A multi-faceted assessment of sports motivation in relation to training effectiveness in progressive recreational skiers.

Introduction. Motivation and its typology have been researched by sport psychologists worldwide. Aim of Study. The study aimed to examine correlations between sources of motivation and training effectiveness in progressive recreational skiers. Material and Methods. Achievement motivation, consisting of task motivation and ego motivation, was examined using the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ). The sources of motivation were assessed with the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS). The study sample comprised 198 subjects oriented to improve their skiing skills. The sample included 138 men and 60 women at the mean age of 21 years. Results. The main source of skiers' motivation was found to be intrinsic motivation although both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations displayed positive correlations with skiers' training effectiveness. Achievement motivation in skiers was mostly conditioned by their task motivation rather than ego motivation, regardless of gender. Different dimensions of motivation appeared to be significant fac- tors influencing skiing effectiveness. Conclusions. Coach-athlete or teacher-student communication would be more effective, if coaches or teachers could relate to their athletes or students in accordance with the characteristic types of motivation to enhance their commitment to the taught subject or sport and to strengthen their satis- faction of performance despite demotivating failures.