Dr.Hab., Professor E.V. Kuzmicheva
Russian State University of Physical Education, Sports, Youth and Tourism (GTSOLIFK), Moscow

Keywords: sport assets, services, efficiency, service quality rates.

Background. The valid national physical culture and sports sector (PCSS) development strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020 makes provisions for the free access of people to sport infrastructure and services being secured, with the sports promotion initiatives geared to estimate and report, among other things, the sport asset loading rates. The National PCSS Development Program for the period up to 2020 provides for at least 40% of the population being engaged in habitual physical practices (at the moment this ratio makes up only 29.8%) with the public demand for the sport facilities being at least 48% satisfied (versus the current satisfaction rate estimated at 29.1%) (2). Actual sport asset load ratio is now reported at only 54.1% that may be due to the poor asset management efficiency (4, 6). By the year of 2020, the Program requires at least 80% of the schoolchildren being engaged in regular physical education and sport practices (presently the ratio reportedly stands at 52%). Of the total national population going in for physical culture and sports, only 10.4% are reported to attend the physical education and sport groups established by the service asset holders, and only one of ten is a school pupil.

Our analysis of the reference literature, valid legal and regulatory documentation and the practical sport asset management and operation experience revealed a contradiction between the growing demand for the sporting services and the still low asset management efficiency (1, 3, 4).

Objective of the study was to help step up the socio-economic efficiency of the national sport asset management process.

Methods and structure of the study. Russian State University of Physical Education, Sports, Youth and Tourism (GTSOLIFK) has been persistently exploring the ways to improve the sport asset management efficiency since 2010 with the relevant initiatives implemented at the sport complexes operating in Moscow and Moscow region. The article reports progress in five research thrusts on the subject and their findings. 

Study results and discussion. The national sport asset management efficiency may be improved as follows as verified by the following initiatives and projects.

Range of the sport services provided needs to be expanded and the management system needs to be revised to improve the service popularity and quality as demonstrated by the practical project experience of a few sport institutions and the relevant socio-economic benefits. The Sport Swimming Complex owned by the Central Sport Club of the Army (CSCA) reported the following project benefits: attendance rate was reported to grow by 8.9% with the range of the core and associating services expanded by 24 items; attendance rate of the Olympic Reserve CYSS was reported to grow by 13.6%; revenues of the Complex reportedly grew by 15.6%; capital asset profitability rate was reported to rise by 18.8%; personnel labour efficiency was reported to increase by 7.5%; and the sales profitability increased by 4.5% (3).

The World Class and World Gym fitness club networks reported growths in their membership, individual training services and revenues of the clubs by 38-40%, including the proceeds from the individual training service increased by 85%. X-Fit Fusion Sport Club reported the membership growing by 26%; outflow of the club members dropping by 31%; and the attendance rate for regular (3-5 times per week) visitors growing from 41% to 52%; with the sales profitability ratio increased from 6% to 14%; and the net profit ratio raised to 37%.

Municipal sport facilities accounting for 78% of the total sport assets of the Russian Federation need to be managed in a more efficient manner. It should be mentioned that the municipal sport assets presently account for 83.8% of the national sport grounds; 76.3% of the stadiums and 75.6% of the indoor sport facilities. The best internationally recognised municipal sport asset management experience has demonstrated that different financial sources need to be employed to ensure the service efficiency (9). The relevant governmental budget support (by allocations from income tax, sales tax, road tax and other municipal taxes) will be complemented by allocations from incomes made by lotteries, gaming businesses, tourist services etc.; proceeds from transactions with securities (bonds) with the governmental guaranties for the proceeds from the interest on the latter and sales transactions; the relevant private projects may be supported by other (alternative) sources including private donations. Holders of the alternative sources of finance may be motivated by a variety of project aspects including: the municipal service promotion initiatives; attracting elite teams in game sports by high-quality services and conditions; encouraging associating business services under the auspices of municipal sport facilities (restaurant, tourist, trade businesses etc.); plus relevant emotional, mental and communal climate related benefits. Well equipped and managed municipal sport facilities often enjoy increasing popularity when well promoted by the local mass media organisations; and may even acquire brand names widely acknowledged not only in their areas but all over the country.

