Investigation of the effect of courage behaviors on endurance levels of canoe athletes

Background and Study Aim. Courage in sports is a concept that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. It is very important for the athletes to reveal their psychological performance as well as their physical and technical skills during competition and or training times. In this context, this research is important in terms of revealing the mental endurance and courage levels of canoe athletes who struggle not only with their competitors but also with natural conditions. Material and Methods. The sample of the research consists of 163 volunteer canoe athletes selected by simple random sampling method. In order to collect the necessary data in the research, the “Courage in Sports Scale” was used. The scale consists of the sub-dimensions of 'competence', 'determination', 'aggression', 'taking the risk' and 'being self-sacrificing'. T-test and ANOVA test were used in the analysis of the data. Statistically, the error level was accepted as p<.05 and the significance level was Alpha (α). Results. In the study, it was determined that the perception scores of the athlete students between the courage scale components were close to each other. No statistically significant results were found in all sub-dimensions according to gender and weekly training duration variables. According to the age variable: a significant result was determined in the dimensions of determination and assertiveness, and in the dimensions of stability according to the variable of doing sports. According to the education variable, it was determined that there was no significant difference in the risk-taking sub-dimension. There were significant differences in the other sub-dimensions. Conclusions. Without ignoring the acquisition of skills such as courage, it should be included in education and training programs from an early age and supported by sports training. Courage issues should be included in the training programs of educators (coaching training courses, seminars, etc.) and their importance should be emphasized.