Rylee Dionigi

Charles Sturt University · School of Human Movement Studies

There are many complex and interrelated personal and structural benefits and constraints to being physically active. In this research, we invited people living in regional, rural and remote (RRR) environments of Australia to share their experiences of being active both currently and historically via an in-depth open-ended online survey. This study...

This qualitative study examined the sporting experiences of individuals of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in rural and remote areas of Australia - contexts where marginalised groups can feel excluded based on gender or sexuality, and where physical activity options may be limited. Twelve participants (aged 29-73 years) identi...

Understanding later-life role model choice and motivations, particularly for older men in sport, exercise, and health contexts, is complex and heterogenous, making it difficult for health and exercise promotion initiatives. This qualitative study examined: (1) whether older men have aging role models, and if so, their characteristics; and (2) older...

Litchfield, C., Dionigi, R., Osborne, J., & Meredith, S. et al. (2022). The impact of sport and physical activity on health in rural Australian communities: Collaboration with NSW Office of Sport, Dubbo. Abstract from Rural Health Research Institute Retreat 2022, Orange, New South Wales, Australia.

Litchfield, C., Dionigi, R., Osborne, J., & Meredith, S. et al. (2022). The impact of sport and physical activity on health in rural Australian communities: Collaboration with NSW Office of Sport, Dubbo. Abstract from Rural Health Research Institute Retreat 2022, Orange, New South Wales, Australia.

The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the psychological barriers that athletes returning to soccer (football) following anterior cruciate ligament knee reconstruction surgery faced and how they negotiated these barriers. Thematic analysis was used analyse online, open-ended survey data within the framework of self-determination theory...

In this chapter, we review research on sport participation in later life and posit the concept of sport-as-leisure. A sport-as-leisure conceptualization posits that sport is a form of leisure that contributes to later-life growth and meaning but not to the exclusion of other forms of leisure that also provide meaning and fulfillment. Topics discuss...

Knowledge translation article posted on March 31, 2020 in the Sport Information Resource Centre's (SIRC) quarterly publication, SIRCuit. SIRC blogs and articles provide evidence-based and actionable insight from sport researchers and thought leaders to advance Canada’s sport system. https://sirc.ca/blog/the-benefits-of-masters-sport-to-healthy-agin...

Purpose: To compare the effect of 12-weeks of cycling training and competition versus recreational cycling on successful aging across physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning domains in mid-aged adults. Methods: Recreational cyclists were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 13, M age = 47.18 years) and comparison (n = 13, M...

Purpose: To test confirmatory factor analyses of successful aging composed of physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning factors in masters athletes (n = 764) and non-sporting adults (n = 404), and compare the physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning of masters athletes versus non-sporting adults. Method: Self-repo...

Sporting events for older adults are proliferating in both popularity and participation numbers, mirroring the growth that is occurring globally with an aging population. Preliminary evidence indicates that older athletes have a tendency to compare themselves (in terms of their performance, participation, and aging) to inactive older adults deemed...

The aims of this qualitative study were to understand how athletes (a) defined psychological readiness and (b) knew when they were ready to return to soccer following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery. Data were collected from a group of 21 (male and female) athletes who had undergone ACL reconstruction surgery and returned to...

This chapter introduces the scope, focus and content of our edited book. Our book critically examines Sport for All in the context of life stages and intersecting factor/s, such as gender, class, race and ability by discussing the implications of this policy agenda for individuals and society. While it is recognised that grass-roots sport participa...

Community youth sport programmes often target boys who are considered ‘at-risk’ of failing at school or not transitioning to an ‘ideal’ adulthood, with the assumption that sport will ‘save them from social alienation’. In this chapter, we extend literature that examines sport programmes as a form of governmentality. We show how on the one hand such...

Events dedicated and marketed to Masters/Veteran’s sport ‘consumers’ are gaining popularity across Western countries, with most of the participants aged in their 40s and 50s. This chapter focuses on how the Masters sport movement has evolved into a place where like-minded, middle-class, already- physically active people gather in pursuit of leisure...

It is scarcely an insight to note that sport has historically been recruited to solve a wide range of social policy problems. However, understanding the shifting discursive resources recruited to create and frame social problems and sport’s role in solving them remains an important task for scholars. In the current Western environment, sport has be...

Encouraging sport participation is one method governments have utilized in the attempt to facilitate a more active senior citizenry. To date, investigations of seniors’ participation in sport has focused primarily on physiological variables, with fewer investigations devoted to psychosocial outcomes or what playing sport means to the older person i...

