Factors that Contribute to the Reduction of Participation in Sports Activities Among University Students

"ABSTRACT. Introduction: In this article, our aim is to examine the mainreasons that lead university students to practice less and less physical sportsactivities. Objective: Identifying the differences that may exist between studentswho were enrolled at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, in the academicyear 2011-2012, and those who were enrolled in the academic year 2019-2020,regarding the reasons that determine them to reduce the time allocated tophysical sports activities. Methods: To find out why the level of participationof university students in various physical sport activities is very low, and tendsto decrease from year to year, we conducted two studies, the first one in the2011-2012 academic year (n=880 participants), and the second one, in theacademic year 2019-2020 (n=594 participants), and we compared the resultsobtained. Results: The results of the study show the reasons for today’s shorttime allocated by students to physical activities and the reasons why they aretoo busy to play sports. The findings indicate that the main reason whystudents of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca practice less and lessphysical sports activities is because they are busier. The overloaded programfrom university is the main cause why some students have reduced the timeallocated to sports activities. Other important factors are the lack of energy andthe lack of sport facilities. Conclusions: Increasing educational requirementsand reduced leisure time, justify a decrease in students’ interest in participatingin extracurricular sports activities. To increase the motivation and future sportadherence of students, it would be necessary for universities and local publicauthorities to provide a motivational climate for practicing physical activitiesand sport."