The development of new social worlds through obstacle course racing.

This study draws upon the concept of social worlds to investigate how individuals adopt and develop into the social worlds in the new and event-based leisure activity of obstacle course racing (OCR). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 OCR participants in Belgium. Three progressive and connected stages were identified in the development of OCR social worlds. Despite regular event participation, most individuals did not change how they organize themselves socially from their initial participation, and consequently did not join OCR social worlds. The importance of OCR as a social experience was a barrier in this progress. Only a small group of individuals progressed to compete in OCR, and consequently contributed to OCR social worlds by volunteering their time. The absence of sport-specific training opportunities and the continued search for more challenging and extraordinary events were identified as barriers that limit development of OCR. Implications for the industry are discussed.