Leisure sports event experience: An active participation-based research

Combining leisure sports events with experience in a competitive environment provides an opportunity for differentiation and competitive advantage. It is thought that introducing leisure sports events experiences have an importance in terms of realizing it. Therefore, in this research, it was aimed to determine the activity experiences of individuals who participate in leisure sports events. The study was designed according to the exploratory sequential design among the mixed research methods. In order to form the conceptual model, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 running activity participants who were chosen according to the purposeful sampling method. In order to test the model, 391 individuals among the ones that participated in 38. Istanbul Marathon that were chosen through the convenience sampling method were included in the study. The data were collected through a survey by using the face-to-face interview method. The qualitative data were interpreted by using a content analysis and the quantitative data were interpreted by using validity and reliability analysis. As a result of the qualitative data analysis, seven themes related to leisure sports events with experience were specified. In the next phase, among these themes; personal development, social interaction, activity location, escape, emotional aspect and professionalism were defined as a leisure sports events experience through a qualitative analysis. As a result, while the previous studies conducted on the subject of experience addressed the issue from the perspective of general approaches; it was understood that the leisure sports event experiences which are presented through different methodologic approaches are diverse and multidimensional.