High-performance athletes' (HPAs) engagement in proactive retirement preparation has become increasingly important for their well-being and quality of life during and after sport. As researchers continue to highlight the plethora of challenges underprepared HPAs face when retiring from sport, retirement support available to Canadian HPAs through Game Plan continues to be significantly underutilized (Game Plan, 2023). Researchers have identified environmental barriers as an influencing factor determining athletes' ability to access and utilize available forms of retirement support (Brassard et al., 2022). Current literature lacks the use of a holistic lens to identify the organizational factors that act as barriers and facilitators faced by athletes in this regard. An exploration with this lens could enhance our understanding of HPAs' ability to prepare for retirement by providing insights into the organizational interplay sport members have in facilitating a sport environment that enables, restricts, or hinders a HPA's ability to prepare for life after sport. Furthermore, a holistic lens can provide researchers with the necessary information to develop further frameworks and strategies to minimize athlete retirement barriers (Stambulova et al., 2020). The purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to address this gap through the following objectives: (a) examine how active and retired athletes utilized retirement support mechanisms, (b) explore high-performance sport members' perspectives and understanding of retirement support mechanisms, and (c) facilitate co-design sessions to innovate solution-driven prototypes to address sport members' athlete retirement needs. The methodologies of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems theory and Design Thinking were adopted to guide and facilitate this research. This dissertation is composed of three articles, each correlating with the research objectives. With the first research objective, a secondary data analysis was used to examine how athletes in the Canadian sport system were utilizing Game Plan's resources from 2019-2021. This examination provided insight into athletes' Game Plan usage discrepancies when drawing comparisons to the funding each National Sport Organization (NSO) earned, their league of competition (e.g., Para or Non-Para sport), and repeat uses of Game Plan's resources after an initial interaction. As a result of the findings from this examination, considerations are proposed for sport organizations who seek to improve their athlete engagement with Game Plan's retirement resources. The second objective was investigated through empathy interviews (Kelley & Kelley, 2013) conducted with active athletes, retired athletes, support personnel, and performance partners across the sport system. A total of 19 individuals were interviewed. Empathy interviews were used to create personas for each role. Findings from this exploration add to the literature by outlining the following empirical findings: (a) high-performance sport members have limited knowledge and understanding of accessible retirement resources, (b) sport organizations' cultures can present barriers or facilitators through direct and indirect messages to athletes, and (c) HPAs who proactively sought out support or had a good sport-life balance experienced fewer challenges adapting to life after sport. The third and final objective was supported via the Stanford d. school's five-step Design Thinking model: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This section of research consisted of a co-design session conducted with two groups of participants. In each session, participants were led through brainstorming cluster activities to define, ideate, design, and evaluate athlete retirement solution-driven prototypes. Sport members collaboratively designed the following three evidenced-based prototypes: (a) creating a new funding metrics system, (b) strengthening collaboration between NSOs and Game Plan, and (c) enhancing athlete retirement coach education. The Design Thinking process as well as the insights outlining why and how the adoption of each prototype can advance HPAs' ability to prepare for their lives after sport are discussed. This article is the first to adopt a Design Thinking approach to advance athlete retirement literature and aims to serve as a catalyst for researchers to adopt Design Thinking methods to further the field of sport performance psychology. The results of this doctoral dissertation research add empirical, theoretical, and methodological contributions to both the athlete retirement and Design Thinking literature.

