This paper uses data about 3,640 matches played in the seasons 2000/01-2009/10 to explain individual match attendance of the top Czech ice hockey competition -- the Extraliga. Some interesting results are that fans decide whether to attend based on the detailed information about the home team, but use just the easily observable information about the away team; that a match having no impact on the final season outcome is much less attended; that televising a match decreases attendances of all matches played on the same day, but there is no negative next-day effect; that both very good and very bad weather decreases attendance; and that if two home matches are played in a short time period, their attendance is lower with likely higher impact on the second match. Substitution of ice hockey with soccer is investigated on several different levels -- while ice hockey and soccer are definitely long-term substitutes, there are mixed results for same-day substitution. Modernization of ice hockey arenas is identified as the key factor behind the almost 20% attendance growth in the analyzed period. This paper also presents a new realistic method of modeling seasonal uncertainty based on Monte Carlo simulation that does not rely on ex post information.

För att nå en hög nivå av expertis inom sporten ishockey så krävs det att spelare har mycket goda och specifika motoriska, fysiologiska och psykologiska färdigheter. Tidigare forskning på unga elitsatsande fotbollsspelare har visat att de som nått en hög nivå, har en högre grad av självreglerat lärande. Syftet med studien var att undersöka självreglerat lärande, samt utforma och utvärdera en metod för att öka graden av självreglerat lärande, hos unga elitsatsande ishockeyspelare. Studien var av kvasi-experimentell design där ett lag fungerade som interventionsgrupp (Sub-elit, n = 15) och ett annat lag fungerande som kontrollgrupp (Elit, n = 18). Interventionen bestod av att spelarna i interventionsgruppen fick utvärdera sin egen prestation och utveckling en gång i veckan under fem veckor. Spelarna i båda grupperna fyllde i självskattningsskalan SRL-TT före och efter interventionen. Sex spelare intervjuades om deras upplevelser av självreglerat lärande och interventionen. Resultaten visar på att det fanns en skillnad vad gäller graden av självreglerat lärande mellan spelarna på högsta nivå (elit) och spelarna på en nivå under (sub-elit), men att interventionen inte hade någon statistiskt signifikant effekt på spelarnas förmåga att ägna sig åt självreglerat lärande. De intervjuade spelarna anser dock att interventionen har fått dem att tänka mer på sin utveckling och hur de presterat. Spelarna anser också att en dialog med tränarna leder till att de själva tänker mer på vad de behöver utveckla i sitt spel. / To achieve a high level of expertise in the sport of ice hockey, players need very good and specific motor, physiological and psychological skills. Previous research on young elite football players has shown that those who have reached a high skill level have a higher degree of self-regulated learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate self-regulated learning, and to design and evaluate a method for increasing the degree of self-regulated learning, in young elite ice hockey players. The study was of quasi-experimental design where one team was intervention group (Sub-elite, n = 15) and another team functioning as a control group (Elite, n = 18). The intervention consisted of the players in the intervention group evaluated their own performance and development once a week for five weeks. Players in both groups completed the self-assessment scale SRL TT before and after the intervention. Six players were interviewed about their experiences of self-regulated learning and the intervention. Results indicate that there was a difference in self-regulated learning between elite- and sub-elite players, and that the present intervention did not have a statistically significant effect on the players’ degree of self-regulated learning. The interviewed players, however, believe that the intervention has made them think more about their development and how they performed. The players also believe that dialogue with the coaches leads them to think more about what they need to develop in their game.

The purpose of this study is to find the relationship between financial health in an ice hockey club and its sport success. The study answers the research question: How can financial health of Swedish ice hockey clubs be able to explain the sport success in the Swedish Hockey League? Based on the research question, the study uses the theory Benchmarking and a more specific benchmarking terminology called Financial benchmarking. The study selects eight financial variables in order to benchmark the icehockey clubs in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). A particular methodology within financial benchmarking, called Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), is used in order to determine the financial health of the clubs in relation to each other and therefore be able to rank the clubs based on each individual variable. The same financial variables, with the addition of four non-financial variables and exclusion of two financial variables, are used in a selected Logistic Regression model to explain how the variables contribute to the sport success of the clubs. The main conclusions which can be drawn from the study are as follows: The variables Net sales and Net profit are the two only variables which are statistically significant and are able to contribute to sport success. Secondly, the club HV71 is overall the club with the most optimal financial health in SHL, among the 12 clubs investigated. Lastly, accounting trends within this industry affects the financial outcome and further how it explained sport success. Trends such as a minimal or no amount of long-term liabilities is common among the clubs, where instead the total amount of liabilities mainly consists of current liabilities. It can be further concluded that profitability, revenue and equity are financial corner stones in a hockey club which participates in SHL.

