The sport volunteering paradox: concerns from a legal and governance perspective, but the irony remains

In Australia, volunteers represent a ubiquitous-and critical-feature of organised sport. Sporting events, be they the Olympic Games or a grassroots football match, require the services of a human resource whose engagement, in turn, necessitates consideration from a legal and governance standpoint. For the organisations administering sporting activities, however, volunteers represent an anomaly in an hierarchical sport system. Volunteers are often subject to the whim and caprice of institutions deficient in processes for engaging an unpaid workforce. Issues concerning employment terms and volunteer rights have proved contentious, especially in the community sport sector. Although volunteer numbers have fluctuated, legal problems ensue, resulting in various "injuries" and other considerations relating to the treatment of sport volunteers. There is a dilemma for sport organisations: the governance model for community sport is flawed due to the paradox between top-down policy edicts and the ability of volunteers to manage themselves by virtue of their non-professional roles. By way of a narrative literature review, this paper identifies issues impacting sport organisations and points to the irony that volunteers are unlikely to be able to fulfil expectations based on existing governance structures.