Motivators, Constraints and Benefits of Participation in Sport As Perceived by the Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the different motivators, constraints and general benefits of involvement in sports as perceived by the students. For this purpose, in addition to examining the existing literature for determining the principal motivators and constraints reported by the sport persons, viewpoint of the players was obtained and analyzed. Data from male and female student (N=370), 215 male and 155 female were obtained through a properly developed Likert type scale. The scale, offering 10 possible motivators, 10 possible constraints and 10 benefits associated with participation in sport, was administered to the respondents. Data from the respondents were collected during Gomal university Inter-colleges Sport competition 2014-2015. The data have revealed that to have fun, to be physically fit, to stay in shape, to be with friends, to do something I am good at and popularity were the main motivators for participation in sport and similarly, the main five constraints in the way of participation reported by the respondents include a) financial problem, b) socio-cultural restrictions, c) access to the facilities, d) parental barriers, and e) physiological problems. Promotion of health, fun and entertainment, relieving tension, sociability and wellbeing were reported as the main benefits of participation.

Participation Constraints of University Student-athletes in Selected Sports in Kenya

“…Under the interpersonal constraint, lack of encouragement from friends and family to enable student-athletes to participate more significantly influenced sports participation among university student-athletes which is similar to the findings of a study by Marwat et al (2016). Results also indicated that Tennis/Badminton players were the most constrained, whereas basketballers were the least constrained, as also reported by (Stanek et al, 2015).…”

Religiosity and Female Participation in Sport: Exploring the Perceptions of the Turkish University Students

“…Girls being together with boys for activities like dancing and swimming [34], being physically active during Ramadan [29], and wearing the physical education kit [35] were considered as some of the barriers for girls' participation in the classes. Another study conducted in Pakistan on university students depicted that socio-cultural barriers are one of the main constraints of sport participation which would be more evident among female participants [36].…”