This thesis deals with the history and the current situation in physical education and sport in Český Krumlov. Above all, it focuses on the development of individual sports societies and the course of their activities from their beginnings to the present. The development of sport in the chosen area is divided into particular phases, according to important milestones of the historical development of our country. The thesis is devoted to all the important sports in Český Krumlov. Sports associations are chronologically classified into individual phases according to their origin in the first two chapters. The other two chapters classify individual sectors according to their importance in the city. The first period starts at the beginning of organized sporting activities in the city, known from preserved materials and is dated up until 1918, that is, until the end of the First World War. The second period takes place during the interwar period, until the end of the Second World War. The third period begins in 1945 and ends in the revolutionary year of 1989. The last fourth period is devoted to the latest sporting history from 1989 to the present. The oldest information was drawn from the preserved chronicles, archive sources of individual sports associations, literature, and the period novels. Information from the third and fourth periods are complemented by interesting facts from interviews with witnesses to the establishment of physical education sections and particular sporting events.

Title: A comparison of the level of physical abilities of older school age players in the sport games Objectives: This thesis is aiming to find out different levels of motor skills among childen of older school age in several sport disciplines. The goal of this project is to compare those skills amongst selected games and the norm of the test battery Methods: The reaserch was conducted by form of testing according to the test battery uniffited test 6-60, Which consisted of ones height and body weight and tests to find out the levels of motor skills. Results: While comparing the result of floorball ice hockey and basketball the players of ice hockey achieved the best performance values, which won in 3 of 4 measured categories. Comparing the results of the whole reaserch file with the uniffit normes probandi achieved avereged to above averege values, only 11 % were bellow average Keywords: physical abilities, unifittest 6-60, sport games, floorball, ice hockey, basketball

This is a dissertation on organization in Swedish ice hockey based on four articles. The purpose of the thesis is to contribute knowledge on the direction, management and practice of sport using Swedish elite ice hockey as an example. Knowledge is created by examining four separate but mutually contingent aspects of organizations. Article I contributes to the overall purpose with knowledge on the professionalization of Swedish ice hockey, the reasons behind and the consequences of it. Focusing on the timeframe 1967-2000 the article highlights how norms, values and ideals changed over time and contributed to a change from ice hockey as an amateur sport based on idealistic motives and volunteer efforts to a professional sport based on entertainment and commercial forces. Article II contributes knowledge on the structural organization of Swedish elite ice hockey clubs and contributing factors. The article compares eleven elite ice hockey clubs and shows how they vary in relation to each other from low to high specialization, standardization and centralization but also how they present many similar characteristics such as organizational form, subsidiary businesses, cooperation with farm clubs and upper secondary schools, types of employments and division of workload. Article III contributes with knowledge on how organizational structures are experienced by individuals working or volunteering in the clubs. Comparing experiences in two structurally different clubs, the article shows how more developed structures are experienced more positively than less developed structures are. However, both groups agree that more developed structures are desirable and they also have similar opinions on issues concerning formal education and training, the elite program vs. the youth program, strategic vs. operative tasks and personal freedom. Article IV contributes knowledge on how experiences of mentioned structures are affected by remuneration, authority and centrality. Exploring four positions differing from each other with regard to hierarchical position, distance to the club’s core activities and payment, the article shows that individual experiences of organizational structure vary depending on where in the club the individual works. This variation is shown to result in tensions between the different positions. The knowledge offered in the thesis is based on three data collections. Data have been gathered from official and unofficial documentation from and on the Swedish sports confederation, the Swedish ice hockey association and 11 clubs represented in the highest division 2000/2001, and from individuals working or volunteering in these clubs as board members, general managers, marketing assistants, coaches, volunteers in the youth programs and arena personnel. The studies are carried out within an institutional theory framework and the analysis of the results taken together shows how the structures in elite ice hockey clubs are affected by surrounding environment and societal environments. Norms and ideals concerning legitimate ways of organizing are mediated by authorities, educational establishments, trade organizations and successful models in neighbouring industries. These norms and ideals have changed as new actors such as television networks, commercial sponsors and employed staff have entered ice hockey and as the roles of the government, the associations, the coaches and the players have changed. These ongoing changes are combining to a new context and new circumstances for the direction, management and practice of Swedish ice hockey.

