A Comparison of Developmental Activities of Elite Athletes Born in Large and Small Cities
Keywords:
Talent Development, Sport Expertise, Athlete DevelopmentAbstract
The purpose of this study was to compare organized and non-organized sport activities of 41 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) athletes from different birthplace sizes (n small city=18; n large city=23). A retrospective semi-structured interview was used to collect developmental sport activities of athletes. Results revealed that athletes born in small cities participated in significantly more non-organized sport activities and significantly less organized sport activities than athletes from large cities. No significant differences were found between the athletes when comparing total number of sport hours. Findings from this study provide evidence that varying developmental activities can lead to elite athlete development.
Cette étude visait à comparer les activités sportives organisées et non organisées auxquelles s'adonnaient 41 athlètes de Sport interuniversitaire canadien (SIC) selon la taille de leur lieu de naissance (n petite ville = 18; n grande ville = 23). Des entrevues rétrospectives semi-dirigées ont été réalisées avec les athlètes pour recueillir des données sur leurs activités de développement. Les résultats ont révélé que les athlètes issus de petites villes s'adonnaient nettement plus à des sports non organisés et nettement moins à des sports organisés que leurs homologues des grandes villes. Par contre, on n'a constaté aucun écart significatif d'un groupe à l'autre quant au nombre total d'heures consacrées au sport. Les résultats de l'étude révèlent que le développement initial des athlètes élite peut être associé à divers types d'activités sportives.
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