The aim of this final thesis is to analyze the potential of construction of a multi-purpose sports facility focused on extreme sports named Freestyle Kolbenka. The work is divided into two main parts, theoretical part and practical part. The theoretical part defines basic concepts such as business and enterprise. Further it focuses on a business plan, its components and the specifics of the sports business environment. The practical part contains a description of this business opportunity and the analysis of the factors affecting its future development, including the financial plan. The outcome of this paper is the evaluation of researched variables and future prospects of the project.

Since mindless actions of the South African society persist in the form of environmentally degrading behaviour, the sustainability of healthy eco-systems is constantly threatened. Practical ways of acquiring environmental literacy is necessary to develop environmental responsible behaviour of citizens. Theory-based research on nature-based extreme sports participation rarely acknowledges its positive transformative value on society. This neglect roots, in part, from naïve or novice misconceptions that motives for participation are primarily risk-focused in pursuit of an adrenaline rush. Thrill-seeking theories often make anthropocentric assumptions of a rivalry human-nature relationship to showcase individual prowess. As a result, “extreme” is naïvely associated with “out-of-control” or “reckless” actions. Phenomenological traditions from Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty navigate a hermeneutical understanding of a bodily-being-towards-death in such high-risk sports activities. This interpretative phenomenological analytical study considers the lived experiences of 10 expert South African nature-based extreme sports participants who take calculate risks. Their first-hand narrations provide evidence, which derails the naïve stigma and identify voluntary high risk-taking as a by-product of participation. For some, the extensive period of time spent in the wilderness, where their survival depends on the collaboration with natural elements enable a realization that humanity is part of a larger functioning network. Findings from semi-structured interviews present an eco-centric outlook on the facilitative role of participation, in eco-sensitivity. Flow and mindfulness are recognised as contributing factors in the display of pro-environmental behaviour of nature-based extreme sports participants. How participation encourages an intimate bond with and sensitivity of nature, which permits a setting for extraordinary physical and psychological changes, is explored. From this study, eco-centric management principles can be discovered and its educational principles incorporated within schools and sport organizations to become more ecologically sensitive and just. / Dissertstion (MA (Human Movement Science))--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / MA (Human Movement Science) / Unrestricted

Background: Extreme sports are a men-dominated area within sports as most male participants seem to have a lower perception of risk. Over time many motives for doing extreme sports were found. However, the relationship between extreme sports and self-extension was never researched. Purpose: First, this study investigates the relationship between extreme sports and self-extension in women. The focus is specifically on women as no research has been solemnly done on only this gender yet. Second, this study investigates how businesses in the extreme sports industry can improve their communication to reach more women to increase sales. Method: For this study, the qualitative method of semi-structured interviews was considered as most appropriate. The interviews were conducted with 14 participants in total, divided into two groups of 7 participants each. The first group consisted of women in extreme sports and the second group consisted of women not in extreme sports. Conclusion: The analysis shows a crucial connection between extreme sports and self-extension in women and is not only a motive for women to do extreme sports but also an effect resulting from it. Also, other motives were found in this study next to attitudes, requirements, and effects concerning extreme sports. They are all summarized in a new conceptual framework. Furthermore, improvements in communications are mentioned that help companies to better target more women and therefore increase sales based on the developed framework.

The turn of the millennium has heralded an explosion in the popularity of adventure sports often also referred to as alternative lifestyle sports or extreme sports. These are offering both new avenues and potential challenges to the traditional ways of conceptualising and practicing sport. This thesis analyses the development of adventure sports, in particular climbing and kayaking, as a subculture. It delivers a socio-economic history of climbing, analyses the role of the media in its development, its participation and its lived experience. Further it investigates the impact of globalisation, commercialisation and consumerism on adventure sports, and considers to what extent they are being brought into the mainstream as a result. The economic impact of participation in adventure sports is reviewed along with a study of how the make up of its participants has changed as the activities have become more accessible. Particular focus is placed on the analysis of the gender order, specifically looking at the experiences of women in adventure sports. For this purpose the sports culture found in climbing and kayaking is examined and the implications for the reconstruction of gender relations are considered. This study employs an ethnographic approach including both semi-structured and structured interviews with both adventure sports experts and participants, document and media analysis, participant observation and the more recent nethnography approach. One of the significant contributions of this thesis has been to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of the social, cultural and media environment of arguably one of the most popular lifestyle sports in the UK. It has also shown the strong interrelationship that exists between the media and adventure sports, and has demonstrated how the increased commercialisation and commodification of the activity has resulted in economic development particularly in some remoter parts of the UK through the packaging and provision of the climbing experience. At the same time some participants see this is ‘selling out’. This research has demonstrated how women’s participation in adventure sports has been subject to marginalisation, sexualisation and trivialisation similar to other mainstream sports. However, this work has also highlighted that there is room for optimism as new discourses of femininity contrary to the traditional male hegemony are emerging. Further research opportunities have been identified concerning issues of ethnicity and participation; the social, cultural and economic relationships between adventure sportspeople and rural communities. Emerging feminist discourses also warrant further investigation.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This paper is a study of the aspects that are important to consider when designing an unobtrusive interaction for wearable devices in the area of extreme sports. The work is based on an analytical study of seemly-unrelated areas with the common facet that they all call for an unobtrusive interaction in their devices. The findings of the analysis conclude that it is necessary a change of direction in the design because it is not possible to design an unobtrusive interaction that relies on active manipulation. Activity theory and affective computing present theoretical principles with the potential to be used as a framework for HCI and solve the mentioned issues. Finally, I design the user interface of a specific case in the areas of mountain biking and skiing to use it as design-oriented research. An essential aspect of this case is the use of expert feedback and video simulations to drive the design process. Another important point is the definition of the situations and variables that will be observed by the system to adapt itself so it is able to continue being unobtrusive and helpful through the changes.

