European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science ISSN: 2501 - 1235 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1235 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu doi: 10.5281/zenodo.3840686 Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES Mehdi Duyan1i, İlker Günel2 1Inonu University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Malatya, Turkey 2Uşak University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Uşak, Turkey Abstract: The research was carried out to determine the motivation of sports participation for licensed skiers who have been actively working for at least 3 years within Bitlis, Erzurum, Hakkâri, Muş Youth and Sports Provincial Directorate. In the sample of this descriptive study, a total of 125 athletes between the ages of 11-19 were included. Frequency, percentage, and arithmetic average calculations were made statistically. Besides, according to normality test, since the data did not show normal distribution, the Mann Whitney U test was used for binary comparisons from nonparametric tests, and Kruskal Wallis H variance analysis was used to compare more than two groups. p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The most important sub-dimensions of skating athletes' participation in sports are "Skill Development" (1,17 ± 0,327), "Moving / Being Active" (1,19 ± 0,365), "Physical Fitness" (1,25 ± 0,353), "Competition" (1,26 ± 0,392), "Entertainment" (1,28 ± 0,368), "Success / Status" (1,30 ± 0,356), "Team Membership / Spirit" (1, 32 ± 0.430) and “Friendship” (1,38 ± 0,458) respectively. While there was no significant difference according to gender and age variables, “Team Membership / Spirit”, “Friendship”, “Physical Fitness” and “Entertainment” sub-dimensions were found to be significant differentiation. As a result, it can be said to have an important role for ski athletes to have a sense of togetherness, to evaluate their leisure time, to have a healthy and high moral strength through sport. Keywords: skiing, sport, motivation i Correspondence: email [email protected] Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2020 Open Access Publishing Group 33 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES 1. Introduction The concept of motivation is a concept that is based on self-determination (self-efficacy). In the theory of self-determination, the focus is on the reasons that speed up action in the individual (Terlemez, Şahin and Dilek, 2015). Motivation is an important factor that can determine participation in sports (Qurban et al., 2019), as well as the physical competence of the athlete, psychological competence also plays an important role in achieving success, and the most important of the psychological factors is the motivation of the individual (Yalçın, Turğut, Gacar and Çalık, 2017). The motivation to participate in sports is also one of the main factors that affect individuals' starting sports and sporting success in the process after they start (İlhan and Gencer, 2013). The word motivation is derived from the word "movere", which means "to act" in Latin. Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, directs and maintains targeted behavior. It includes biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate behavior. Motivation is what causes us to act, such as drinking water to quench our thirst or reading books to gain knowledge (Goyal, 2015). In general, motivation is related to purposeful behavior. Because every individual has several requirements that he constantly tries to satisfy his needs. The motivation process begins with these needs in the individual. The individual will tend to certain behavior to meet these needs, and this behavior will be in the direction and purpose of fulfilling the needs of individuals (Şahin, 2004). Therefore, motivation positively affects emotional well-being as a result of the target behaviors that the individual wants to realize due to their wishes or needs (Demir and Cicioğlu, 2018). Individuals can have many different sources of motivation to play sports. These sources of motivation are examined in three basic dimensions: internal, external and non- motivational. While individuals find peace and happiness in participation in sports constitute the source of intrinsic motivation, factors such as reward and punishment constitute external sources of motivation. The individual is affected by the source of lack of motivation when he/she cannot establish a cause and effect relation in participation in sports (Demir and İlhan, 2019). The motivated person turns thought into action, sets its goals and takes action to reach them (Soyer et al., 2010). The clearest examples of extrinsically motivated behaviors are those that are carried out to receive a concrete reward or to avoid a penalty (Deci and Ryan, 2008). Including the elements that make up the self-determination perspective in the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Vallerand (1997) proposes the new motivational series that is stated as "Social Factors → Psychological Mediators → Motivation Types Results". It can be seen that social factors (for example, success/failure, cooperation, coach feedback, etc.) affect athletes' perception of competence, autonomy, and relevance (i.e. psychological mediators) and this determines their motivation. