CONNECTIONS BETWEEN NEGOTIATION OF LEISURE CONSTRAINTS AND SERIOUS LEISURE - AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY OF ADULT AMATEUR ICE SKATERS

Constraints on leisure and serious leisure are two areas of leisure re search which have developed with little recognition of potential conne ctions between them. This paper demonstrates how the simultaneous expl oration of concepts related to the negotiation of leisure constraints and serious leisure can lead to mutual enrichment of the two fields. A ctivities which manifest the characteristics of serious leisure, and p eople who may be described as ''amateurs'' in the ways in which Stebbi ns (1993) has used the term, provide particularly appropriate examples of how some people encounter and negotiate constraints on participati on and achieve their leisure goals despite these constraints. Adult am ateur ice skating pertinently exemplifies the attributes of serious le isure, such as the degree of commitment and perseverance manifested by many of its participants. Participants in adult amateur ice skating t ypically progress through a leisure ''career,'' of which the key stage s for the purposes of this study are: (1) becoming a potential partici pant; (2) beginning in the sport; (3) development; (4) establishment; and (5) decline or exit from the sport. We use each of these ''career stages'' to identify and elaborate upon the leisure constraints that a re commonly encountered by adult amateur ice skaters, and the strategi es they frequently adopt to negotiate these constraints.