Magister Artium (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science) - MA(SRES) / This study is motivated by the growing need for South African sport competitions (such as the Olympic Games and various other sport-specific world championships) to be transformed into quality and profitable events, noting that they need to be managed professionally, with well organised and sophisticated athlete preparation with excellent management systems. New pressures have emerged from within South Africa from key stakeholders that require sport organisations to become more performance orientated, and to build their capacity in order to improve or better manage their organisational performance. The primary focus of the research, therefore, is on quality management practices in high performance sport at a programme management level while the research also reviews substantial literature concerning the study in order to explain the dynamics surrounding the high performance management practices of Swimming Centres of Excellence at the two selected universities in South Africa. The study is qualitative and unpacks two theoretical frameworks namely, Total Quality Management practices and a conceptual framework of high performance management structures and processes. The overarching findings and recommendations are that the implementation of the Quality Management Practices (QMPs) require that the principles and philosophy of excellence are shared and understood by all stakeholders. To implement QMPs successfully, there is a need to radically transform conventional practices to achieve radical and pervasive change. The research shows evidence that QMPs involve the redesign of organisational structures, the re-design of work and the re-definition of management style. The swimming high performance environment must be willing to take this into consideration for successful implementation of QMPs at the Centres of Excellence to ensure its future performance

Orientador: Carlos Roberto Padovani / Resumo: O futebol de 5 é uma modalidade de desporto adaptada exclusivamente para atletas cegos. A seleção brasileira de futebol de 5 consagrou-se multicampeã nos mais importantes campeonatos mundias e nas Paralimpíadas, sendo considerada a melhor seleção do mundo nessa modalidade e tendo em sua escalação atletas eleitos os melhores do mundo. Nesse contexto, o objetivo desta pesquisa consiste em construir o perfil de atletas de futebol de 5 segundo as características biomotoras avaliadas no protocolo de testes físicos aplicados à seleção brasileira de futebol de 5 quanto à posição e à titularidade, utilizando-se das técnicas multivariadas de dados: Análise de Agrupamento, Análise de Correlação Canônica, Análise de Componentes Principais e Análise Fatorial. Os resultados das análises de caráter exploratório indicam que não há um perfil definido como o padrão dos atletas da seleção brasileira de futebol de 5 no que se refere à posição e à titularidade em quadra, sendo possível, nesses aspectos, observar associações entre algumas características biomotoras dos atletas. / Abstract: 5-a-side football is a sport adapted exclusively for blind athletes. The Brazilian national 5-a-side football team has won several of the most important world championships and Paralympic medals. Thus, it is considered the best 5-a-side football team in the world and it has in its roster athletes named the best in the world. In this context, this research aims to determine the profile of 5-a-side football players according to the biomotor characteristics evaluated with the protocol of physical tests applied to the Brazilian 5-a-side football team regarding position on the field and status as a starter or substitute player, using multivariate data analysis techniques. The results of the exploratory analyses indicate that there is no profile defined as the standard for the Brazilian national 5-a-side football team with regard to position on the field and status as a starter or substitute player. In these aspects, it is possible to observe associations between some biomotor characteristics of the athletes. / Doutor

Hoje a preocupação quanto às lesões que acometem os atletas de alto rendimento no esporte tem sido motivo de grande investigação e discussão científica. O presente estudo teve como objetivo conhecer e identificar os fatores de risco que colaboraram para as lesões músculoesqueléticas de cinco atletas da modalidade voleibol em uma equipe de alto rendimento, durante duas temporadas de competição. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como estudo de casos, que utilizou como instrumentos de investigação: entrevista, questionário de lesão, registro de dado (planilhas de treinamento), análise documental (prontuários). Os resultados da investigação foram categorizados demonstrando que as cinco atletas foram submetidas ao treinamento de mais de uma categoria durante a fase de formação esportiva e a precocidade no treinamento com equipe adulta, durante as temporadas de 2001/2002 e 2002/2003. As lesões que ocorreram em maior quantidade foram as por sobrecarga e o tempo de afastamento para resolução ou melhora da dor ou da lesão não eram priorizados. A maior parte das lesões ocorreram durante os treinos e o membro inferior foi o mais acometido. / Nowadays the concern related to the injuries that affect the high performance athletes in sports has been the reason of great inquiry and scientific discussion. The present study had as its objective to know and identify the risk factors that contributed to the rawboned muscles injuries of five athlete of the volleyball events in a high performance team, during two seasons of competition. The investigation is characterized as a study cases, that used as research instruments: interview, questionnaire of injury, register of data (training spread sheets), documentary analysis (handbooks). The results of the investigation had been categorized demonstrating that the five athletes had been submitted to the training of more than a category during the sporting formation phase and the precocity in the training with adult team, during the seasons of 2001/2002 and 2002/2003. The injuries that had occurred in bigger amount were the overload ones, and the removal time for resolution or improvement of the pain or injury were not prioritized. Most injuries had occurred during the training and the low member was more affected.

