Nancy Hritz, Ph.D. University of North Carolina Wilmington William D. Ramos Indiana University – Bloomington SETTRA Spring meeting April 1, 2008 Motivations of Sport Tourists: A study of Masters Swimmers at a Short Course Championship Event

Sport tourism motivation intrinsic Sport tourism motivation intrinsic Active vs. non active sport tourist Active vs. non active sport tourist (Gibson, 1988) Past involvement in a sport may influence Past involvement in a sport may influence their participation (McGehee et. al., 2003) Adult active sport tourist different Adult active sport tourist different than youth (Gill et. al., 1996) Introduction ~

United States Masters Swimming ~ Adult only swim organization Adult only swim organization National Short Course Championships National Short Course Championships annual event Qualify to compete Qualify to compete

Need for the study ~ Understand the motivations to be at the Understand the motivations to be at the event (compete or to travel?) Motivations vary across the adult life Motivations vary across the adult life span (Elby and Molnar, 1991) Aid event planners in increasing Aid event planners in increasing numbers and destination selection Lack of research on the adult sport Lack of research on the adult sport (swim) tourist

Research questions ~ 1)What is the profile of the USMS Short Course participant? 2)What is the relationship between age, past involvement in swimming events and travel and competition motivators?

Survey development ~ Demographic questions Travel Career Ladder: stimulation, escape, novelty (Pearce, 1991) Participation motivation questionnaire (PMQ): social development, win, fitness (Gill, et. al., 1983)

Method Pilot Pilot Paper and pencil survey at the 2006 Paper and pencil survey at the 2006 championships held in Coral Springs, FL, May Convenience sample Convenience sample

Participant profile: 394 usable surveys were returned 394 usable surveys were returned Ages: 35 to 54 Ages: 35 to 54 Caucasian Caucasian Bachelors degree Bachelors degree Number of swim meets: 3-6 Number of swim meets: 3-6 Swim team experience: high school Swim team experience: high school Residence: 38 different states, Residence: 38 different states, Bahamas, and international locations

Travel and Competition motivations ~ Descriptively…. Compete for fitness statements Compete for fitness statements rated as most important Followed by compete in order to Followed by compete in order towin Travel motivation statements Travel motivation statements rated only as only of medium importance

Data analysis ~ Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) Principal axis factoring with Varimax Principal axis factoring with Varimaxrotation Five factor solution accounting for Five factor solution accounting for 61.6% of variability: Travel for escape, stimulation, compete Travel for escape, stimulation, compete for social development, fitness, to win

Regression models ~ Independent variables Model 1:DV = Motivation to travel Adjusted R-Square =.121 F = p =.000 a Model statistics:ßtp Number of competitions Years registered with USMS Competing age group Competition for social development a Competition to win b Competition for fitness a Significant at the.001 level b Significant at the.05 level

Regression models ~ Model 2:DV = Motivation to compete Adjusted R-Square =.140 F = p =.000 a Model statistics:ßtp Number of competitions Years registered with USMS Competing age group Travel for stimulation a Travel for escape b a Significant at the.001 level b Significant at the.05 level

Conclusions ~ Relationship between the motivations to compete and to travel Greater emphasis on competition motivations Travel history did not appear to play a significant role

Future research ~ Survey non participants Alternative travel motivation approach Other events/sports

Thank you for your time. Questions?