For example, a project designed to improve the institutional capacity of the municipal Sport and Health Centre was implemented in the city of Krasnogorsk (Moscow region). The project included a few initiatives: a new Children’s Sport Club was established; the main service range was expanded to offer, among other things, physical training and health services to the extended-day groups of children dominated by the adjacent general education school children. The project yielded the following benefits: the attendance rate was increased with the indoor sport facility load factor growing to 58.3%; the serviceability rate was increased to 46.3%; the income ratio grew to 33.8%; and the net profit ratio was increased to 27.0%.

The physical training and sport service quality assessment component is pivotal for any sport asset management efficiency improvement project (1, 8). The service quality rating criteria may include the service benefit and effectiveness rates; service technical quality rates; service flexibility and scheduling rates; service safety, hygienic conditions and microclimate rating criteria; service comfort, ergonomics and aesthetic standards; service personnel friendliness and diligence rates; service cost-efficiency rates; service popularity/ image factors; auxiliary/ support service availability factors; plus a variety of service quality criteria with reference to the service conditions and/ or geographical/ financial/ informational accessibility etc. (1).

The Luzhniki Olympic Complex management, for example, reported the following benefits from the regular service quality assessment and service management efficiency improvement initiatives: improved service information accessibility (φ emp. 2.33 > φ cr.= 2.31); more accessible service pricing information (φ emp. 2.9 > φ cr.); improved training space comfort rates and ergonomics (φ emp. 2.86 > φ cr.); improved sanitary and hygienic standards (φ emp. 2.32 > φ cr.); the integrated PCS service quality rate increased to 0.77; and increased facility attendance rate.

The economic theory of mass service (based on the Queueing Theory by Erlang etc.) may be applied to improve the sport asset management efficiency (by, among other things, annual/ quarter unlimited attendance cards being used) to: (a) adjust the service development and management policies on a timely basis (including the efforts to increase the serviceability of facility; expand individual training services; offer more training stimulators; expand group training ground etc.); (b) avoid overloads of the indoor facilities including swimming pools in peak periods. Good asset management will be designed to prudently harmonise the available service areas with the serviceability rates of the facilities to forecast and avoid undesirable overloads in operation (5).

A variety of modern mathematical tools may be applied to assess the sport asset and resource management efficiency and plan further progress of the services. A regression equation, for instance, may be applied to assess the one-time throughput capacity of the sport facilities versus the total served population (as provided by the statistical reporting form 1-FK for the last decade) as follows: y = 9,894х – 35,945; where у means the served population, million people; and x means the one-time throughput capacity of the sport facilities. Such calculations and models for different regions of Russia may help forecast flows of trainees versus the sport asset development scenarios.

For example, a large-scale sociological study performed on commission of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation was intended to profile the sporting population in regions versus the relevant resource and service assets etc.; and it yielded ratios of the local sport population versus the relevant easily accessible sport assets and the domiciliary sporting activity management services etc. (7).

Conclusion. Further research is needed to advance the quality of the physical culture and sporting services provided in the country to lure more people to the sports; find the best and most efficient mass forms of the public-private partnerships (PPP) for the sector; offer due motivations for the municipal sport asset management and service personnel to improve the service efficiency; and develop the relevant physical training/ health improvement/ sport asset efficiency improvement models to meet the modern standards and requirements.

References

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Corresponding author: helenk@nm.ru

Abstract

The article considers the ways to improve the sport asset management efficiency and makes recommendations on how their services may be analysed and improved. The study was designed to check the assumption that the sport asset management efficiency may be improved by the steps to: diversify the services; optimize the system design; and improve the quality of the physical training and sporting services. Analysis of the reference literature, valid legal and regulatory framework and practical sport asset management experience revealed a contradiction between the growing demand for the sporting services and the still low asset management efficiency. The relevant service improvement potentialities explored herein are the following: actions to diversify the core, supplementary and associating services; optimize the system design; find ways to improve the attendance rates of the municipal sport facilities; rate and improve the service quality of the sport assets; apply the “economic mass service theory” to the service facilities including, among other things, actions to promote annual/ quarterly unlimited service cards; and using the relevant mathematical tools to assess and advance procurements for the sector. Further studies will be designed to improve the service quality; find the best forms of public-private partnerships (PPP); duly motivate the personnel of the municipal sport facilities for the service improvement initiatives; develop the physical training/ health improvement/ sport infrastructure building projects to meet the top modern standards etc.