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation then lead to a series of consequences (excitement, athleticism, and persistence in sports). Researches reveal that athletes can be motivated both internally and externally (Vallerand and Losier, 1999). Skiing is divided into alpine and northern discipline according to the areas in which it is performed and the types of deformation. These disciplines differ in their European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 34 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES physiological and physiological aspects, which should be made and possessed by athletes. The more endurance and aerobic power of the sportsmen dealing with skiing in the northern discipline come to the fore. Alpine discipline skiing, on the other hand, is more difficult than many sports in terms of the way it is made, although its anaerobic power is more prominent; Motoric features such as balance, coordination, strength, speed, endurance, and mobility must be performed very well (Kıyıcı, 2006, as cited in Alaeddinoğlu and Kaya, 2012). Therefore, it is clear that coaches will directly affect the technical, tactical, mental, spiritual and social aspects of athletes (Tatlıcı and Kırımoğlu, 2008). It is unpredictably difficult to motivate an athlete and at the same time keep the athlete motivated. Therefore, many factors directly affect the motivation level and success of the athlete. Factors that enable the athlete to succeed include social communication, (family and friends circle) income level, connection with his trainer and teammates (Özgün, Yaşartürk, Ayhan and Bozkuş, 2017). According to the literature review, the motives that determine individuals' tendency to sports as active or passive participants are positive stress, self-esteem, escape economy, entertainment, aesthetics, group environment, and family. Since there are different sources of motivation that affect individuals' orientation to sports, it is clear that different groups of individuals show different interactions and are influenced by different motives (İkizler and Tekin, 2008). However, as a result of the researches, it has been observed that the motivation of athletes who actively participate in physical education and sports programs is low. To encourage children to be more physically active and to adopt a healthy lifestyle, more research is needed to better understand the motivation processes and success behaviors of children. Therefore, more research on motivation in sports and physical activity is a requirement (Gao, Lee and Harrison, 2008). Societies aiming to increase the participation of individuals in sports have to deal with motivation to participate in sports (Tekkurşun, İlhan, Esentürk and Kan, 2018). Therefore, in this research, it was aimed to determine the motivation of sports participation motivations of athletes who are actively interested in ski sports for at least 3 years within Bitlis, Erzurum, Hakkâri and Muş provinces. 2. Method 2.1. Study Group In this study, the data were obtained from 125 athletes between the ages of 11 and 19 who were actively interested in skiing for at least 3 years in the provinces of Bitlis, Erzurum, Hakkâri and Muş. 2.2. Data Collection Tools As a data collection tool in the research; “Sports Participation Motivation Scale”, which was developed by Gill et al. (1983) and whose validity and reliability study was performed by Oyar et al. (2001), was used. The "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researchers was used to collect information about the participants. The scale consists of 30 items and 8 sub-dimensions (Skill development, (3 items), Team Membership / Spirit (4 items), Entertainment (4 items), Friendship (3 items), Success / Status (5 items), European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 35 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES including the reasons for the individual's participation in sports. Physical Fitness / Energy Spending (5 items), Competition (3 items), Movement / Being Active (3 items).The reasons for the students' participation in sports were evaluated on the 3-point Likert type scale as "Unimportant (1), Less Important (2), Very Important (3)". The low scores obtained from the scale indicate that motivation to participate in sports is important, and high