A Psychological Study of Serious Leisure Experience for Bobsled Participants in South Korea

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiential characteristics of serious leisure by analyzing bobsled participants' motivation and activity experience. In this study, data were collected and analyzed through in-depth interviews with participants (4 people) who participated in bobsled as a serious leisure. For the data analysis, the transcription was performed based on the in-depth interview recording file, and the meaning of each word was analyzed by dividing the observation log into paragraphs, sentences, and words in order. The contents and results of the study are as follows. The motivations of the bobsled participants were diverse, including athlete support, curiosity, personal romance, and catharsis. The experiential characteristics of the bobsled participants were: First, they continued to participate because bobsled was attractive due to its unique differences as compared to the other sports. Second, they were experiencing physical stress and trauma such as injury, fear of injury and rehabilitation, and mental stress such as trauma experienced when the sled overturned. Third, the time record of the game was a tool that provided strong feedback to the participants. Fourth, the bobsled participants had a particularly high interest in the record of the start section and were making efforts to acquire specialized skills and knowledge to improve the record. In addition, they acquired information and knowledge related to the sport through long-term experience and continuous effort and were satisfied with their appearance.