Reasons for dropout of the practice of artistic gymnastics in the extracurricular context

Abstract Sport is the main option for physical activity among children and youth. Despite the great interest of this group with regard to sports practices, the literature indicates a high dropout rate. Motivated by this conjuncture, the objective of this study was to verify the reason for dropout, more specifically, in Women Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) within the context of extracurricular activities. We interviewed practitioners of WAG who have a record regarding withdraw of this sport for a certain period of time. For the data treatment, the content analysis proposed by BARDIN was chosen. We found that intrinsic and extrinsic factors are linked to the process of dropout of this sport. However, the extrinsic factors overlapped those intrinsic, evidencing that the environment and situational and interpersonal conditions exert greater influence on the withdrawing of the gymnasts. Thus, we emphasize the importance of the coaches’ attention to these aspects in order to ensure that activities meet the needs and desires of gymnasts.