Points of Leverage: Maximizing Host Community Benefit from a Regional Surfing Festival

This research investigates the potential for sport event leverage in the context of a relatively small surfing festival in regional Australia. Chalip’s (2004) model for sport event leverage underpinned the study. Event leveraging is a recent phenomenon, with empirical research sparse and limited to mega and hallmark events in large cities. This study develops our understanding of event leverage in a smaller, more regional context. Data came from participant observation, interviews with key stakeholders and documentary evidence. The study reveals the centrality of sport subculture to both immediate and longer-term event leverage. By demonstrating the potential for leverage from a small event in a regional centre, the findings lend empirical weight to Chalip’s (2004) theoretical model and suggest the model may be more generally applicable than previously thought. Implications for triple bottom line leverage and sustainability in the sport event context are also drawn.