Premature athletic disengagement of elite Greek gymnasts

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The methodologies used in the earlier phase of quantitative research carried out on the disengagement from sport (Mihovilovic, 1968; Sands, 1978; Brown, 1983; Greendorfer, 1983; Kleiber & Greendorfer, 1983; Greendorfer & Blinde, 1985) were found to have weaknesses. In this present study it is argued that disengagement from sport can best be examined from a phenomenological perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 elite gymnasts. Gymnastics was chosen since it is a unique sport in that disengagement takes place at a very young age. For the analysis of interviews, the cognitive mapping method (Jones, 1985) was used. The disengagement process is multi-dimensional. There is not a single factor responsible for dropping out. Coaches are, in fact, all too frequently responsible for elite gymnasts giving up their sport. Former athletes also critized heavily: a) the ad-ministrators of the clubs, b) the administrators of the Federation, and c) the judges. Ending a career in the sport might be the outcome of severe physical and mental exhaustion of gymnasts resulting from heavy training at an early age. There are many gymnasts who terminated their careers after injuries that forced them to stay away from training at a crucial age. Athletic failure in gymnastics does not appear to be an important factor for the disengagement process. Disengagement from gymnastics is a source of serious social, psy-chological and medical adjustment problems for former gymnasts. After the end of a competitive career, there is a drastic reduction in social contact between coaches and former gymnasts. The behaviour of administrators towards the gymnasts is negative after the end of a career in the sport. Sports management in Greece is characterized by lack of structure and policy. All former gymnasts interviewed agree that an improvement in the organizational structure of gymnastics in Greece is required. According to gymnasts, the transition out of sport could be facilitated in a number of ways and suggestions are made in this paper. The enforcement of child labour laws in the domain of gymnastics is essential today.