The objective of this survey was to map the reality and opinion of master athletes from different sports, in an informal (non-academic) way, allowing for a first impression of how the master sport is seen in the country. The research took place between July 7 and 14, 2022, and used the Google Forms platform. A total of 1,170 athletes from 41 different sports were consulted.

Have you ever heard the saying that “playing sports has no age”? To answer that question, just take a look at courts, gyms, cycling, and running tracks, swimming pools, mats, and soccer fields across the country. (Figure 1)

Increasingly, middle-aged and older people are active in different sports. And, often, their performance leaves nothing to be desired for the younger ones.

Many already come from a culture of sports practice, while others started later in some sports, showing that there is no minimum age to start dedicating themselves to physical activity. This group of sports practitioners, increasingly numerous in Brazil, are the master athletes, who are defined as those over 25 years of age.

The sports activities most practiced by the athletes who participated in the survey were swimming (321 participants); basketball (204); volleyball (204) and running (166).

Another six sports were in an intermediate group in the survey results: Cycling (54); triathlon (52); beach tennis (46), tennis (23), rowing (22), and weight training (11). Despite this, numerous modalities were mentioned by the respondents, such as fencing, equestrianism, jet-ski, surfing, football, athletics, among others. (Figure 2)

Figure 2. The sports activities most practiced by veteran athletes.

Two age groups stood out among the athletes consulted: athletes between 41 and 50 years old (30%) and between 51 and 60 years old (30%). Respondents who were between 61 and 70 years old were 18% and those over 70 years old, were 5%.

For most of the athletes consulted, there is no recognition by society of the master sport (74% of participants). According to the survey, the respondents themselves do not know how many master athletes there are in Brazil (only 5% said they did).

But this lack of knowledge goes further in the opinion of these athletes. For 83% of respondents, companies do not know what a master athlete is and for 96%, businessmen still do not value these athletes. The business sector, which could see great potential in supporting these athletes, is still largely unaware of them.

This may be related to the lack of interest in the media. For 96% of respondents, the media also does not value the master athlete.

One of the results of this is that the master athlete lacks support. Among those consulted, only 5% have sponsorship.

But why did this happens? One reason may be prejudice when approaching the master sport in different spheres of society. Of those interviewed, 55% agree that this prejudice occurs.

However, considering all the master athletes who participated in this research, 47% spend an average amount of R$ 500.00 per month on sports. Already 29% allocate R$ 1,500.00 to the modality. Another 10% spend more than R$ 1,500.00 and 14% of the athletes consulted did not know how to respond.

As a result, sports marketing may miss an opportunity by not prioritizing veteran athletes, ignoring interesting stories and experiences that could stimulate the emergence of new athletes, regardless of age.

In the view of 94% of survey participants, master practitioners of different sports can positively influence children, adolescents, and sedentary people. More than that: for 88%, those sports over the age of 40 can be opinion makers.

Among those interviewed, 75% have coaches who practice the same sport. In addition, 58% of the masters interviewed receive training worksheets prepared by the coach, and 56% of these athletes practice the modality according to the periodization prepared by the instructor.

Another important fact is that the "coach" for the master athlete is not valued in the national scene in the opinion of 93% of the respondents.

Of the total sum of respondents, 89% have never seen a protocol suitable for a master athlete.

Some studies have already been carried out with a focus on master athletes. This is related to the growing number of practitioners of various modalities, and the interest of the population in ensuring health and quality of life after 40 years.

But has all the knowledge accumulated in the sports area in the country contributed to improving the sports practice of master athletes? Let's check some data revealed by this research: In the view of 92%, there is a lack of research and scientific studies in the country regarding these athletes. And 89% of the sports consulted do not use integrative therapies.

Article Statistics

Support