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Seeking Identities

Towards an Understanding of the Athletic Careers of Masters Swimmers

University of New Brunswick, Canada cls{at}unb.ca

Prus's model of career-contingency has been useful in examining the careers of elite athletes. But is this interactionist perspective useful in helping us understand the ways in which non-elite athletes (masters swimmers) become involved in and continue their involvement in their athletic careers? Data from interviews with masters swimmers (N = 29, recreational and competitive, of both genders) illustrate how their swimming involvements began through the processes of `seekership' and `solicited recruitment'. These involvements were then deepened through the processes of `conversion', `entanglements' and `reputations and identities'. These processes are understood from an interactionist perspective, which assumes that an individual is an active, self-reflexive actor, and is central in making decisions whose outcomes (intended and unintended) determine the course of his/her involvements in any number of activities.

Key Words: athletic career • interactionism • masters swimming • non-elite athletes

International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 37, No. 2, 131-146 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/1012690202037002001


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