Hoje a preocupação quanto às lesões que acometem os atletas de alto rendimento no esporte tem sido motivo de grande investigação e discussão científica. O presente estudo teve como objetivo conhecer e identificar os fatores de risco que colaboraram para as lesões músculoesqueléticas de cinco atletas da modalidade voleibol em uma equipe de alto rendimento, durante duas temporadas de competição. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como estudo de casos, que utilizou como instrumentos de investigação: entrevista, questionário de lesão, registro de dado (planilhas de treinamento), análise documental (prontuários). Os resultados da investigação foram categorizados demonstrando que as cinco atletas foram submetidas ao treinamento de mais de uma categoria durante a fase de formação esportiva e a precocidade no treinamento com equipe adulta, durante as temporadas de 2001/2002 e 2002/2003. As lesões que ocorreram em maior quantidade foram as por sobrecarga e o tempo de afastamento para resolução ou melhora da dor ou da lesão não eram priorizados. A maior parte das lesões ocorreram durante os treinos e o membro inferior foi o mais acometido. / Nowadays the concern related to the injuries that affect the high performance athletes in sports has been the reason of great inquiry and scientific discussion. The present study had as its objective to know and identify the risk factors that contributed to the rawboned muscles injuries of five athlete of the volleyball events in a high performance team, during two seasons of competition. The investigation is characterized as a study cases, that used as research instruments: interview, questionnaire of injury, register of data (training spread sheets), documentary analysis (handbooks). The results of the investigation had been categorized demonstrating that the five athletes had been submitted to the training of more than a category during the sporting formation phase and the precocity in the training with adult team, during the seasons of 2001/2002 and 2002/2003. The injuries that had occurred in bigger amount were the overload ones, and the removal time for resolution or improvement of the pain or injury were not prioritized. Most injuries had occurred during the training and the low member was more affected.

Hoje a preocupação quanto às lesões que acometem os atletas de alto rendimento no esporte tem sido motivo de grande investigação e discussão científica. O presente estudo teve como objetivo conhecer e identificar os fatores de risco que colaboraram para as lesões músculoesqueléticas de cinco atletas da modalidade voleibol em uma equipe de alto rendimento, durante duas temporadas de competição. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como estudo de casos, que utilizou como instrumentos de investigação: entrevista, questionário de lesão, registro de dado (planilhas de treinamento), análise documental (prontuários). Os resultados da investigação foram categorizados demonstrando que as cinco atletas foram submetidas ao treinamento de mais de uma categoria durante a fase de formação esportiva e a precocidade no treinamento com equipe adulta, durante as temporadas de 2001/2002 e 2002/2003. As lesões que ocorreram em maior quantidade foram as por sobrecarga e o tempo de afastamento para resolução ou melhora da dor ou da lesão não eram priorizados. A maior parte das lesões ocorreram durante os treinos e o membro inferior foi o mais acometido. / Nowadays the concern related to the injuries that affect the high performance athletes in sports has been the reason of great inquiry and scientific discussion. The present study had as its objective to know and identify the risk factors that contributed to the rawboned muscles injuries of five athlete of the volleyball events in a high performance team, during two seasons of competition. The investigation is characterized as a study cases, that used as research instruments: interview, questionnaire of injury, register of data (training spread sheets), documentary analysis (handbooks). The results of the investigation had been categorized demonstrating that the five athletes had been submitted to the training of more than a category during the sporting formation phase and the precocity in the training with adult team, during the seasons of 2001/2002 and 2002/2003. The injuries that had occurred in bigger amount were the overload ones, and the removal time for resolution or improvement of the pain or injury were not prioritized. Most injuries had occurred during the training and the low member was more affected.

