Do recreational or competitive paddlers care about nature more?

I’m a paddler. I paddle multiple different sports —  canoeing, kayaking, and dragon boating. I’m competitive in dragon boating but recreational in the other two. From my own experience, recreational paddlers seem to think more about nature and environmental impact. Even for myself, I know that I justify a higher environmental impact in my dragon boating than in my other two. This happens, at least in part, because the competition often comes first. I’m not deciding where I’m travelling to or when, the competition determines that to some degree. The level of impact is partially mediated by the level of competition. Higher levels often require more and further travel; whereas I can stay closer to home for more recreational level races. This supports findings by Steinam (2024) in their master’s thesis.

Steinam used two established survey instruments — the Nature Relatedness Scale and the New Ecological Paradigm — to survey competitive and recreational canoeists. They found that the recreational canoeists scored higher on both scales. They relate more to nature and engage in more pro-environmental behaviours. They were also more likely to fill out the surveys which may also reflect a difference in their position.

One of the interesting differences between the group was how important nature was to their sport. The competitive canoeists were more likely to say that it wasn’t important at all. I find this interesting because doing a sport outside is a big part of why dragon boating appeals to me. I not only get to travel to different places than I might choose otherwise but I also get to be outside in those spaces.

Overall, I’m not surprised by these results. I do, however, question what the future might hold. Will views change if climate change starts to have significant impacts on competitive canoeing?