In todays society sports has become a major part in people’s life, with the emerging of professionalization it’s become a thriving business that generates big money. An outcome of this evolution of sports as meant that most athletes must put more time and energy in to their athletics to have a chance to reach their dreams of being a professional athlete. And if an athletes dream get cut short somehow, the process of moving out of sport has been shown to somtimes be a difficult process for athletes that don’t have anything to fall back on. That’s why it is important for athletes to have the option to be able to combine their athletics with academics. The purpose of this study was to examine how a duel career, support services and life skills help to balance out the negative outcomes of pursuing a professional career in sports while also working for a higher education. During this study eight men and two women that where playing ice hockey and studying at an NCAA division 1 university where interviewed about their perceptions being student-athletes in a high performance university that has high standards on academics and sports. The results showed that most of support services offered to the student athletes helped them in reducing stress and having a more balanced life between sports and studies. The results also showed that the student-athletes perceived that they prioritized hockey and studies highly and their free time to do other things suffered because of that. Another aspect in the result showed that community service, which was part of the student-athlete program, helped them with putting things in perspective and affected them in a positive way in being student-athletes.

Inledning: Svensk ishockey har under de senaste decennierna utvecklats till att bli en upplevelse­­­industri, vilket gör upplevelsen i arenan allt viktigare. En ishockeymatch säljs numer som en helhetsupplevelse, vilket ställer krav på klubbens utformning av arena­upplevelsen. Syfte: Studiens syfte är främst att undersöka hur Örebro Hockey arbetar med arena­upplevelsen för publiken i Behrn Arena under ishockeymatcher samt vad klubben i framtiden kan göra för att förbättra arenaupplevelsen. Studien ska även undersöka skillnaderna mellan att se en match i Behrn Arena och på tv. Frågeställningar: Vad gör Örebro Hockey för arenaupplevelsen i Behrn Arena? Vad kan Örebro Hockey göra för att i framtiden förbättra arenaupplevelsen för publiken? Hur har den historiska utvecklingen av arenaupplevelsen i Behrn Arena sett ut för Örebro Hockey? Vad finns det för skillnader mellan Örebro Hockeys matcharrangemang i Behrn Arena och tv-sändningar av C More? Metod: Studien använder en kvalitativ metod med fallstudiedesign. Det genomförs fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer, varav två görs på Örebro Hockeys kansli, en på restaurang Grodan i Stockholm och en på telefon. Vidare görs två mejlintervjuer med representanter för Örebro Hockey. Det görs även två ostrukturerade observationer: en i Behrn Arena och en under en tv-sänd SHL-match av C More. Resultat och slutsats: För att skapa en bra arenaupplevelse för publiken i Behrn Arena använder Örebro Hockey främst kringarrangemang och temamatcher. För att i framtiden förbättra arena­upplevelsen kan klubben däremot förbättra utbudet av mat och dryck för vanliga åskådare samt öka antalet kassaplatser i arenan. För drygt fem år sedan var det enbart ishockeymatchen som var Örebro Hockeys produkt. Publiksiffrorna i Behrn Arena var låga och det fanns varken alkoholtillstånd eller ett varia­tionsrikt utbud av mat och dryck. Sedan dess har stora förändringar skett och det är idag inte enbart ishockeymatchen som är evenemangets produkt, utan kringarrangemang och tema­matcher görs för att öka arenaupplevelsen för åskådarna. För att möjliggöra detta har Örebro Hockeys organisation förändrats och nya tjänster som privatmarknadschef och event­koordinator har tillkommit. Det är slutligen skillnad mellan att se en match live i Behrn Arena och en tv-sänd match av C More. En tv-sänd match ger åskådaren mycket information, genom exempelvis kommentarer, analyser, repriser och statistik. Detta är svårt att erbjuda åskådaren i arenan, även om Örebro Hockey, exempelvis genom en egen studio med intervjuer, gör närmanden mot det. På plats i Behrn Arena får åskådaren däremot uppleva en stämning som är svår att förmedla via en tv-sändning. / The aim of the present thesis is to examine the arena experience of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) club Örebro Hockey. Örebro Hockey has had the highest spectator coverage   in SHL both season 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, reaching 97 % and 99 % of the arena respectively. Of that reason, it is of interest to examine what has made the club that successive. The aim of the thesis is also to examine the differences between a game watched live in Behrn Arena, in the arena of Örebro Hockey, and a televised SHL game. The thesis uses a qualitative research method, with three semi-structured interviews with respondents from Örebro Hockey and also a semi-structured interview with Dan Persson. Two additional email interviews are completed with respondents from Örebro Hockey. Furthermore, two un­structured observations are carried out. The observations are made during a game in Behrn Arena and during a televised game. The conclusion of the thesis is that Örebro Hockey primarily uses special events connected to the actual game and theme games to enhance the arena experience of the spectators. Another important conclusion is that while televised games provide the spectator information that is difficult to obtain in the arena, such as replays, statistics, analysis and interviews, games live in the arena provide the spectator an atmosphere that cannot be experienced in a televised game.