scores indicate that it is unimportant (Gill et al, 1983). The scale consists of 30 items and 8 sub-dimensions (Skill development (3 items), Team Membership / Spirit (4 items), Entertainment (4 items), Friendship (3 items), Success / Status (5 items), including the reasons for the individual's participation in sports. Physical Fitness / Energy Spending (5 items), Competition (3 items), Movement / Being Active (3 items).The reasons for the students' participation in sports were evaluated on the 3-point Likert type scale as "Unimportant (1), Less Important (2), Very Important (3)".The low scores obtained from the scale indicate that motivation to participate in sports is important, and high scores indicate that it is unimportant (Gill et al, 1983). 2.3. Data Analysis The reliability analysis of the prepared scale was made. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found at 0.778. Statistically, frequency, percentage, and arithmetic mean calculations were made. Also, according to the normality test, since the data did not show normal distribution, the Mann Whitney U test was used for binary comparisons from nonparametric tests, and Kruskal Wallis H variance analysis was used to compare more than two groups.p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. 3. Findings Table 1: Distribution of ski athletes by gender and age Gender Frequency Percent Male 69 55,2 Female 56 44,8 Total 125 100,0 Gender Frequency Percent 11-13 18 14,4 14-16 63 50,4 17-19 44 35,2 Total 125 100,0 When Table 1 is examined, 69 (55.2%) of the 125 ski athletes participating in the study are men and 56 (44.89% are women). The age distribution of ski athletes varies between 11 and 19 years old. It is seen that the age group with the highest participation in the study was the 14-16 age group (50.4%), and the age group with the lowest participation was the 11-13 age group (14.4%). European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 36 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES Table 2: Average and Standard Deviation Values of Sports Participation Sub-Dimensions of Ski Athletes Sub Dimensions N X̄ SS Order of importance Skill Development 125 1,17 0,327 1 Moving / Being Active 125 1,19 0,365 2 Physical Fitness 125 1,25 0,353 3 Competition 125 1,26 0,392 4 Entertainment 125 1,28 0,368 5 Success / Status 125 1,30 0,356 6 Team Membership Spirit 125 1,32 0,430 7 Friendship 125 1,38 0,458 8 When Table 2 is analyzed, the most important sub-dimensions of ski athletes' participation in sports are "Skill Development" (1,17 ± 0,327), "Moving / Being Active" (1,19 ± 0,365), "Physical Fitness" (1,25 ± 0,353), "Competition" (1,26 ± 0,392), "Entertainment" (1,28 ± 0,368), "Success / Status" (1,30 ± 0,356), "Team Membership / Spirit" (1, 32 ± 0.430) and “Friendship” (1,38 ± 0,458) respectively. Table 3: Statistical Analysis Results of the Difference Between the Sports Participation Motive Scale Sub-Dimension Scores According to the Gender Status of Ski Athletes Subdimensions Gender N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks U Z P Skill Development Male 69 61,27 4227,50 1812,500 -0,759 0,448 Female 56 65,13 3647,50 Team Membership Spirit Male 69 59,32 4093,00 1678,000 -1,348 0,178 Female 56 67,54 3782,00 Entertainment Male 69 66,78 4607,50 1671,500 -1,389 0,165 Female 56 58,35 3267,50 Friendship Male 69 61,77 4262,00 1847,000 -0,449 0,653 Female 56 64,52 3613,00 Success / Status Male 69 62,36 4303,00 1888,000 -0,229 0,819 Female 56 63,79 3572,00 Moving / Being Active Male 69 67,21 4637,50 1641,500 -1,750 0,080 Female 56 57,81 3237,50 Physical Fitness Male 69 59,78 4125,00 1710,000 -1,173 0,241 Female 56 66,96 3750,00 Competition Male 69 63,35 4371,00 1908,000 -0,135 0,892 Female 56 62,57 3504,00 When Table 3 is examined, in order to determine whether ski athletes differ significantly between the sub-dimensions of the motivation scale for sports participation according to the gender variable, Mann Whitney U test was tested, and the sub-dimensions of the motivation scale of the sport were not statistically significant (p>0,05). European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 37 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES Table 4: Statistical Analysis Results of the Difference Between the Sports Participation Motive Scale Sub-Dimension Scores according to the Age Variable of Ski Athletes Subdimensions Gender N Mean Rank df X2 P 11-13 18 56,39 Skill Development 14-16 63 62,41 2 1,697 0,428 17-19 44 66,55 11-13 18 48,33 Team Membership Spirit 14-16 63 62,90 2 4,814 0,090 17-19 44 69,14 11-13 18 60,47 Entertainment 14-16 63 63,56 2 0,120 0,942 17-19 44 63,24 11-13 18 61,53 Friendship 14-16 63 59,90 2 1,526 0,466 17-19 44 68,05 11-13 18 60,58 Success / Status 14-16 63 62,27 2 0,268 0,875 17-19 44 65,03 11-13 18 63,58 Moving / Being Active 14-16 