| Description |
Approximately 7.7 million athletes participate in the sport of skateboarding. Skateboarding is one of a collection of sports that are often termed lifestyle, action, or alternative sports. By definition, lifestyle sports are sports in which athletes form exclusive social identities with the culture of the activity. The culture of the lifestyle sport of skateboarding is heavily influenced by music and art. Lifestyle sport athletes also prefer a sport structure that is participant-controlled as opposed to a structure organized and controlled by parents, coaches, and other authority figures. The Sport Commitment Model describes commitment as being theoretically predicted by enjoyment, personal investments, involvement opportunities, involvement alternatives, social constraints, and social support. The purpose of this study was to examine the theoretical determinants of commitment in a skateboard population. Additionally, atheoretical determinants (art, music, and sport structure) were examined as possible predictors of commitment unique to lifestyle sports. Skateboarders (n=68) were recruited at skate parks, a skateboard showcase, and by flyers posted at the university and local skate shops. Participants completed a modified and adapted Athletes' Opinion Survey designed to measure commitment and the determinants of commitment. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regressions. Enjoyment (β= .51) was the strongest predictor of commitment in the regression model. Secondly, social support (β=.23), personal investment (β=.31), and involvement opportunities (β=.29) significantly predicted commitment. Involvement alternatives emerged as a negative predictor of commitment (β= -.16). The constructs of art, music, and sport structure failed to significantly predict commitment. The findings from the regression analysis support prior research indicating enjoyment as the most influential predictor of commitment. The strength and direction of the additional determinants of commitment also support the theoretical model. These findings suggest that in order to foster commitment among skateboarders optimizing enjoyment, personal investments, social support, and involvement opportunities are key. |
