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Current research on ageing and physical activity largely centres on low-intensity, function-oriented programmes, overlooking the potential of high-challenge sport as a form of ‘existential work’ in later life. This study examines how older novices in a structured non-motorised competitive sailing programme transition from motivational regulation to existential meaning. Using a relativist ontology and a social constructionist epistemology, we conducted in-depth interviews with eight novices (aged 60–65) who completed a six-month regatta-focused training regimen and analysed the data through reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes emerged. First, embodied shift: carnal resistance – pain, bruising and seasickness – was reframed as evidence of agency, countering decline narratives. Second, competition as an existential boundary: the uncontrollable sailing environment was narrated as bringing participants to confront finitude. Third, ontological reframing through active surrender: older novices rewrote their self-narratives from passive tourists to agentic competitors, reframing their remaining years into a grand-tour-like voyage. Overall, motivation oriented action, whereas meaning was negotiated through participants’ interpretations of embodied and environmental limits. Under favourable conditions, purposeful striving sustained engagement; under adverse conditions, participants moved beyond purpose, opening up the possibility for a shift towards existential being. These flexible responses illustrate how high-challenge sport can help older novices reimagine ageing as a field of existential possibility rather than mere functional maintenance.
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