This edited collection problematizes trajectories of health promotion across the lifespan. It provides a distinctive critical social science perspective of the various directions taken by dominant policies in their approach to promoting sport for all ages. It offers an array of theoretical and methodologically diverse perspectives on this topic, an...

Although sport participation is encouraged throughout the lifespan, little research has been conducted on the role of sport in development later in life. This qualitative study explored adults’ experiences of development within the context of Masters sport. We interviewed 14 adults (nine men and five women) aged 46–61 years involved in Masters spor...

This critical reflection discusses some potential positive and negative implications, with particular focus on the latter, of the promotion and participation of sport and physical activity to older people. Reflecting upon my 15 years of research on older Masters athletes (and active older people in general), I argue that the field of sports/exercis...

Due to their high physical functioning, masters athletes are regularly proposed to exemplify successful aging. However, successful aging research on masters athletes has never been undertaken using a multidimensional successful aging model. To determine the best model for future successful aging research on masters athletes we had masters swimmers...

Although sport is promoted as a vehicle to enhance health and well-being throughout the life course, little is known about the psychosocial benefits and costs associated with sport participation in older adulthood. A mixed studies systematic review of English-language, peer-reviewed, original research articles (from the earliest record until March...

Opportunities for older adults in Western countries, particularly women, to participate in physically demanding, competitive sports have increased since the 1960s. Now, coinciding with the neoliberal shift in social policy, older adults live at a time when physical activity is highly encouraged through ‘healthy or active ageing’ discourses in media...

Global population aging has raised academic interest in successful aging to a public policy priority. Currently there is no consensus regarding the definition of successful aging. However, a synthesis of research shows successful aging can be defined as a late-life process of change characterized by high physical, psychological, cognitive, and soci...

Sport as social policy has reached a peculiar and somewhat paradoxical crossroads. Historically, sport has generally been seen as healthy for young people but ill-advised for older people. However, in the context of the twenty-first century’s ‘obesity epidemic’, the rising ‘risk’ of lifestyle diseases and ageing populations, some scholars suggest t...

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects more than 2.3 million people around the world. Symptoms are numerous and varied, often having a profound effect on activities of daily living. While for many years individuals with MS were told to avoid exercise for fear of worsening their symptoms, recent research has emphasized the multi-fa...

The purpose of this review is to present findings on the effects of stereotypes of aging on health outcomes related to older adults, such as physical and mental functioning (specifically) and overall well-being and perceived quality of life (more broadly). This review shows that both positive and negative stereotypes of aging can have enabling and...

In this chapter I draw from interview data on older athletes (over 75 years old) who regularly compete in individual sports, such as running, swimming, cycling and racquet sports (Dionigi, 2008). I make sense of this data using the work of Jones and Higgs (2010) and Bauman (2000), among others, on normative pronouncements as they relate to ageing,...

We argue that gender issues in physical education (PE) remain in some schools, despite advances in PE research and curricula aimed at engaging females in PE. We interviewed five Australian PE teachers (1 male and 4 females) at a co-educational, regional high school about the factors affecting female participation in PE and the strategies they used...

It is well established that the developed world’s population is aging. This trend has influenced increased scholarly and media interest into the benefits of leisure, sport and physical activity in later life, as well as an explosion of sporting events for mature athletes. However, the lack of qualitative research pertaining to older peoples’ experi...

The purpose of this study was to examine how older people make sense of their capacity to maintain sports performance. Performance maintenance is predominantly examined from a quantitative perspective, with little attention given to how people themselves account for it. We interviewed 44 competitors (23 females, 21 males) from the 2009 Sydney World...

To implement cooperative learning successfully in practice, teachers require knowledge of cooperative learning, its features and terms, and how it functions in classrooms. This qualitative study examined 12 Australian generalist primary teachers', understandings of cooperative learning and perceived factors affecting its implementation. Using Johns...

Inactivity and sedentary behaviour among older females has become an important public health concern as the population ages. This study investigated older women's attitudes in two areas related to health and physical activity, health related role models and female Masters athletes. Twenty-one women aged 75-92 completed in-depth interviews and were...

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the nature and source of family influences on sport participation in Masters athletes of varying skill and training commitment levels (from recreational to elite competitors). Participants were 14 married adults (nine men and five women) aged 46–61 years (M=50) from Ontario, Canada. Ten from the...

