Lifelong Commitment to Sport: Comparing Masters Athletes from Different Disciplines

Janet Starkes – York University, SRG 2006

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2009

The Sport Commitment Model (SCM; Scanlan, 1993, 2003) examines the factors that contribute, either positively or negatively, to sport participation. Although originally developed for youth, the model is beginning to be used with more diverse populations, including high performance athletes and adults. Our project applied this model to masters athletes, a group of older sport participants, to determine the nature of their commitment to their sport and the factors which are most important for their sport engagement. Using data from a variety of sports (marathon running, track & field, golf, bowling, triathlon, & ultra-endurance running), we aim to answer the following questions:

• Does motivation and commitment to sport change across age in adult athletes?
• Are there gender differences in motivation for sport?
• Does motivation for continued participation change in high active (e.g., marathon, triathlon) vs. low active (e.g., golf, bowling) sports?

In previous years we have reported that: (a) sport enjoyment, involvement opportunities,
and personal investment were the top three reasons for participation; (b) functional commitment (wanting to participate) determined sport involvement more than obligatory commitment (needing to participate); (c) functional commitment was slightly higher in older (> 65 years) than younger (40-65 years) athletes; and (d) male athletes were more likely to be motivated by extrinsic rewards, like trophies and prizes, than female athletes.

For this conference, we focused on the third question: namely, does the activity level of the sport affect motivation to participate? We compared the answers from our marathon runners (mean age 52 ± 5 years) with new data from recreational bowlers (mean age 65 ± 9 years). Bowlers showed higher levels of obligatory commitment (having to participate) and social constraints (e.g., pressure from other people) in their sport participation than marathon runners. Marathon runners were more likely to show involvement opportunities (e.g., being with their friends) and personal investment (time, money, effort) than bowlers. These findings could be attributed to the activity level of the sport, or other factors such as training time and
team dynamics.

We also examined what factors predicted functional commitment (R 2 = .76, N = 88)
and obligatory commitment (R 2 = .62, N = 88) in bowlers. Functional commitment was significantly predicted by personal investments and satisfaction, while obligatory commitment
was significantly predicted by involvement alternatives, personal investments, satisfaction, and social constraints.

From these findings it seems especially important for athletes to feel a sense of satisfaction
and personal investment in their sport. Although some questions remained unanswered, these data will provide us with insights on what motivates sport participation in a variety
of disciplines. With attention to these factors, we will be able to design sport programs for older adults that are suited to their needs, and will engage them for life.

2008

The Sport Commitment Model (SCM)(Scanlan, 1993, 2003) has examined those factors that best determine one’s commitment to participate in sport. It has been used extensively in youth sport and to a lesser extent with high performance, professional sport. We have employed this model with older, masters age athletes to determine which factors are most important in keeping them involved in sport and the underlying nature of their commitment. Using questionnaire methods we have obtained results from older runners, throwers, marathon runners; the top 40 masters golfers in the CPGA, and a large group of recreational bowlers. Our research questions are 3 fold:

1. Does one’s motivation and commitment to sport differ from younger athletes and change across age in older athletes?
2. Are there gender differences in what motivates continued participation in older athletes?
3. Are there differences in what motivates continued participation in very active vs. low active sports (for example marathon vs. bowling)?

Our preliminary results show that are many similarities between younger and older athletes. For example, in runners, marathoners, swimmers and throwers: Sport enjoyment, involvement opportunities, and personal investment continue to be the top 3 things that ensure participation. Functional commitment (the desire to continue sport involvement because of volitional “want to” feelings) is high (Ω= 52%) in comparison to Obligatory commitment (wanting to continue in sport because of feeling of obligation or “having to”) (Ω= 33%). Both types of commitment are important, but functional commitment predominates. For example, older runners with social support “wanted” more to continue to run; whereas, for those with little social support there was more a feeling of “having” to continue. This begs the question – what are the sources of social support for older athletes?

For runners and throwers over 65 years, functional commitment appears to be best predicted by enjoyment and personal investment and is slightly higher (Ω= 57%) than for athletes 40 to 65. Obligatory commitment for athletes over 65 years is predicted by enjoyment and social constraints (Ω= 38%).

To date surprisingly few gender differences have emerged. We have found that older female golfers are less likely to evaluate their performance by normative standards (for example club records, trophies) than men. Male golfers over 65 are more motivated by extrinsic rewards such as trophies, setting records, etc. Our research continues and we are just beginning to analyze the data on bowlers and integrate it with the other sports.

Hopefully a better understanding of participation in older athletes can help us design more attractive programs for seniors and foster involvement by a greater number of people. Our work continues, but to date we know that a training climate for older athletes must still promote skill acquisition, offer ample competitive opportunities, and provide high social support from peers and family.

2007
Masters athletes (generally athletes over 35 years) represent a unique population with which to
work. Depending on the sport they participate in, a Masters athlete (MA) may be as young as 25 years old, or as senior as 100+ years. They are individuals who have typically trained
extensively over very long athletic careers and in an aging population can be characterized as
the physical elite. Because of the potential for (MA) to participate for 50+ years in their chosen
sport, they represent a group of physically active elderly who have a lifetime of valuable
experiences, which could provide significant insight into how commitment is maintained over
decades of involvement. In the Sport Commitment Model (Scanlan et al., 1993) greater overall
sport commitment is determined by higher levels of enjoyment, involvement opportunities,
personal investments, social support and less attractive involvement alternatives. Previous
research has shown general support for the sport commitment model among youth, adolescent, and adult sport participants; however it has yet to be tested among older sport participants. The focus of this research is to test and expand the Model of Sport Commitment among MA competing in aerobic sports (i.e., masters running, swimming, triathlon, and ultra-endurance running and triathlon) and non-aerobic sports (i.e., masters bowling and golf). Our first objective is to identify and assess the factors that determine the types of sport commitment in these groups and to determine whether the Sport Commitment Model is applicable to MA from different sports and genders. Second, using self-determination theory we will explore the most important types of intrinsic motivation (i.e., enjoyment) and examine their determinants. A third focus is to add to the existing knowledge on the maintenance of sport expertise by examining the relationship between sport commitment, amount and type of practice, and athletic performance.

SCRI 2007 Presentation Slides

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