<p>It has become increasingly common for a city or region to use sporting and media events to promote themselves. But what is behind these events? What kind of organisation is necessary to plan and run them? In the summer of 2009 the internationally known Volvo Ocean Race will arrive in Stockholm. The race is eight months long and will be hosted in Stockholm for almost the whole of June. The City of Stockholm is behind the event and Stockholm’s marinas will be responsible for making sure that everything runs smoothly and on schedule. Hosting this big event will have an impact on the citizens of Stockholm in many ways. The purpose of this study is to examine the political decision-making behind the event and the first part of the year of planning and preparations that have lead up to it.</p><p>The study is based on interviews with the people responsible for the planning of the event and one politician that were involved in the decision-making. The method that is used in the study is Grounded Theory, which the authors believe has been valuable in this case. The implication of using this method is that the authors have been able to look more closely into the planning of the event without being too influenced by earlier learned theories. The method also can help us to see patterns in the study that otherwise could be missed. In the end of this study we look at previous research and give suggestions for future studies. The authors hope that this study can give inspiration to other researchers in this growing and interesting field.</p>

It has become increasingly common for a city or region to use sporting and media events to promote themselves. But what is behind these events? What kind of organisation is necessary to plan and run them? In the summer of 2009 the internationally known Volvo Ocean Race will arrive in Stockholm. The race is eight months long and will be hosted in Stockholm for almost the whole of June. The City of Stockholm is behind the event and Stockholm’s marinas will be responsible for making sure that everything runs smoothly and on schedule. Hosting this big event will have an impact on the citizens of Stockholm in many ways. The purpose of this study is to examine the political decision-making behind the event and the first part of the year of planning and preparations that have lead up to it. The study is based on interviews with the people responsible for the planning of the event and one politician that were involved in the decision-making. The method that is used in the study is Grounded Theory, which the authors believe has been valuable in this case. The implication of using this method is that the authors have been able to look more closely into the planning of the event without being too influenced by earlier learned theories. The method also can help us to see patterns in the study that otherwise could be missed. In the end of this study we look at previous research and give suggestions for future studies. The authors hope that this study can give inspiration to other researchers in this growing and interesting field.

Participants were 15 professional sailors, ranging in age from 23-49 years (M age = 35.9 years; SD = 7.4), who competed in the 2005/06 VOR. After receiving approval from the Temple University Institutional Review Board, the researcher recruited participants who were subsequently required to provide informed consent to participate in the study. Using a semi-structured interview format, face-to-face interviews were completed with three sailors in Miami, FL, and with nine sailors in Valencia, Spain (three interviews with individual participants, one interview with two participants, and a focus group with four participants). Three interviews were completed via telephone. All interviews were transcribed verbatim. Each transcript was then analysed through an inductive open coding process. Data analysis revealed nine major themes (Background, Skiffs on Steroids, Boat Breakdowns, Managing Self, Pressure, Tragedy, Extreme, Team, and Reflecting) with associated subthemes, and three dimensions (Resonance, Edgework, and Performance Capacities) with associated subdimensions. A framework for understanding the experiences of the sailors was conceived in the form of a model depicting the dimensions of resonance (a passion for adventure and the VOR in particular), edgework (a desire and ability to perform in high-risk, life threatening situations), and performance capacities (team, individual, and boat). The model suggests an interplay between the dimensions of edgework and resonance, against which is set the performance dimension. This study is the first to take a glimpse inside the experiences of professional ocean racing sailors who compete in fully crewed around-the-world races. Findings confirm the widely held belief that the VOR is an extreme and unique event in the world of sport. / Kinesiology