From canter to cantor: Negotiating constraints, and the perceptions of elitism in serious leisure pursuits : The experiences of a high performing athlete and artist
type: CreativeWork
description: Everyone experiences leisure differently but, for people who excel in a chosen field, a hobby can become a serious goal-oriented leisure pursuit. Many talented people, however, fail to reach their leisure goals due to constraints. This study explored individual life experiences of serious leisure participants. It focused on the lived experiences of individual event [horse] riders and opera singers who successfully negotiated their constraints, enabling them to reach their high performance goals. The purpose of this study was to explore positive personal strategies that individuals used to negotiate constraints in serious leisure. This was done by exploring intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural leisure constraints using an individual’s life experiences. During the process of this study, elitism in the leisure pursuits of event riding and opera singing, and the perceptions about individuals who participate in these activities, were also explored. A multidisciplinary approach was used in this study using a two stage mixed research methodology. The first stage explored the lived experiences of two individuals through a series of in-depth case study interviews, followed by interviews with their parents and coaches. Focus groups followed to establish if a wider group of participants within the same leisure pursuits experienced similar findings. The second stage of the study used a quantitative method, which consisted of a broader national survey. The survey data validated the qualitative findings and strengthened study outcomes. The findings of this study related to the opportunity-seeking skills an individual develops throughout their leisure life. These opportunity-seeking skills were linked to the likes, needs and wants an individual must have to reach a high performance level. It also found four principal ‘C Factors’ important to individual decision-making processes: conditioning, change, choice and control. Research findings revealed that early support and enco…
abstract: Everyone experiences leisure differently but, for people who excel in a chosen field, a hobby can become a serious goal-oriented leisure pursuit. Many talented people, however, fail to reach their leisure goals due to constraints. This study explored individual life experiences of serious leisure participants. It focused on the lived experiences of individual event [horse] riders and opera singers who successfully negotiated their constraints, enabling them to reach their high performance goals. The purpose of this study was to explore positive personal strategies that individuals used to negotiate constraints in serious leisure. This was done by exploring intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural leisure constraints using an individual’s life experiences. During the process of this study, elitism in the leisure pursuits of event riding and opera singing, and the perceptions about individuals who participate in these activities, were also explored. A multidisciplinary approach was used in this study using a two stage mixed research methodology. The first stage explored the lived experiences of two individuals through a series of in-depth case study interviews, followed by interviews with their parents and coaches. Focus groups followed to establish if a wider group of participants within the same leisure pursuits experienced similar findings. The second stage of the study used a quantitative method, which consisted of a broader national survey. The survey data validated the qualitative findings and strengthened study outcomes. The findings of this study related to the opportunity-seeking skills an individual develops throughout their leisure life. These opportunity-seeking skills were linked to the likes, needs and wants an individual must have to reach a high performance level. It also found four principal ‘C Factors’ important to individual decision-making processes: conditioning, change, choice and control. Research findings revealed that early support and enco…
author: O'Neill, Lorraine
keywords: recreation, leisure, psychological, women, singers, show riders, Australia, Leisure Studies, Recreation Business
date published: 2010-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-27T19:23:00Z
provider: Edith Cowan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia