited to 12–13% under a low emission pathway (RCP 4.5), increasing to 15–22% under high emissions (RCP 8.5). By late-century, low and high emission pathways diverge creating very different futures for the ski industry.

What environmental lessons can be learned from cancelling March Madness in 2020?

The article discusses the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental effects of shuttering the March Madness tournament and suggests that an understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 offers an opportunity to bring about an alternative, more sustainable sports tourism economy. The cancellation of the tournament resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in tourism revenue for local economies and deprived traveler-fans of pilgrimages to arenas, important socio-cultural gatheri

Community sports fields and atmospheric climate impacts

The purpose of this study was to understand atmospheric climate impacts on community-level sports clubs’ (CLSC) in temperate climate zones of Australia and Canada, the degree to which CLSC’s in these countries are vulnerable and/or resilient to such impacts, and any organizational responses. CLSCs in many parts of the world, offer opportunities for outdoor sport with participants and grass turf playing fields that are climate-exposed. In both Australia and Canada in particula

Climate Change and Alps Ski Resorts

This study considers the impact of climate change on snow conditions and snowmaking in the French Alps. Give that the Alps are one of the top ski tourism destinations in the world, their importance for sport and tourism cannot be ignored. Climate models were created and applied to ski areas of the Alps to project snow conditions in the future which account for the impact of warming average global temperatures. At the present, artificial snowmaking is required at times to sust

Does regular physical activity influence climate change attitudes? (2020)

Many organizations, governments, and NGOs alike seek ways to best engage the broad public for meaningful and authentic actions to address climate change. There are various examples of this, but the challenge remains on what is deemed personally relevant to market segments – a question Trail and McCullough (in press, 2019) pose in their article. Also, other researchers note that exposure or regular interaction in or with nature can help increase an individual’s likelihood of i

On the potential impacts of climate change on baseball and cross-country skiing (2020)

While climate change is expected to have deleterious effects on human health, the economy, and despite evidence that climate change is already impacting sport, the impacts of climate change on sport remain under-researched. This article addresses that gap by using projections of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report and known vulnerabilities of baseball and cross-country skiing to explore potential climate hazards facing both sports by 2065 and 2100.Findings: Potential hazards f

The impact of snow scarcity on ski tourism (2011)

Using the record-warm winter weather statistics of 2006-2007, this study explores the sensitivity of ski businesses and related tourism sector in Tyrol, Austria in future warm winter conditions. The overall impact on ski areas was relatively small at the regional level, though the analysis on the basis of individual organizations shows high sensitivity among small and medium ski areas, particularly at low altitudes. Climate change is expected to increase the risk of financial

A content analysis of ski resort environmental communications (2012)

This study examined the environmental sustainability of ski resorts in the U.S. Specifically, this manuscript focused on the USA ski industry and examined Ski Resorts Environmental Communications (SRECs) stated on each of 82 resort websites. Each website's environmental communications were rated for their prominence, breadth, and depth of environmental categories in the USA Sustainable Slopes Program (SSP) Charter. The resorts were classified as inactive, exploitive, reactive

Behavioural adaptation of skiers to climate change in Ontario (2015)

Using an in-situ survey, this study examined how skiers in Ontario would change their skiing participation patterns if their preferred ski resort were closed due to a lack of snow. The survey focuses on current behavioural responses, rather than decisions based on future scenarios of climate change. Analysis revealed that substitution behaviours differ based on the duration of the ski area closure (e.g. one day, partial season, permanent) and that beginner and infrequent skie

Perceptions of climate change among stakeholders in Australian Alps ski industry (2012)

This interview-based study explores the climate change perceptions of ski-tourism representatives and other regional stakeholders in the Australian Alps. This region is already experiencing some effects of climate change such as rising temperatures, declining rain and snow falls, and shorter skiing seasons. All interviewees accepted climate change was a reality; several, however, questioned the worst-case scenarios. Social resistance to increased water and electricity use for

Climate change and Canadian communities' grass-based sports fields (2017)

16 interviews were conducted with facility and park managers at grass sport fields in Canada to understand how these site managers are adapting to climate change. Key findings related to climate change awareness and concern: - Every participant noted that reliable sources of environmental information were necessary in the process of completing their job activities. - Several sources of environmental information were used, including weather apps, weather channels on TV, public

Weather studies in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism (2017)

This paper provides a synthesis of previous studies on the impact of weather on outdoor recreation and nature based tourism. 184 articles weather-related articles were drawn from an international journal. Three recurring topics were found: 1) Weather-related variables that influence outdoor recreation and nature tourism, 2) The importance of geographic research context: most studies are focused on Europe and North America, and 3) Prevailing activity types: most studies are

Trends in winter tourism and future challenges (2008)

540 skiers from Vienna, Austria were surveyed to understand winter sport tourists' activity and destination choice, and to estimate shifts in customer demand with climate change. The study found that skiers have a strong preference for destinations with natural snow. In winters with low snow, resorts in high (altitude) destinations gain importance and travel distances lose relevance (i.e. people will travel further if it means they can ski in better conditions, which tend to

Perceptions of climate change among ski tourism stakeholders (2014)

Expert interviews were conducted with 24 stakeholders (13 CEOs of cable car companies, 11 CEOs of regional tourism associations) to determined their perceptions of climate change. All respondents have encountered topic of climate change in their work lives, mainly involved with calming partners (banks) and the media concerns during low-snow seasons. - 22/24 respondents do not trust studies on climate change, mainly due to confusion caused by conflicting expert opinions - 20

Climate change adaptation in the ski industry (2007)

This review of the literature covers the implications of climate change for the ski industry and how adaptation by ski area operators has ben treated in the research literature. Adaptation options discussed include: - Government level: subsidies for energy costs, public land leases, infrastructure grants, improved weather forecasts - Ski area operators: technological improvements (snowmaking, slope development, cloud seeding, indoor skiing) and business practice improvemen

Substitution preferences of cross-country race registrants (2018)

In 2017, the iconic American Birkebeiner ('the Birkie') cross-country ski race was canceled due to poor snow conditions. This survey-based study explored the substitution interests of cross-country skiers registered in a large race event. When it is impossible to participate in a chosen sport at a given time or place, participants have the following substitution options: substitute another sport (e.g. hike instead of ski), substitute another location (e.g. ski elsewhere), or

NEW! Research Round Ups.

Each time our team members attend an academic conference to present our work, we will aim to share a Round-Up of the relevant new research here.

First installment:

NASSM 2020 Research Round-Up