How Constraints to Campus Recreation Participation Differ Based on Activity Type, Gender, and Citizenship

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the differential effects of constraints on participation in three different types of campus recreation (i.e., intramural sports, drop-in sports, fitness center), and how constraints differ based on gender and citizenship. Data were collected from undergraduate students (n = 344) using a questionnaire at a large university in Ontario, Canada and analyzed using logistic regression and Mann–Whitney U. Non-participation in intramurals was associated with not knowing how to get involved, drop-in sports with not knowing enough people to participate, and fitness center with feeling uncomfortable exercising in public. Women and men did not differ in the ten constraints measured in the study. International students were more constrained than domestic students by feeling as though the recreation facilities were inaccessible. Implications for practice are discussed.