Abstract
BackgroundThe Sport Commitment Model is widely used to understand the motivation and commitment of athletes to continue playing sports. However, the factors influencing athletes’ commitment to racquet sports have not received much research attention, especially in Malaysia.PurposeThis study aims to use the Sport Commitment Questionnaire-2 (SCQ-2) to examine Malaysian athletes’ commitment to racquet sports.MethodsA total of 612 athletes (367 males/245 females, μ age= 30.32 ± 11.56) completed the SCQ-2, which measures seven factors and two dimensions of sport commitment.ResultsThe results revealed that sport enjoyment was the main factor contributing to the athletes’ commitment in all sports. Two-way ANOVA analyses showed significant differences in athletes’ enthusiastic commitment [F(3,604) = 44.92, P = 0.00] and constrained commitment [F(3,604) = 15.32, P = 0.00] across four sports. There were also significant differences in both enthusiastic commitment [F(3,604) = 7.53, P = 0.00] and constraint commitment [F(3,604) = 18.82, P = 0.00] across age groups.ConclusionEnjoyment is the main factor in sport commitment. Tennis athletes possess the highest level of enthusiastic commitment across all the racquet sports. Moreover, male athletes showed higher levels of enthusiastic commitment than female athletes.
Highlights
Sports commitment is defined as the willingness to remain active in sports activities [1]
Enjoyment is the main factor in sport commitment
Tennis athletes possess the highest level of enthusiastic commitment across all the racquet sports
Summary
Sports commitment is defined as the willingness to remain active in sports activities [1]. One of the most popular models in understanding athletes’ desire to continue participating in sports is the Sport Commitment Model (SCM) developed by Scanlan et al [1]. Carpenter and Scanlan [2] reported that enjoyment was the main predictor of sport commitment among 103 US soccer players. Weiss et al [3] reported a similar result in that enjoyment was the primary predictor of sport commitment among 198 US junior tennis athletes. In another study on adult US tennis players, Casper et al [5] revealed that enjoyment and personal investment were the most influential predictors of sport commitment. In 2008, Casper and Stellino [6] evaluated 537 US recreational tennis athletes and found that enjoyment was the strongest predictor of sport commitment. The factors influencing athletes’ commitment to racquet sports have not received much research attention, especially in Malaysia.
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