The Motives Young Malaysians Assign for Participating in Tennis

Abstract

One of the most important issues confronting sport psychologists is to understand the motives that young people assign for participating in sports (Gill, 2000). However, most of the existing research has concentrated on motives for participation in sport in general (Gill, 2000), rather than in specific sports (Kolt & Capaldi, 2001). The present research attempts to help fill the gap in knowledge regarding motives for specific sports, by investigating the motives that young Malaysians gave for participating in the sports of tennis. The aims of the present study were twofold: first, to investigate the main reasons that young Malaysians assign for their participation in tennis; and second, to investigate the influence of demographic variables such as gender, age and level of competition on the motives. The sample comprised of 300 young Malaysian tennis players who were selected by means of convenience sampling. A modified version of Gill, Gross and Huddleston's (1983) Participation Motives Questionnaire (PMQ) was used as the research instrument, and each participant completed the PMQ questionnaire. The data collected was collated and statistically analysed using SPSS. Principal component analysis of the data revealed seven motives for taking part in tennis: a) Achievement & Status, b) Skills & Fitness, c) Challenge, Fun & Exercise, d) Teamwork, e) Travel & Tension Release, f) Action & Excitement, and g) Affiliation. Overall, the results also showed the influence of such demographic variables as gender, age and the level of competition on motives for participating in tennis. The implications of the results as they relate to the strategies needed to encourage young Malaysians to participate in tennis are discussed, and suggestions are offered for future research.