Sport Facilities III

245

From the editors Journal of Sport Management, 2008, 22, 245-246 © 2008 Human Kinetics, Inc.

Thibault and Wolfe are with the Dept. of Sport Management, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1 Canada.

The Journal of Sport Management: Making Progress

Lucie Thibault and Richard Wolfe Brock University

In the course of its 21-year history, the Journal of Sport Management has undergone a number of important changes. As part of these changes, the journal has seen a number of increases in its frequency of publication. In 1992, the journal went from being published twice a year to three times a year, and in 1996, the number of issues increased to four a year. The year 2008 marks yet another increase in the number of issues—to six a year. From Volume 22 on, the Journal of Sport Management will be published in January, March, May, July, September, and November.

This change occurred for several reasons: We have seen a substantial increase in the number of submissions to the Journal. Although our editorial policy has not changed along with the increase in the number of submissions (we remain com- mitted to publishing the highest quality sport management research), the number of accepted manuscripts has increased as well. Submissions to the Journal have also been increasing in length, particularly in the case of studies using qualita- tive methods. As a result, the Journal has experienced a substantial increase in its backlog of accepted manuscripts. Although Human Kinetics, our publisher, has agreed to a steady increase in the number of pages per issue, the backlog has continued to grow, resulting in authors waiting considerable time to have their research published.

As a result of the backlog, we felt we were doing a disservice to our contributors and to our readership. Our contributors were not getting their research published in a timely fashion, and our readers were not provided with access to very important current research. We are confident that moving to six issues per year will result in the Journal meeting the high expectations of the sport management scholarly community.

We have made some scheduling changes concerning regular features of the journal (Book Reviews, Sport Management Digest, and Management Memos) as we have moved from four to six issues per year. Management Memos will appear in every issue, while the Book Reviews and Sport Management Digest sections will appear in issues 1, 3, and 5.

We will continue to work closely with Human Kinetics and our editorial board to ensure excellence in sport management research. In collaboration with Human

246 Thibault and Wolfe

Kinetics, we are currently working on an initiative to ensure that subscribers to the journal have advanced online access to manuscripts that have been accepted for publication. This will provide visibility and access to the most current research resulting in benefits for authors and JSM subscribers alike.

Please see the back matter of this issue for the latest Submission Guidelines. In addition to submission guidelines, you will find the most current descriptions of the areas JSM covers as well as the types of articles we publish. We thank you for your support of the Journal and look forward to seeing your submissions in the near future.