63 64,37 2 0,376 0,829 17-19 44 60,81 11-13 18 62,97 Physical Fitness 14-16 63 60,60 2 0,768 0,681 17-19 44 66,45 11-13 18 58,44 Competition 14-16 63 62,83 2 0,559 0,756 17-19 44 65,10 When Table 4 is examined, the Kruskal Wallis H test was performed to determine whether the ski athletes differed significantly between the sub-dimensions of the motivation scale of sports participation by age variable and there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the sub-dimensions of motivation scale (p>0,05). Table 5: Statistical Analysis Results of the Difference Between the Scale of Sports Participation Motivation Scale of Ski Athletes according to School Level Variable Subdimensions School Level N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks U Z P Secondary school 36 56,39 2030,00 Skill Development 1364,000 -1,660 0,097 High school 89 65,67 5845,00 Secondary school 36 50,76 1827,50 Team Membership Spirit 1161,500 -2,567 0,010* High school 89 67,95 6047,50 Secondary school 36 59,56 2144,00 Entertainment 1478,000 -0,726 0,468 High school 89 64,39 5731,00 Secondary school 36 53,75 1935,00 Friendship 1269,000 -1,934 0,053 High school 89 66,74 5940,00 Secondary school 36 59,01 2124,50 Success / Status 1458,500 -0,819 0,413 High school 89 64,61 5750,50 Secondary school 36 61,40 2210,50 Moving / Being Active 1544,500 -0,380 0,704 High school 89 63,65 5664,50 European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 38 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES Secondary school 36 62,49 2249,50 Physical Fitness 1583,500 -0,107 0,915 High school 89 63,21 5625,50 Secondary school 36 57,19 2059,00 Competition 1393,000 -1,293 0,196 High school 89 65,35 5816,00 When Table 5 is examined, the Mann Whitney U test tested whether ski athletes differ significantly between the sub-dimensions of the motivation scale according to the school level variable, and the sub-dimensions of the motivation scale for participation in sports; team membership/spirit (U= 1161,500; z=-2.567; p= 0,010<0.05) in favor of the sub- dimensions of the high school athletes were determined. As regards the other sub- dimensions of the motivation scale for participation in sport; there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p>0,05). Table 6: Statistical Analysis Results of the Difference Between Skiing Athletes' Scale of Sports Participation Motivation Scale According to the National Athlete Variable National Mean Sum of Subdimensions N U Z P athlete Rank Ranks Yes 11 69,82 768,00 Skill Development 552,000 -0,836 0,403 No 114 62,34 7107,00 Team Membership Yes 11 77,09 848,00 472,000 -1,444 0,149 Spirit No 114 61,64 7027,00 Yes 11 80,77 888,50 Entertainment 431,500 -1,830 0,067 No 114 61,29 6986,50 Yes 11 82,50 907,50 Friendship 412,500 -1,991 0,046* No 114 61,12 6967,50 Yes 11 57,00 627,00 Success / Status 561,000 -0,602 0,547 No 114 63,58 7248,00 Yes 11 66,05 726,50 Moving / Being Active 593,500 -0,354 0,723 No 114 62,71 7148,50 Yes 11 82,95 912,50 Physical Fitness 407,500 -2,036 0,042* No 114 61,07 6962,50 Yes 11 62,36 686,00 Competition 620,000 -,069 0,945 No 114 63,06 7189,00 When Table 6 is examined, the Mann Whitney U test tested whether ski athletes differ significantly between the sub-dimensions of the motivation scale according to the national athlete variable and the sub-dimensions of the motivation scale; friendship (U= 412,500; z=-1.991; p= 0.046<0.05) and Physical Fitness (U=407,500;z=-2.036; p=0.042<0.05) in favor of the sub-dimensions of the national athletes were determined. In relation to the other sub-dimensions of the scale; there was no statistical meaning between the groups. Table 7: Statistical Analysis Results of the Difference Between the Sports Participation Motivation Scale of Skiing Athletes according to Sports Branch Type Sub-Dimension Scores Subdimensions Sports Branch Type N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks U Z P Alp Discipline 64 63,80 4083,00 Skill Development 1901,000 -0,322 0,747 Northern Discipline 61 62,16 3792,00 Team Membership Spirit Alp Discipline 64 65,46 4189,50 1794,500 -0,832 0,406 European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 39 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES Northern Discipline 61 60,42 3685,50 Alp Discipline 64 54,18 3467,50 Entertainment 1387,500 -2,995 0,003* Northern Discipline 61 72,25 4407,50 Alp Discipline 64 61,34 3925,50 Friendship 1845,500 -0,560 0,575 Northern Discipline 61 64,75 3949,50 Alp Discipline 64 62,47 3998,00 Success / Status 1918,000 -0,176 0,860 Northern Discipline 61 63,56 3877,00 Alp Discipline 64 63,21 4045,50 Moving / Being Active 1938,500 -0,081 0,936 Northern Discipline 61 62,78 3829,50 Alp Discipline 64 59,47 3806,00 Physical Fitness 1726,000 -1,188 0,235 Northern Discipline 61 66,70 4069,00 Alp Discipline 64 63,98 4094,50 Competition 1889,500 -0,350 0,726 Northern Discipline 61 61,98 3780,50 When Table 7 is analyzed, whether the ski athletes differed significantly between the sub- dimensions of the sport participation motivation scale according to the sports branch type variable was tested by using the Mann Whitney U test and among the sub dimensions of the sport participation motivation scale; significant differences were found in favor of the northern discipline sports type in the sub-dimension of entertainment (U = 1387,500; z = -2,995; p = 0,003 <0.05). In relation to the other sub-dimensions of the scale; there was no statistical meaning between the groups. 