Abstract
Over the past few decades there has been an impressive increase in the number of older adults participating and competing in sport. Older adult participation in sport is linked to a range of outcomes (both positive and negative), but these outcomes tend to be specific to the older adult population and do not occur automatically. This presentation will summarize our research program examining how sport participation affects indicators of older adult health, ranging from indicators of physical health (e.g., disease and injury), to more global indicators of well-being (e.g., expectations of aging and life satisfaction). Further, we examine the notion that involvement in sport is useful for developing important 'assets' for optimally managing one's aging experience. Borrowing from research in Positive Youth Development, this work assumes that sport is an optimal activity for the development of assets such as confidence and social support. Collectively, this research program emphasizes the potential of sport for improving elements of older adult life, but notes a range of limitations with our current understanding. Importantly, this work indicates adult sport is much more nuanced than previously considered and that future work needs to acknowledge this complexity. Although these data were not exclusively collected in a coached context, they are pertinent to other presentations in this symposium; accordingly, we initiate discussion about how the consequences of older adults' sport participation can be improved via access and availability to quality programming and coaching.
