The effects of age, gender and level of experience on motivation to sea kayak

Abstract

Although motivation to participate in outdoor leisure activities has been the frequent focus of research, there are no studies that examine motivation to sea kayak. The purposes of this study were two-fold: (1) to examine the differences in motivation to sea kayak based on the interaction of age and gender, and (2) to examine differences between paddlers of different levels of experience. Participants included 176 paddlers recruited from four sea kayak symposia. Participants were asked to complete an 84-item version of the Recreation Experience Preference (REP) scales as well as to provide demographic information. Data were analysed using a series of analysis of variance tests. Results indicated that men of various age groups were motivated differently by temperature. Additionally, men were more motivated than women to sea kayak by using equipment, taking risks and teaching/leading others, while women were more motivated than men by creativity and enjoying nature. In terms of age differences, younger sea kayakers were more motivated by achievement/stimulation and escaping personal/social pressures than their counterparts in older age groups. More experienced sea kayakers were significantly more motivated by nostalgia and escaping family than were less experienced paddlers. These results may be of interest to outdoor recreation organizations providing sea kayak experiences as they shed initial light on why different groups of people are motivated to sea kayak. Programme delivery, marketing, and instructional techniques may be modified based on these findings.

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