Journal of Physical Education and Sport ® (JPES), Vol 20 (Supplement issue 3), Art 301, pp 2246 – 2252, 2020 online ISSN: 2247 - 806X; p-ISSN: 2247 – 8051; ISSN - L = 2247 - 8051 © JPES Original Article Adolescent participation in new sports: Extended theory of planned behavior JUNGSUP BAE 1, DOYEON WON 2, CINDY LEE 3, SIMON M. PACK 4 1Division of Sport Science, Hanyang University-ERICA Campus, KOREA 2Department of Kinesiology Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA 3Department of Sport Sciences, West Virginia University, USA 4The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John’s University, USA Published online: July 31, 2020 (Accepted for publication: July 22, 2020) DOI:10.7752/jpes.2020.s3301 Abstract: While there have been emerging efforts to develop new or non-traditional sports, relatively little attention has been devoted to understanding what influences sport participants’ behavioral intention and overt participation behavior toward new sports. Since many new sports have struggled to boost their popularity and increase the number of participants, the purpose of this study is to analyze adolescents’ participation behavior in new sports through the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), including prior knowledge. Specifically, it was hypothesized that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control positively influence participation intention. Furthermore, it was expected that participation behavior is influenced by participation intention and perceived behavioral condition and prior knowledge would positively influence attitude and participation intention. Especially, in order for a new sport to be sustainable, it is deemed more important to understand younger participants’ behavioral intention and behavior. Using a survey questionnaire, data were collected from a total of 238 junior high school students who were participating in any type of new sports. The data were primarily analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results found that the three components of the TPB, namely attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, had a positive influence on subjects’ participation intention, which further leads to participation behavior. Of the three TPB main variables, attitude was the strongest predictor for the intention to partake in a new sport, followed by perceived behavioral control and subjective norm. However, perceived behavioral control did not have a direct influence on adolescents’ participation behavior. In addition, the participants’ prior knowledge had a positive influence on adolescents’ attitudes and participation intention. Results indicated that new sport organizations should develop marketing and educational strategies to improve attitudes of potential and current participants toward new sports as well as to teach the rules and benefits of new sports. Key Words : Extended Theory of Planned Behavior, New Sports, Adolescents, Sport Knowledge Introduction The popularity of traditional sports (e.g., soccer, baseball, basketball, football, hockey) has been widely documented in the media and remains a mainstay of cultural significance around the world. Beyond the traditional sports, however, there are many other non-traditional or ‘new sports’that might not have the same following. Some of these new sports are often combinations of traditional sports with other twists or activities to create a new format of sport which allows for meaningful competition for athletes of all ages. Gambino (2010) found that athletes of new or hybrid sportsare highly motivated and committed to the development of their sports but must constantly persuade others that their sports are actually sports. New sports such as tee-ball,tchoukball, sports stacking, kinball, and floorball often have rule changes fromsimilar traditional sports that in some instances make the new sport safer and easier. This, in turn, allows for greater consumption by the general public. For example, tchoukballishandball withoutdribblingor physical contact and floorball is ice hockey without ice and,most importantly, without the violent collisions of traditional ice hockey. Gambino also found that many of the organizers of new sports seek out legitimacy by forming organizing bodies to market the unique aspects of their sport when observed in contrast to traditional sports. Most nations around theworld suffer from a downward trajectory of sport participation after the age of 12 and this becomes even more pronounced within the older age groups (Eime et al., 2016). The use of major sporting events (e.g., Olympic Games) to increase participation in sport and physical activity has also come up short in achieving its intended goals (e.g., Weed, 2016).New sports, however,can be beneficial for people in various age groups, especially older adults and adolescents. Opportunities forbroad participation are created as new sports can be easier to play regardless of skill, ability and other participation factors more pertinent to traditional sports. Therefore, new sports have been praised as successful participant sports because of the simplified rules and potential for achieving success at early or later stages in life and with limited financial investment. In addition, since a majority ofnew sports limit bodily contact,there is low risk of injury which 2246--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corresponding author: CINDY LEE, E-mail: [email protected] JUNGSUP BAE, DOYEON WON, CINDY LEE, SIMON M. PACK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- allows these sports to become even more accessible to larger swaths of the population. As a result, new sports canenergize participant involvement with sport and physical activity and contribute to the overall well-being and health of certain sectors of the population. Snowboarding is one of the well-known examples of what was once considered a new sport. The root nature of snowboarding is in skiing which is certainly a mainstream, traditional sporting activity. It is of interest to note that the goal of snowboarding pioneers was not to make it a mainstream sport,but in fact to protest the traditional skiing culture. Heino (2000) stated that snowboarding began as young athletes revoltedagainst skiing and its perceivedelitist culture. These young athletes were attracted to snowboarding and how “different” it was from the more traditional sport of skiing. In fact, some would even argue that snowboarding and skiing may actually share more similarities than differences (Heino, 2000). This notion of going against traditionalism is in line with Miller’s (1997, p. 8) description of the growth of “new, noncompetitive sport alternatives” that have a connection to the personal experiences of participants. Furthermore, these new sports were often seen as less significant but still remainedresistant to the dominance of traditional sports. Sport climbing is another example of a sport that has come to achieve success and is now a sport in the Olympic Games. The advance of snowboarding and sport climbing into the realm of traditional sports can also be threatening to participants seeking out new sports. Similarly, the acceptance of a new sport by mainstream sport governing bodies such as the International Olympic Committee can become complicated and can even alienate some participants (Batuev& Robinson, 2017). In Korea, new sports have experienced increasing popularity in recent years. Participation has seen tremendous growth throughout the school system and many students are playing some of the aforementioned new sports such as tee-ball, tchoukball, sports stacking, kinball and floorball.Hwang (2014) reported that about 50 new sports are played in Korea in various settings including the school system and in sport clubs. The popularity of new sports in the school system is partially due to the fact that new sports are less constrained by space and rules which allows for more students to participate compared to other traditional sports. Physical activity is particularly important in Korea as a 2011 report from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST) highlighted the obesity levels of elementary (13.5%) and middle (12.7%) school students.Kwon, Pyun and Baeck (2020) cite that when schools hire their physical activities instructors there needs to be an understanding of the desires of students and these desires may include participation in new sports. Another facet of the growth in new sports in Korea is the organization and structure of a national organizing body, the Korean New Sports Association (KNA). Founded in 2006,the KNA has taken an active role in introducing new sports to the general public by training new sports leaders, organizing various tournaments, providing age-appropriate materials and forming partnerships with various international new sports governing bodies and sport organizations. While these activities havehelped spread new sports in Korea, there is still a distinction between the motivations of traditional sport participants and new sport participants. Still, very little is known about the participation behavior of adolescents as it relates to new sports and there is a dearth of academic literature in this area of new sports and the factors that influence adolescent participation. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the underlying factors ofparticipation in new sports