The overall aim of this Participatory Action Research (PAR; Chevalier & Buckles, 2013; Lewin, 1946) project was to design, implement, and evaluate a specialized sport-focused mental health service delivery model for competitive and high-performance athletes, integrated within a broader Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport (CCMHS). A transformative mixed methods research design (Cresswell, 2014) guided by the PAR approach was employed across three phases during which (a) a sport-specific mental health service delivery model for competitive and high-performance athletes was collaboratively designed by stakeholders (Design Phase [Study 1]), (b) the model was pilot-tested within the CCMHS (Implementation Phase [Study 2]), and (c) the model was evaluated to understand whether practitioners and service-users perceived the care delivered / received within the model to be acceptable and appropriate (Evaluation Phase [Study 3]). Design Phase (Study 1). The purpose of study 1 was to (a) perform an environmental scan of the Canadian mental health care and sport contexts, and (b) design a sport-focused mental health service delivery model for competitive and high-performance athletes within a broader CCMHS. To meet these objectives, 20 stakeholders from the sport and mental health sectors explored (a) the availability and effectiveness of mental health care for competitive and high-performance Canadian athletes, and (b) the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with creating a CCMHS, via two iterations of stakeholder-led focus groups (Rio-Roberts, 2011). The resulting data informed a subsequent Group Concept Mapping (GCM; Burke et al., 2005; Kane & Trochim, 2007; Rosas & Kane, 2012) activity undertaken by stakeholders, which produced an actionable framework (i.e., concept map) organized into six clusters that visually represented the elements (e.g., services, personnel, organizational structures) that stakeholders deemed important to include in the sport-focused mental health care model (e.g., bilingual services, a triage system, sport-specialized practitioners). In addition, the results revealed that misconceptions about the competitive and high-performance population’s mental health and experience of mental illness were widespread and required clarification before significant advances could be made. This led the group to develop six principles designed to establish a common language and understanding upon which to build effective models of mental health care, improved programming, and strategic education for Canada’s competitive and high-performance athletes, coaches, and organizations (Article 1). The framework that emerged from the GCM activity served to guide the remainder of the project, and supported actions (e.g., develop eligibility criteria to access services, hire a team of mental health practitioners with sport competencies [i.e., CCMHS Care Team]) to build the CCMHS and test the model during the Implementation Phase (Article 2). Implementation Phase (Study 2). The purpose of study 2 was to pilot test the mental health service delivery model designed during the first phase of the research project. To do so, an illustrative case study (Keegan et al., 2017; Stake, 1995, 2005) was carried out to demonstrate how (i.e., intake, referral, and service delivery processes) the CCMHS Care Team provided mental health care to a high-performance athlete, and what outcomes resulted from this process. Data to inform the case study was gathered through a review of the service-user’s clinical documents (e.g., intake summary, session notes), and qualitative interviews (n = 2) with the athlete’s Collaborative Care Team lead and the CCMHS Care Coordinator. Document analysis (Bowen, 2009) was used to organize the details of the case found within clinical documents under the categories of the case study framework (i.e., intake and referral process, service-user description, integrated care plan, and outcomes), while a conventional descriptive content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) served to extract salient data from the interviews to further build out the case study. Results revealed that sport significantly influenced the onset and experience of mental illness for the athlete service-user. The lead practitioner’s sport-specific knowledge played a significant role in the diagnosis, treatment and recovery of this athlete given the nature of the athlete’s concerns and high athletic identity. Findings support the notion that specialized mental health care models and teams are necessary to address sport-related factors that can pose unique threats to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in athletes (Article 3). Implementation Phase (Study 3). The purpose of study 3 was to evaluate the acceptability and appropriateness of the mental health service delivery model designed during Phase 1 and implemented during Phase 2. Qualitative data from three sources (CCMHS practitioners, CCMHS service-users, and CCMHS stakeholders) were collected and analyzed using a multi-step, multi-method process, including16 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with CCMHS practitioners (n = 10) and service-users (n = 6), and a meeting with CCMHS stakeholders (captured via meeting minutes). In addition, 47 documents (e.g., clinical, procedural) created during the implementation phase of the project by CCMHS team members (i.e., practitioners, stakeholders, members of the board of directors) were used to triangulate the other data (Carter, Bryant-Lukosius, DiCenso, Blythe, and Neville, 2014). The Framework Method (Gale et al., 2013; Ritchie and Spencer, 1994) was used to analyze, synthesize, integrate, and interpret the dataset. The deductive data analysis approach taken was guided by the seven components of acceptability developed by Sekhon and colleagues (2017), and the Canadian Medical Association’s definition of appropriate care. Findings showed that the care provided and received within the CCMHS service delivery model was perceived to be acceptable and appropriate, and each component of the model uniquely contributed to practitioner and service-user experiences. For example, the collaborative interdisciplinary approach contributed to the ethicality of the model, promoted the professional development of team members, and enabled Pan-Canadian service provision. The sport-centered nature of care was perceived to enhance the ethicality of services delivered, effectiveness of care, and affective experience of service-users. Implications for further research and practice were discussed in light of areas of the model that emerged as needing improvement (e.g., prohibitive cost of care, practitioner burden from collaborative processes and procedures). Overall, the findings of the research project demonstrate that collaborative approaches to inquiry and practice can be successfully applied in sport to guide stakeholders in developing and testing novel models to improve the health outcomes of sport participants. The research also shows that an interdisciplinary team of practitioners can successfully deliver sport-focused mental health care that is acceptable and appropriate to service-users. Lastly, the project provides data on the first known empirical project to design, implement and evaluate a specialized mental health service delivery model applied nationwide in person and virtually with competitive and high-performance athletes experiencing mental health challenges and symptoms of mental illness.