4. Discussion and Conclusion The research was carried out to determine the motivation of licensed ski athletes who have been actively operating for at least 3 years within the body of Bitlis, Erzurum, Hakkâri, Muş Youth and Sports Provincial Directorate in terms of different variables.The most important sub-dimensions of ski athletes' participation in sports are “Skill Development” (1,17 ± 0,327), “Moving / Being Active” (1,19 ± 0,365), “Physical Fitness” (1,25 ± 0,353), “Competition” (1,26 ± 0,392), "Entertainment" (1,28 ± 0,368), "Success / Status" (1,30 ± 0,356), "Team Membership / Spirit" (1,32 ± 0,430) respectively. At the end of the motivational factor of participation in sports, it was found that the sub-dimension of “Friendship” (1.38 ± 0.45) was included. In this sense, it can be said that the research group's “skill development” and “acting / being active" sub-dimension of the sports they play in the most important order arises from the need of participants to act to discharge their energy and to improve their skills in their own sports branches.Thus, participants are often influenced by the drive to demonstrate physical skill, achieve the best individual result, or win an organized competition (Tekin et al., 2017). Our research result is similar to the findings of many studies in the literature. Şirin et al. (2008) tried to determine the factors affecting the motivation of sportsmen students attending the high school, as a result of the research, the most important factor in their motivation to participate in sports is “skill development” (1.17 ± 0.28) and the least important factor is the average score is the “friendship” (1.40 ± 0.39) subscale. According to the results of the study by Arslan and Altay (2009), in which the drive motives of male students in the primary schools in the central districts of Ankara were examined, the most important reasons for European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 40 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES participation in sports in all sports branches were identified as "Skill Development" and "Competition". In a study on tennis athletes, Kaman et al. (2017) found that the most important motivational factor in sports participation was “skill development”. Altıntaş et al. (2010) investigated the motivation motives of young football players, and the participation motive sub-dimension they deemed the most important was determined as skill development. When it was evaluated in terms of gender and age variable in the sports participation motivations of the research group, it was determined that there was no difference between the sports athletes' motivation in terms of all sub-dimensions. There are studies to support the results of our study in terms of gender and age variable. In the doctoral thesis of Karaç (2017), it was found that there was no significant difference between all sub-dimensions of the participation motivation scale of athletes according to the gender variable. As a result of a study in which Tekkurşun Demir, and İlhan (2019) examined the motivation of participation in sports for visually impaired athletes, no significant difference was found in the sub-dimensions of the motivation to participate in sports in terms of gender. As a result of a study conducted Polat, Hazar ve Eker (2018) on sports high school students and sports center members, it was determined that there was no significant difference in the motivation of participation in sports in terms of gender. Polat, Doğan and Mutlu (2018) showed that there was no significant difference between the motivation scale sub-dimensions of sports according to gender and age variable as a result of the study examining the motivation of participation of sports university students. As a result of the study in which Hazar et al. (2018) examined the motivation of high school students to participate in sports, there was no statistically significant difference in all sub-dimensions of the scale in terms of gender and age variable. Temel (2018) found that as a result of the research that examines the motivation of table tennis and wushu athletes in university teams, no significant difference was found