The relationship between contextual factors and perceived developmental experiences across distinct youth sports formats

In Flanders slightly more than half of all youth are still actively involved in a sports club, but there is an increasing number of youngsters who choose to participate in a different sports context. These alternative youth sports formats are often characterised by a high accessibility because of limited or low thresholds for potential participants. The elimination of participation barriers in itself is an important issue when considering youth characterised by low sports participation (e.g., girls, socially vulnerable youth). In recent years, an increasing number of low threshold 'alternative' initiatives have been set up in Flanders in which sport is employed as a tool to work towards positive developmental goals. However, insights into participants' developmental experiences remain scarce. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge with regard to the role of contextual factors such as the motivational climate created by predominant social actors (i.e., coaches and peers) across distinct youth sports formats (i.e., conventional sports clubs versus alternative sports initiatives). In order to address these issues, 200 female youth sports participants aged between 10 and 24 (M=15,47; SD=2,15) completed a questionnaire assessing the variables of interest (i.e., coach- and peer motivational climate, developmental experiences) in the study. Through this investigation, it can be expected that a better understanding with regard to the predominant interpersonal interactions occurring in different youth sports formats is developed, and that a better insight into the context-specific relationships between interpersonal interactions and perceived developmental experiences is generated.