DOES SPORTS COMPETENCE INFLUENCE ENJOYMENT IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN PREADOLESCENCES?

n the sport and physical activity (PA) field, enjoyment is (Scanlan & Simons, 1992) and it can also be considered an important factor in promoting active lifestyles and regular PA among school-aged children (Carraro, Young, & Robazza, 2008). Although PA enjoyment depends primarily on intrinsic factors, sport competence may influence PA enjoyment (Carroll & Loumidis, 2003). We investigated here the effects of perceived sport competence on PA enjoyment, initially, expecting that perceived sport competence could be predictive of high levels of PA enjoyment. This study was carried out to increase the existing body of knowledge about the relationship between perceived sport competence and enjoyment.