Motivation Versus Sports Dropout in Romanian Ski Jumping

Abstract

The reason for this research was determined by the fact that the number of athletes practicing this sport has significantly decreased. In parallel, sports performances at the level of children and juniors in foreign competitions have not registered significant progress. If in 2010-2011, in the international competitions of FIS Jungend Grand Prix, the first places were won by Romanian athletes, and in 2016 the International Competition Carpathian Tournament for juniors had a Romanian athlete as the winner, these results have not been reissued until now. More sadly, all those athletes, who could have reached the world top, today no longer practice this sport, prematurely abandoning the activity in high performance sports. To determine the causes that underlie this phenomenon, a research approach was started based on the survey method to determine the main reasons. The subjects were 36 former athletes who practiced this sport. The research activity was carried out between January 2025 and June 2025. The research results highlight some of the many reasons that could have been studied, the most important being motivation, the athlete-coach relationship, and the scheduling of sports training in relation to school activity.