Cigrovski, V. et al: EFFECTS OF ALPINE SKI COURSE PROGRAM ON ATTITUDES TOWARDS ALPINE SKIING

The purpose of the study was to examine potential differences between male and female alpine ski naive young people in attitudes towards alpine skiing before and after the completion of structured alpine ski school program. We included 136 ski beginners (41 women and 95 men) who anonymously filled out a previously validated 26-item Lickert scale-type questionnaire related to their attitudes towards skiing just before and at the end of the skiing course. Alpine ski course program positively affected attitude change in favor of alpine skiing for the overall group of participants (p=.00) as well as when the scores were analyzed separately for the male (p=.00) and female ski beginners (p=.01). Although male participants had initially a more positive attitude towards skiing than their female counterparts (p=.03), upon completion of the alpine ski course program both the women and men changed their attitude in a positive direction and the statistical significance between genders was lost. The findings confirm that the structured program of alpine ski course can improve attitude towards alpine skiing. Moreover, when ski instructors are familiar with the attitudes and expectations of their ski beginners in advance, they can adjust instruction program to increase interest in alpine skiing.