Acknowledgements
There is probably a reason that this is the last section of a thesis to be written, as
there are so many people that need to be thanked for their contributions to this project.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Joanne MacLean, for her
time, dedication, encouragement, guidance, and constant support of myself as a student as
well as a person. What I have learned from you during this journey has impacted my life
in such a positive way, and I am always grateful for your friendship.
I would also like to thank my committee members – Dr. Laura Cousens and Dr.
Phillip Sullivan – for acting as tremendous resources to me during my thesis. I always
appreciated how willing you were to make time for me, that you shared ideas and
thoughts freely, and that you never hesitated to teach me about the subjects that I did not
know a lot about. A special thank you to Dr. Shannon Kerwin for acting as my external
examiner at my final defense. Your input, recommendations, and insight into this project
were very helpful and appreciated. Thank you to Dr. Kirsty Spence for acting as my
defense chair – it was a pleasure to have you be a part of my final defense.
Thank you to the faculty and staff in the Department of Sport Management at
Brock University for all of the support, coffees, candid conversations on the state of the
world, and everything you taught me along the way. Those life lessons and memories are
what contributed to making me the student I always hoped to become.
Thank you to Dr. Jochen Bocksnick, Dr. Alexis Peters, and Joi Belyk for writing
my letters of reference to get into graduate school a few years ago, and for always
supporting my academic and professional ambitions. I would not have ever pursued this
path if not for your support, guidance and friendship over the past 10 years.
Thank you to my fellow graduate students that shared the SPMA TA office and
graduate lounge over the past couple years. All of the discussions, arguments, early
morning marking parties, late night cocktails, and time spent in that tiny office working
side-by-side, made my time at Brock memorable and meaningful.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of the Community Sport Organizations that
participated in my study. After being involved in community sport as a volunteer coach
and administrator for a number of years myself, I know that the work you do is valuable
and important. You are the reason for my research and without your involvement this
would not have been possible.