A formação de um atleta de alto rendimento exige anos de trabalho. O caminho para o sucesso é longo e os atletas dedicam parte de suas vidas integralmente ao esporte. Esse é um dos motivos do encerramento da carreira esportiva ser permeado de incertezas e com sentimentos positivos e negativos aflorados. Na Ginástica Artística Feminina (GAF) esse contexto pode ser acentuado, pois a formação esportiva leva em média 10 anos. E, para chegar ao ápice inicia-se o treinamento especializado cedo e a carreira esportiva costuma terminar na adolescência. Compreender esse processo é essencial para repensar fatores que contribuiriam no desenvolvimento das ginastas. Assim, este estudo analisou a carreira esportiva de 7 Ex-ginastas brasileiras, que encerraram a trajetória atlética antes dos 20 anos de idade, com intuito de identificar potencias fatores que contribuíram para sua aposentadoria. Para obtenção dos dados realizamos entrevistas semiestruturadas. E, para o tratamento dos dados recorremos à técnica de Análise de Conteúdo (BARDIN, 2010). Identificamos três temas e suas respectivas categorias que representam etapas importantes da carreira esportiva das ginastas: Motivação para o início da prática de Ginástica Artística (GA); Motivação para permanência na GAF; Encerramento da carreira esportiva. Na iniciação esportiva das atletas encontramos indícios tanto da motivação intrínseca, quanto da motivação extrínseca. Entretanto, identificamos que as ginastas apresentaram maior influência extrínseca, principalmente, advinda dos pais. Na ascensão ao alto rendimento da GAF a influência extrínseca do treinador e da família e a meta de participar dos Jogos Olímpicos (JO) foram fatores preponderantes para permanência na modalidade. Por outro lado, não desconsideramos a importância dos fatores intrínsecos, como o \"amor\" pela modalidade, que é fundamental para as ginastas se manterem engajadas na GAF. Analisamos o comportamento da motivação ao longo da carreira das ginastas e encontramos as implicações desse processo no encerramento da trajetória atlética. Identificamos que não há aspectos isolados que determinam a aposentadoria das ginastas, mas sim a interação de fatores. Ainda, analisamos as adaptações e dificuldades nesse momento de transição e evidenciamos a falta de planejamento no encerramento da carreira esportiva. Nossos resultados evidenciam que não há momento ideal para o encerramento da carreira esportiva na GAF, pois as circunstâncias definem esse momento. Mas, as ginastas devem ser orientadas que a carreira esportiva é efêmera e que qualquer fato pode por fim inesperado na vida esportiva. Ressaltamos que as atletas devem ser preparadas e estarem prontas para esse momento. / The high performance athlete\'s development requires intense work. The road to success is long and athletes integrally dedicate part of their lives to the sport. That is why sport retirement can be traumatic in some cases. This frame can be acute in Women\'s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG), because athlete\'s development takes in average 10 years, the specialized training starts early to reach the top and the sport career usually end in adolescence. Understanding this process is essential to rethink the athlete\'s development. Therefore, this study analyzed 7 Brazilians ex-gymnasts\' sport career, who retired from WAG before 20 years old, and it identified factors that contributed to their retirement. We apply a semi-structured interview to collect the data and the technique of \"Content Analysis\" (BARDIN, 2010) to treat it. We identified three themes and their respective categories that represent important stages of gymnasts\' sport career: motivation for the beginning in Artistic Gymnastics\' (AG) practice; Motivation to remain in WAG; Retirement in WAG. We find intrinsic and extrinsic motivation evidences in athletic initiation. However, we identified more extrinsic influence, mainly by the parents. In the rise of high performance WAG the extrinsic influence by the coaches and the family and the goal to participate of the Olympic Games (OG) were preponderant factors. On the other hand, intrinsic factors, such as \"love\" for WAG, are fundamental to the gymnasts\' engagement in the sport. We analyzed the motivation\'s behavior throughout the gymnasts\' career and we found this process implication in sport career\'s end. We found out that there is no isolated aspect in the gymnasts\' retirement, but the interaction of factors. Furthermore, we analyzed the adaptations and the difficulties in this transition moment and we observed that the lack of planning in the gymnasts\' sport career\'s end. Our results show that there is no perfect moment for the retirement in WAG, because the circumstances define this moment. However, gymnasts should be advised that the sports career is not eternal and that any fact can unexpectedly end the sport life. More importantly, they must be prepared and ready for this moment.