Critical Factors Identified to Manage and Maintain Diverse Partnerships for CrossFit Programs Serving Underserved Youth: Promoting Health and Physical Activity

Presented at the International Sociology of Sport Association Annual Conference

Harris and Houlihan (2014) recently called attention to a distinct lack of literature that explicitly addresses the management and evaluation of community-based programs that seek to promote health through sport and physical activity. There is a dearth of literature that provides sports management academics with working examples of how community-based partnerships can be created and sustained for the successful delivery of such programs. This presentation seeks to address both concerns by articulating the applicability of Parent and Harvey's Partnership Model (2009) to the development of a CrossFit program for underserved, at-risk youth in southeast Georgia. By discussing the antecedents, management and evaluation of the program, the authors are able to present a report of a sport and physical activity for health promotion program in situ. The authors demonstrate that, for this particular program, critical factors for success can be reduced to 1) Exposing partners to the underserved / at-risk youth community; 2) Educating partners in order to align purpose, goals and expectations from the program; and 3) Effective management of diverse local partnership relationships. This presentation discusses the opportunities and challenges presented, and concludes with a recommendation for the use of realist research to better understand the complexities of community based partnership programs.