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

Sustainability communication in North American pro sport leagues (2010)

This study examined the websites of 126 professional sport teams in the United States (33 from NFL, 31 from each of NHL, NBA and MLB) to understand how sport organizations communicate their triple-bottom-line initiatives and sustainability practices. The content of each website was individually analyzed for evidence of- or reference to- sustainability efforts along 12 categories: energy use, water usage, pollution/emissions, waste, building/grounds, compliance/accountability,

Going green in baseball – a case study of the SK Wyverns (2016)

This study examined the marketing of a pro baseball team in South Korea and their green campaign. Specifically, the event examined the environmental, social, and economic gains of the community of of Korean baseball through this campaign. Interviews were conducted with 12 constituents of the green marketing campaign, and the author participated as an observer at seven separate trips to the team's stadium and to meetings. Additionally, corporate documents were collected and an

Is Going Green Worth It? Assessing Fan Engagement (2017)

An online survey was administered to 557 sport fans. Items measured fan connection to the organization, environmental values, expectations, behaviors (at the event, at home), and recall of environmental sponsors. Fans want and expect sport organizations to engage in environmental action. Initiatives taken by sport organizations have a positive influence on fan behaviors at the event and these translate to favorable behaviors at home. Two distinct groups were identified: the h

Projected climate change impacts on skiing and snowmobiling (2017)

A simulation of natural snow conditions in 247 winter recreation locations in the U.S., including snowmaking estimates, allowed researchers to determine the future season lengths of skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling in each location. All locations are projected to see reductions in winter recreation season lengths by 50% or more by 2050. Some ski locations will see reduction in season length of 80% by 2090. Estimated impact of reduced season length is millions, t

The Weather Dependency Framework (2017)

Delphi method study with 27 experts that identified the Weather Dependency Framework items. The purpose was to create a mechanism for understanding the multi-dimensional variables that influence the weather dependency of outdoor recreation activities. Defines weather dependency as "the degree to which a specific outdoor recreation activity is reliant on particular weather and resulting conditions". A framework using 32 variables of weather dependency was developed, clustered

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

The future of the Olympic Winter Games (2015)

Projected climate change scenarios are used to predict the ability of 19 previous host cities to provide suitable conditions for outdoor winter sport competition in future. In a best case, low emissions scenario, only 10 past host-cities remain viable in the 2050s (Albertville, Calgary, St. Moritz, Salt Lake City, Sapporo, Beijing, Lake Placid, Lillehammer, Nagano). The same 10 cities are viable in the 2080s under a low emissions scenario. However, should emissions remain hig

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

Creating ecologically just sport organizations (2017)

A conceptual paper advocating for ecocentric management practices. "By drawing upon the tenets of the systems thinking paradigm and the four levels of thinking model, the underlying beliefs and values guiding current practices within sport organizations are identified. The authors offer a series of propositions to suggest that by adopting an equity-based perspective, recognizing the interdependent relationships between humans and the natural environment, and acknowledging the

Governance of Olympic environmental stakeholders (2018)

Major stakeholders in the environmental management of the Olympic Games include: the IOC, organizing committees (OCOGs), local governments, environmental organizations, and sponsors. The IOC employs a variety of coercive, frameworking, and voluntarism policies to encourage participation in environmental management by these stakeholders along with the Host City Contract. However, many of these governance policies have few true enforcement mechanisms in place. CITE: Ross, W. J.

The evolution of environmental practices in the Olympics (2017)

This empirical paper explores the evolution of environmental management in the Olympic Games. Original efforts to integrate environmental management into the Games were the result of minimizing negative environmental impacts that result from the event. Environmental management eventually evolved into a focus on sustainable outcomes for the community and further into complete minimization of any environmental impact of the Games. Olympic organizing committees mimicked previous

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

Climate vulnerability of sport organizations framework (2018)

In this paper, the climate vulnerability of sport organization is discussed in terms of two main components: climate impacts on organizations, and organizational climate capacity. Four possible states of vulnerability are presented: - If climate impacts are greater than the organization's ability to respond (organizational climate capacity), the organization is in the problem state. - If the organization's ability to respond to climate change (organizational climate capacit

Risk management issues in sport events (2009)

A comparative case-study was conducted on two large sport events in Canada used secondary analysis of archival documents and interviews to understand what risk issues exist in large sport events. Fifteen risk issue categories were identified by the various stakeholder groups. The categories were: environment, financial, human resources, infrastructure, interdependence, legacy, media, operations, organizing, participation, political, relationships, sport, threats, and visibili

How cross-country skiers are adaptating to climate change (2009)

A survey-based study was conducted to assess xc skiers' adaptation to changing climate conditions, and preferences of adaptation tools. Three groups were identified: - The 'social group' that place emphasis on skiing traditions and social motivations. This group is most likely to give up skiing if the conditions are poor. - The 'outdoor type' group who ski for the environmental qualities (nature, landscape), and are interested in behavioral adaptation options that include

Managing cross-country skiing under climate change: Austria and Finland (2011)

A survey-based study was administered to skiers in Austria and Finland to examine preferences for various climate adaptation strategies (e.g. skiing at a different location, skiing at a different time, substituting a different activity). It is less risky for Austrian destinations to introduce technical adaptation (e.g. indoor skiing, artificial snow), as well as to expand into additional activity offerings (e.g. snowshoeing), compared to Finnish destinations. The main explana

Indicators of climate change vulnerability for cross-country skiing (2015)

This study developed an index of climate vulnerability (including exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity) of cross-country skiiers at the individual scale. Indicators: - Exposure: current annual number of snow days, change in temperature, precipitation in form of snow, duration of snow cover. - Sensitivity: behavioral reactions, preferences, and level of satisfaction of skiers in response to changes in the hypothetical future skiing conditions - Adaptive capacity: awaren

The influence of culture on climate change adaptation strategies (2013)

When a person cannot participate in their preferred sport at their preferred place and time, for whatever reason, they have substitution options: - the person can substitute the sport (e.g. go hiking instead of skiing), - substitute time (e.g. ski on another day), - or substitute place (e.g. ski somewhere else). Given that cross-country skiing depends on snow conditions, the warming climate may put pressure on skiers to begin adapting. In this survey study of 275 Austrians an

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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