Highlighting, Assessing, Viewing & Enhancing FUN (HAVE FUN) in Swedish Youth Sport

Fun is the primary reason youth participate in sport and lack of, or the absence of fun, is the foremost reason they give for dropping out (e.g., Crane & Temple, 2015).

Among all physical activities available to youth, sport has demonstrated the most potential for helping them meet the physical activity recommendations vital to their healthy growth and development. Thus, youth sport dropout costs society greatly in the realms of public health and athletic development. Importantly, sport experiences that are fun drive youth’s motivation to want to continue playing, and for some, to pursue sport competitively at its highest levels. Consequently, the “Highlighting, Assessing, Viewing& Enhancing FUN (HAVE FUN) in Swedish Youth Sport” with the goal of improving the sport experiences of Swedish youth, thereby sustaining their participation for as long as possible. In this this project researchers from Halmstad University and The George Washington University is collaborating with The Swedish Ice Hockey and Basketball Federations.

The objectives with the project are:

to investigate what Swedish youth, participating in ice hockey and basketball, report as important fun determinants for sport participation,
to develop tools, strategies and technological platforms to facilitate fun and prolong Swedish youth’s participation in sport.

About the project

Project period:

2020–2024

Funding:

The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation
The Swedish Basketball Federation
Svenska Spels och Riksidrottsförbundets gemensamma Framåtfond

Partners/cooperation:

In this project researchers from Halmstad University and the George Washington University are collaborating with the Swedish Ice Hockey and Basketball Federations.