The physicality of sports and outdoor life offers great opportunities for intensive experiences – participants ”feel” the happening in their bodies. As well as looking upon physical activity mainly as something instrumental, as for example in competitive sports and exercise culture, other aspects can also be central, for instance the pure joy of movement. The existential or expressive side of physical activity is examined in this doctoral thesis. In order to study such experiential quality more thoroughly, the author’s attention turns to adventure sports participants, as they appear to have a capacity for becoming highly involved and seeking very intense experiences. Who is involved in adventure sports? Why are they engaged in a sport that demands such great hardships and risk-taking? What do they get out of it? The overall objective of the thesis is to shed light on adventure sports as a practice and to discuss the educational significance of flow and other experiential qualities in adventure sports and in schools. The analyses are based on three empirical sub-studies. The first began with a questionnaire that 161 adventure sports participants responded to. This was followed by an interview study of eleven men and three women, all of whom had extensive experience in adventure sports. The categories of sport were evenly divided between climbing, off-piste skiing and hang gliding. In the second sub-study a detailed investigation of climbing was carried out. A notable sportification has brought about a very clear and interesting change in parts of this activity. Six traditional/adventure climbers and six sport climbers were interviewed, of which half were men and half women. All the climbers were experienced and very much involved in their sport. The aim of the third sub-study was to seek an answer as to whether pupils have experiences in their daily school life that are similar to those of adventure sports participants. An ESM (Experience Sampling Method) investigation was carried out with 60 pupils in compulsory school year nine (corresponding to UK schools’ year eleven) from four different schools. The pupils’ parents answered a special parent questionnaire including questions about academic and professional backgrounds, living conditions, habits, interests, attitudes and leisure time activities. The results were analysed taking into consideration the phenomenological perspective and structuralistic or more correctly expressed the cultural sociological perspective. Mihály Csikszentmihályi’s theoretical argument on optimal experiences, which in turn is based on the flow concept, constitutes the phenomenological foundation. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept apparatus and theories were used to closely examine the participants’ backgrounds, life histories and current living situations. The study shows that a preference for adventure sports is clearly linked to the participants’ backgrounds and earlier life experiences. A behavioural pattern is incorporated and developed into an embodied capacity to master a practice, a result of a long learning process. Participants were clearly concordant in these respects. Participants emphasise the abundant opportunities for intensive experiences that arise from adventure sports. It is a matter of something multidimentional: the active body, outdoor life in natural surroundings, exacting and clear goals, total focus, and about exercising control. This approach presents a model for identification of content qualities, which together create the dynamics that form the meaningful rewards that result from participation in adventure sports. The dimensions include flow experiences, but also go beyond them. The deep sense of presence, the physical involvement, the fact that they can choose the path and increase the degree of difficulty themselves – and simultaneously counter this new challenge with increased capacity so that they are engaged at the ”right level” – also provide favourable conditions for a stimulating and successful learning experience. The observation was made that it was primarily in the practical and aesthetic subjects that school pupils had the same deep feeling of presence together with a meaningful and pleasurable holistic experience as the adventure sports participants had. Here they were actively involved with their hands or with their whole bodies, and they could make their own choices and be in control of the activity, which for most pupils led to a strong feeling of satisfaction.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Connecticut, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-112). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Connecticut, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-112).