The Different Constraints Affecting Student's Decision to Participate in Sport Activities

Most universities will encourage students to participate in their sport and physical recreational activities where they will provide a wide range of sports and recreational opportunities to cater to all levels of participation needs. To do this, they will normally invest a large amount of money in the sport facility.

As for the students, upon knowing the benefits of sports and exercises, it will however, may be difficult for them to begin because of the ‘Constraint factors’ that interfere with their decision making process (Crawford & Godbey, 1987; Jackson, Crawford & Godbey, 1993). By finding out what these ‘Constraint factors’ are, this will help Universities know better about the level of demands so that they will be able to allocate funds optimally and meet student needs.

Aim:

-To investigate the different constraints affecting student's decision to participate in sport activities, as well as their participation level concerning the campus recreational sports programs.

Objective:

-To critically analyzed the influence of perceived constraints on recreational sport participation of Brunei university students studying in Leeds.

-To measure the relationship between constraints dimensions and sport participation and non-participation

-To investigate the relationship between the constraint dimensions and the frequency of sport participation as well as the intention for participation.

Literature Review

Studies gathered around the world have indicated that young people are not as physically active as they need to be to enjoy the positive benefits of physical activity (Duda, 1992; Dwyer, 1992; Fang, 2007; Goudas and Hassandra, 2006; Lutz et al., 2008; Strel and Sila, 2010). Thus, as sport participation appears to be deter...

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...e persons who do not participate in activities as regularly as they would like to. The presence of latent demand in a group of people indicates a prospect for increasing participation rates through appropriate administrative planning (Alexandris & Carroll, 2000).

According to recommendations put forward by Jackson & Scott (1999) research among specific population groups, such as university students, contributes toward investigating constraints more systematically and helping people manage such factors more effectively. Young, Ross, & Barcelona (2003) specify that the perception of constraints differs from person to person; it is related to the type of activity chosen, as well as the circumstances within which the activity is undertaken. This is why investigating constraints should be carried out within the framework of specific activities and population groups.