between gender and age variables. This similarity can be said to be made by female and male ski athletes in the research group with close sources of motivation (İlhan and Gencer, 2013; Van Heerden, 2014; Polat, Hazar and Eker, 2018). However, some studies suggest findings opposite to these results. Afsanepurak et al. (2012) found that there was a significant difference between men and women as a result of a study in which they examined their motivation to participate in sports. Şirin et al. (2008) found a significant difference according to gender variable in their motivation to participate in sports as a result of their research on athletes who were trained in high school. Yıldırım (2017) found that there is a significant difference in terms of gender variable as a result of the study in which the athletes struggling in the university teams examined their motivation to participate in sports. Üstün and Kalkavan (2013) found that there was a significant difference in terms of gender variable as a result of the study in which the students of School of Physical Education and Sports examined the motivating factors of participating in recreational activities. As a result of the research examining the motivation of middle school students participating in support and training courses in Bingöl's (2017) master's thesis, it does not show parallelism with our study in terms of gender and age variable, but it is parallel with our study as it is determined that there are significant differences in European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 41 Mehdi Duyan, İlker Günel DETERMINING THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION MOTIVATIONS OF SKI ATHLETES terms of sport type and branch variable. Holden et al. (2017) found that there was a significant difference in the sub-dimensions of motivation to participate in sports in the study in which male and female college athletes who played in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, volleyball, tennis, athletics and volleyball teams examined their motivation to participate in sports. Regular physical activities are important for child development.When studies in this field are examined, it is stated that there are differences between children who regularly participate in physical activities and children who do not.These regular physical activities contribute to the development of children in terms of physical, physiological, psychological, sociological and motoric features (Koç and Tekin, 2011). At the same time, long-term and regular movement training programs improve the physical fitness features of 10-12-year-old children positively (Saygın et al., 2005). It is a more positive use of the motivating factor in increasing the total physical activity time (Genç et al., 2011), which will directly affect the general physical, emotional and social development of the individual (Er et al., 2014). Gould (1982) stated that researches with motivation to participate in sports will be useful in preparing programs for coaches and managers, and in this way, coaches can meet the needs of individuals participating in the activities more easily and will have a positive effect on the psychological and motor development of individuals whose needs are determined and directed towards the activity in this direction (Yıldırım, 2017). As a result, a significant differentiation in the sub-dimensions of "Team Membership/Spirit", "Friendship", "Physical Fitness" and "Entertainment" can be said to have an important role for ski athletes to have a sense of togetherness, to evaluate their leisure time, to have a healthy and high moral strength through sport. In order to reduce physiological (obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, etc.) and psychological (stress, anxiety, depression, etc.), benefits can be developed by local governments to encourage individuals' participation in sports. As the data obtained as a limitation of this study was collected only from athletes actively interested in skiing in Eastern Anatolia (Bitlis, Erzurum, Hakkâri, and Muş) Region, it can be suggested that the study can expand the scope of the research with a larger sample group by conducting researches in groups similar to this group. About the Author Dr. Mehdi Duyan is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Inonu University, Turkey. His research area is sports management. Dr. İlker Günel is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Uşak University, Turkey. His research area is sports management. References Afsanepurak, S. A., Seyed, H., Rasool, N., Seyfari, M. K., and Fathi, H. (2012). Analysis of motivation for participation in sport for all. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, 3(4), 790-795. European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 6 │ Issue 4 │ 2020 42