Abstract

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate serious leisure characteristics as personal traits while examining amateur athletes’ leisure pursuits associated with a specific place where they enjoy their leisure time and to examine which characteristics of serious leisure enhance or reduce the person-place relationship for rural amateur athletes. Data were obtained from on-site and self-report surveys given to amateur softball players enrolled in the community-based adult programs of the City of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was employed to investigate the interrelationship between six qualities of serious leisure and three dimensions of place attachment. The result showed that amateur athletes’ systematic pursuit has significant correlation with the place where they enjoy their chosen leisure activity, and all the serious leisure characteristics of softball players positively enhance the person-place relationship. The strong identification and unique ethos of serious leisure are two of the strongest indicators reflecting the softball players’ seriousness of their leisure pursuit, and social bonding is the most important element facilitating softball players’ attachment to the field.

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Apr 1st, 12:00 AM

Serious Leisure and Place Attachment: A Case Study of Amateur Athletes in Rural Oklahoma

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate serious leisure characteristics as personal traits while examining amateur athletes’ leisure pursuits associated with a specific place where they enjoy their leisure time and to examine which characteristics of serious leisure enhance or reduce the person-place relationship for rural amateur athletes. Data were obtained from on-site and self-report surveys given to amateur softball players enrolled in the community-based adult programs of the City of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was employed to investigate the interrelationship between six qualities of serious leisure and three dimensions of place attachment. The result showed that amateur athletes’ systematic pursuit has significant correlation with the place where they enjoy their chosen leisure activity, and all the serious leisure characteristics of softball players positively enhance the person-place relationship. The strong identification and unique ethos of serious leisure are two of the strongest indicators reflecting the softball players’ seriousness of their leisure pursuit, and social bonding is the most important element facilitating softball players’ attachment to the field.