To Travel or to Compete? Motivations of Masters Swimmers

The underlying motivations behind participating in sports event such as a swim meet are complex and varied especially for adult participants. These motivations may be related to the thrill of the competition, or the excitement of traveling to a new pool or aquatic facility. Investigation of motivations behind participation can enable aquatic facility managers to create memorable experiences that boost participation and encourage repeat visitors that have social and economic benefits for the aquatic facility and event. We motivations of Masters swimmers using the Participant Motivation Questionnaire (PMQ) modified for swimmers and the Travel Career Ladder (TCL) at the 2006 USMS Short Course Championships. Descriptive and multivariate statistics revealed that Masters swimmers participated primarily for competitive reasons with travel only as a secondary motivator. Participating to be with other members of their team was revealed as another important motivation