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The purpose of this study was to explore the motivational factors of triathletes in order to better understand the specific motives that drive participate. The study looked specifically at participants in sprint triathlons, the shortest of the three main triathlon competitions. The researchers utilized a modified version of the Motives of Marathoners Scale (MOMS) (Masters et al., 1993). The new instrument, the Motives of Triathletes Scale (MOTS), was piloted used to assess the motivation for triathlon involvement. Participants (n=164) were from three sprint triathlons in Florida and Texas. Separate factorial ANOVAs were employed to discover motivational differences based on various demographic variables. Results indicated significant differences in motives based on gender, age, competitive orientation, and levels of experience. In addition, an interaction between age and gender indicated that females in their 40s had greater Self-esteem motives than males in their 40s. Potential future research directions are discussed.
USA Triathlon (USAT), the governing body of triathlon in the United States, has seen an explosion in participation rates in the last two decades. From humble beginnings in 1982, USAT now sanctions more than 4,200 and has over 500,000 annual members, making it the largest multi-sport organization in the world (teamusa.org, 2016). It is difficult to say exactly how many individuals compete in triathlon events annually as many triathletes forego these annual membership costs and buy single-day licenses for events. Though most of the growth has come from males (73% of the growth since 2000), a substantial amount of growth has come from female participants. Triathlon Participation, Growth Trends, and Demographics (2013) reported that female participation grew from the roughly 12% of the triathlon participation in 2000 to 27% in 2009. By 2013, female racers made up 37% of all triathletes.
Triathletes undertake tremendous costs to participate in events. One cost to triathletes is the social cost. Training for a triathlon is a serious undertaking that may include months of daily training activities. Like other endurance sports, such as marathon running, it is often difficult to find training partners (Ogles & Masters, 2003). Thus, many triathletes may endure lengthy training sessions in seclusion apart from family and other social agendas (McCarville, 2007; Croft et al., 2007). There is also an economic cost. The equipment needed to compete...