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:49:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Evelize Dorneles Minuzzi.pdf: 1590135 bytes, checksum: e32db330907a2b314d84fa0fe0c5cb35 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-28 / The following research aimed to understand Olympic Games as a spectacle of entertainment, explicit in the dimension of the infrastructure, in the expectation for the performance of athletes, in the media coverage of the event, in the grounds of the State, and in the private interests in hosting the games, in the amount of the economic costs, in the examples of overcoming limits, and in the possibility of enhancing or undermining national pride. For such, a bibliographic research has been conducted from scientific domain material, primary both for data collection and to perform the analysis of the object of study; and documentary research, through the analysis of print media "Folha de Sao Paulo" especially in the period from 1991 to 2012. As for the interpretation procedure, content analysis has been employed. The topic questioning takes into consideration the changes in the theoretical concept of time and free time, as the increased supply of goods for the time use, amongst them the spectacle. The emergence, the invention, reinvention and installation of Olympic Games in contemporary capitalist society is situated in this study, seeking similarities between the Olympic Games and entertainment spectacle. In summary, we aimed to demonstrate that the Olympic Games are a unique example of the globalization of entertainment, a planetary phenomenon of ideological control of capitalist society, transformed into merchandise for the immediate satisfaction of the public, profitable for the entertainment industry and somehow structuring capitalist ideology / Esta pesquisa buscou compreender os Jogos Olímpicos como espetáculo de entretenimento, explícito na dimensão da infraestrutura, na expectativa quanto ao desempenho dos atletas, na midiatização do evento, nas razões do Estado e nos interesses privados em sediar, no montante dos custos econômicos, nos exemplos de superação e na possibilidade de enaltecer ou abalar o orgulho nacional. Para tanto realizamos pesquisa bibliográfica a partir de materiais de domínio cientifico, primordiais tanto para a coleta de dados quanto para realizar a análise do objeto de estudo; e pesquisa documental, via análise da mídia impressa Folha de S. Paulo , sobretudo, entre o período de 1991 a 2012. Como procedimento de interpretação, utilizamos análise de conteúdo. A problematização da temática leva em consideração as mudanças operadas na concepção de tempo e de tempo livre, como o aumento da oferta de produtos destinados aos usos do tempo, dentre eles, o espetáculo. Situamos o surgimento, a invenção, a instalação e a reinvenção dos Jogos Olímpicos na sociedade capitalista contemporânea, buscando aproximações entre os Jogos Olímpicos e o espetáculo de entretenimento. Em síntese, procuramos demonstrar que os Jogos Olímpicos trata-se de um exemplo singular da mundialização do entretenimento, um fenômeno planetário de controle ideológico da sociedade capitalista, transformado em mercadoria para a satisfação imediata do público, rentável para a indústria do entretenimento e estruturadora da ideologia capitalista

