Athletes’ Use of Imagery in the Off-Season

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of competitive level on athletes’ use of imagery in the off-season and to examine whether their use of imagery was related to their physical and technical preparation. A total of 324 athletes completed a modified version of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998) that was designed to reflect an athletes’ use of imagery in the off-season. MANOVAs indicated that competitive level differences existed in athletes’ use of imagery in the offseason as well as in their use of physical and technical preparation for the upcoming season. More specifically, provincial and national level athletes engaged in significantly more imagery, regardless of the function, and physical and technical preparation than regional level athletes. In addition, bivariate correlations indicated that the more physical and technical preparation athletes engage in during the off-season, the more imagery they use.