Bakgrund: Under 2000-talet har många av klubbarna i både Svenska Hockeyligan och Allsvenskan i fotboll haft ekonomiska problem. Flertalet elitidrottsklubbar har gått från att tidigare vara ideella föreningar till att idag, genom bolagiseringar, drivas som elitidrottsföretag. Ett verktyg som idag används för att utveckla företags verksamheter i flera vitt skilda branscher är riskkapital där riskkapitalister eller riskkapitalbolag köper in sig i företaget. Elitidrottsföretagen påverkas dock av regelverk som potentiellt sett begränsar elitidrottsföretagens möjligheter att använda riskkapital. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera om elitidrottsklubbar inom svensk fotboll och ishockey kan utveckla sin verksamhet med riskkapital. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats där intervjuer har genomförts med representanter från tio elitidrottsklubbar inom svensk fotboll och ishockey. Resultat: Studien visar att elitidrottsklubbar inom svensk fotboll och ishockey bör kunna använda sig av riskkapital för att utveckla sin verksamhet. Gällande regelverk, 51-procentsregeln, hämmar dock klubbarna i användningen av riskkapital, då riskkapitalistens möjlighet till kontroll över sin investering begränsas. Om riskkapitalisten tillåts inta en aktiv ägarroll, ser vi användningen av riskkapital som en möjlig framtida väg för att utveckla verksamheten i dagens elitidrottsföretag. / Background: During the 2000s, many clubs in the Swedish Hockey League and the Swedish premier football division Allsvenskan have suffered from financial problems. Many elite sports clubs have changed from previously beeing non-profit organizations to, through corporatisation, operate as elite sports businesses. Private equity is a tool that is used to develop business operations in various industries, where venture capitalists or private equity firms buys into a company. Elite sports businesses, however, are affected by regulations that potentially limit the elite sports businesses possibilities to use private equity. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze if elite sports clubs in Swedish football and ice hockey can develop their business with private equity. Research method: The study has a qualitative approach in which interviews were conducted with representatives from ten elite sports clubs in Swedish football and ice hockey. Results: The study shows that elite sports clubs in Swedish football and ice hockey should be able to use venture capital to develop their business. Current regulations, the 51-percent rule, inhibits the clubs in their use of private equity, since venture capitalists are limited in their possibility to control their investment. If the venture capitalist is allowed to take on an active ownership role, we see the use of private equity as a opportunity to develop the business in today's elite sports businesses.

Rooted and centered within a Bourdieu-inspired understanding of how the habitus and social class of parents affects childrens’ sports choices, this paper contributes to a greater appreciation of how social capital and social background impact a family’s ability to practice the sport of ice-hockey. Historically, there has been a significant amount of research investigating the reasons for- and rates of- dropout from sports participation, but few attempts has been undertaken to study athletes who begin and continue to actively play a certain sport. Through the creation of an index which measures different variables, this paper introduces the concept of an ice-hockey habitus. This habitus was used to compare the education, occupations, economic wealth and other demographic parameters of parents of ice-hockey-playing children. With that in mind, the aim of this paper was to investigate what characterizes ice-hockey playing childrens’ parents. The results were found through looking at the above-mentioned demographics in relation to previous research, and, briefly, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Additionally, a further aim is to document the demographics of the parents of continual-participation among young ice-hockey players. To do so, a quantitative research method was utilized, through which a web-based questionnaire was formed and used as foundation for the gathering of the empirical data. The total amount of responses amounted to n=576, from four disparate cities within a geographical distribution from south to north. The findings showed that there was a correlation between families with ice-hockey playing children and highly educated parents (in some areas more than double the Swedish average) and economic wealth (as more than four out of five families earns equal to- or higher than the Swedish average). The findings also showed that for the ice-hockey habitus, level of education did not affect mothers’ index level. For the fathers’ index, the amount of highly educated fathers decreased as the ice-hockey habitus increased. A further correlation found was that as ice-hockey habitus increased, so did the amount of families with higher economic wealth.