A formação de um atleta de alto rendimento exige anos de trabalho. O caminho para o sucesso é longo e os atletas dedicam parte de suas vidas integralmente ao esporte. Esse é um dos motivos do encerramento da carreira esportiva ser permeado de incertezas e com sentimentos positivos e negativos aflorados. Na Ginástica Artística Feminina (GAF) esse contexto pode ser acentuado, pois a formação esportiva leva em média 10 anos. E, para chegar ao ápice inicia-se o treinamento especializado cedo e a carreira esportiva costuma terminar na adolescência. Compreender esse processo é essencial para repensar fatores que contribuiriam no desenvolvimento das ginastas. Assim, este estudo analisou a carreira esportiva de 7 Ex-ginastas brasileiras, que encerraram a trajetória atlética antes dos 20 anos de idade, com intuito de identificar potencias fatores que contribuíram para sua aposentadoria. Para obtenção dos dados realizamos entrevistas semiestruturadas. E, para o tratamento dos dados recorremos à técnica de Análise de Conteúdo (BARDIN, 2010). Identificamos três temas e suas respectivas categorias que representam etapas importantes da carreira esportiva das ginastas: Motivação para o início da prática de Ginástica Artística (GA); Motivação para permanência na GAF; Encerramento da carreira esportiva. Na iniciação esportiva das atletas encontramos indícios tanto da motivação intrínseca, quanto da motivação extrínseca. Entretanto, identificamos que as ginastas apresentaram maior influência extrínseca, principalmente, advinda dos pais. Na ascensão ao alto rendimento da GAF a influência extrínseca do treinador e da família e a meta de participar dos Jogos Olímpicos (JO) foram fatores preponderantes para permanência na modalidade. Por outro lado, não desconsideramos a importância dos fatores intrínsecos, como o \"amor\" pela modalidade, que é fundamental para as ginastas se manterem engajadas na GAF. Analisamos o comportamento da motivação ao longo da carreira das ginastas e encontramos as implicações desse processo no encerramento da trajetória atlética. Identificamos que não há aspectos isolados que determinam a aposentadoria das ginastas, mas sim a interação de fatores. Ainda, analisamos as adaptações e dificuldades nesse momento de transição e evidenciamos a falta de planejamento no encerramento da carreira esportiva. Nossos resultados evidenciam que não há momento ideal para o encerramento da carreira esportiva na GAF, pois as circunstâncias definem esse momento. Mas, as ginastas devem ser orientadas que a carreira esportiva é efêmera e que qualquer fato pode por fim inesperado na vida esportiva. Ressaltamos que as atletas devem ser preparadas e estarem prontas para esse momento. / The high performance athlete\'s development requires intense work. The road to success is long and athletes integrally dedicate part of their lives to the sport. That is why sport retirement can be traumatic in some cases. This frame can be acute in Women\'s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG), because athlete\'s development takes in average 10 years, the specialized training starts early to reach the top and the sport career usually end in adolescence. Understanding this process is essential to rethink the athlete\'s development. Therefore, this study analyzed 7 Brazilians ex-gymnasts\' sport career, who retired from WAG before 20 years old, and it identified factors that contributed to their retirement. We apply a semi-structured interview to collect the data and the technique of \"Content Analysis\" (BARDIN, 2010) to treat it. We identified three themes and their respective categories that represent important stages of gymnasts\' sport career: motivation for the beginning in Artistic Gymnastics\' (AG) practice; Motivation to remain in WAG; Retirement in WAG. We find intrinsic and extrinsic motivation evidences in athletic initiation. However, we identified more extrinsic influence, mainly by the parents. In the rise of high performance WAG the extrinsic influence by the coaches and the family and the goal to participate of the Olympic Games (OG) were preponderant factors. On the other hand, intrinsic factors, such as \"love\" for WAG, are fundamental to the gymnasts\' engagement in the sport. We analyzed the motivation\'s behavior throughout the gymnasts\' career and we found this process implication in sport career\'s end. We found out that there is no isolated aspect in the gymnasts\' retirement, but the interaction of factors. Furthermore, we analyzed the adaptations and the difficulties in this transition moment and we observed that the lack of planning in the gymnasts\' sport career\'s end. Our results show that there is no perfect moment for the retirement in WAG, because the circumstances define this moment. However, gymnasts should be advised that the sports career is not eternal and that any fact can unexpectedly end the sport life. More importantly, they must be prepared and ready for this moment.