The effects of specialization and gender on motivations and preferences for site attributes in paddling

Few empirical studies have examined the relationships between specialization level, gender, motivations, and preferred environmental setting. The purpose of our study was to examine the influence of specialization and gender on motivations and preferences for site attributes among canoeists. Subjects consisted of 663 canoeists from 11 paddling organizations. Results showed that high specialists differed from low specialists in the rated importance of selected motivations and preferences for site attributes. Findings also indicated that male paddlers were more specialized than females. In addition, gender was related to the motivations and the site attributes. Females placed more emphasis on the motivations of experiencing nature, relaxation, social contact, and the site attributes of social-skill and wilderness. Males placed more importance on new sites.