At present, the knowledge base about the participation of middle-aged and older women in sport, particularly from the perspectives of women themselves, is embryonic. This situation exists at a time where the number of older women is increasing, new ways of "doing" older age are emerging and traditional understandings of what it means to be a middle...

The number and percent of older people in developed countries continue to grow, thanks to medical advances and decreases in fertility and mortality rates. And that means that tomorrow's recreation and leisure professionals will be more challenged than ever to meet the needs of an increasingly older culturally diverse population. Leisure and Aging:...

This study examines how older women's meanings of successful aging differ depending on their attitudes towards old age and current leisure practices. Twenty-one women aged 75–92 completed in-depth interviews and were divided into three groups (inactive, moderately active, or highly active). Comparisons were made across groups to determine how meani...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the talk of older athletes, with particular focus on how the context of sport helps them negotiate the ageing process. It draws on personal stories provided by 44 World Masters Games competitors (23 women; 21 men; aged 56–90 years; M =72). Four themes emerged: ‘There's no such thing as old’ (a story of avoidi...

The aging of the population and recognition that sport and leisure are central components of satisfaction in later life has implications for research into the experience of physically active leisure pursuits. It has been argued that participation in meaningful leisure pursuits can contribute to development and identity construction in later life, h...

The purpose of this study was to examine coach strategies for addressing athletes' psychosocial challenges in returning to sport following injury rehabilitation. Qualitative interviews with eight elite coaches from the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) in Perth, Australia revealed that coaches facilitated athletes' return to sport from i...

This paper explores the dimensions of community that feature in the lives of older people involved in an exercise intervention. It uses McMillan and Chavis' (1986) theory of psychological sense of community as a sensitizing construct (Ragin, 1994). The results show that participants experienced a sense of community on different levels. They felt a...

In many Western countries, more and more people are living longer. As part of this demographic shift, increasing numbers are participating in Masters sport. In the past, sport was considered important for the development of young people; however, the potential for sport participation to affect positive development across the lifespan is now recogni...

The interdisciplinary nature of 'sport-as-leisure' and ageing studies is highlighted in this qualitative examination of older sportswomen. This paper explores the multiple meanings that a group of older women attached to their experiences in Masters sport. The research takes an interpretive approach, drawing on post-structural theories of resistanc...

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived factors affecting workers'participation in an exercise intervention and interpret the findings within self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000a; 2007). Research examining the impact of psychological need satisfaction on exercise outcomes is not well established (McDonough & Crocke, 2007; Ry...

Using Sonstroem, Harlow, and Josephs' (1994) expanded version of the Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM; Sonstroem & Morgan, 1989), we explored how 9 older adults (6 women and 3 men, aged 65-72 years) involved in a resistance training program experienced and perceived changes in physical self-worth (i.e., improved strength, functional competency...

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived psychological benefits and explore the mechanisms underlying the link between exercise and psychological well-being for a group of older adults (65-72 years; 6 women; 4 men) who participated in a 12-week program of moderate-to-high intensity resistance training. They were interviewed in-depth...

Physical performance discourses are concerned with improving fitness and competing to win or achieve a personal best. Older people are commonly not recognized as acceptable or normal subjects of performance discourses because they are traditionally positioned as weak and less able. Yet the number of older people participating in physically demandin...

This qualitative study examined meanings of community as they developed among older adults who participate in Master's sports. Four themes emerged through data analysis that described what a sense of community meant to study participants: a shared sporting interest, comrades in continued activity, relevant life purpose, and giving back. These theme...

The number of older athletes is growing with the aging of populations across the developed world. This article reviews studies from a variety of disciplines that focus specifically on the motives and experiences of older adults competing in physically demanding sports at events such as masters and veterans competitions in Australia or the Senior Ol...

Understandings of aging and physical leisure in the West are continually changing at both the individual and social levels. With the aging of populations and the increasing value placed on the maintenance of physical activity in later life, the participation of older people in a leisure activity such as competitive sport is a socio-cultural phenome...

Although today’s older generation are encouraged to be physically active, society does not recognise ‘serious competition’ in physically demanding sport as an ‘age-appropriate’ leisure activity for them. It is assumed that older people partake in sport to have fun, make friends and keep fit. Older people competing in sport to win, achieve a persona...

Special events are a widely studied phenomenon. An analysis of previous studies of special sporting events indicates a heavy emphasis on their economic and tourism impacts, but minimal information about the motivations and experiences of those involved as participants. This case-study examined the experiences of people who attended the 1997 Eastern...