TITLE:
The Role of Sports Academies in Developing Saudi Sports from Society’s Perspective
AUTHORS:
Khalid S. Aljaloud, Ahmed M. Abdulsalam, Osama E. Aljuhani, Abdullah G. Alshehri, Abdullah A. Alselaimi
KEYWORDS:
Sports Academy, Young Athletes, Sports Centers, Sports Talents
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.12 No.3,
July
19,
2022
ABSTRACT: In the last decade, sports academies increase dramatically
in Saudi Arabia. However, the lack of information about the role of the sports
academies in developing sports in Saudi Arabia from society’s perspective alerts the importance of
investigating this gap. Aim: The main aim of the present study was to investigate the role of sports academies in
developing Saudi sports from society’s perspective. Methods: This
cross-sectional study used descriptive design. One hundred eighty-three
responds from random public people (age, 22 - 63 years old) including males and female
participated in the present study
using a developed electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of six
dimensions with total of 23 items. The reliability of the questionnaire was
evaluated (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92). Data of the present study was analyzed
using SPSS program version 26. Mean, standard deviation, frequencies,
percentages and relative importance were used. Results: Generally, the
responds of the participants demonstrated that the society tends to be mature enough to understand
the role of the sports academies especially in development of the spread of
stadiums and sports facility (mean = 2.41), developing the technical aspects
and the level of performance (mean = 2.48), and developing a sports and
physical activities participation (mean = 2.61). Conclusion: The present
study demonstrated that the responds of the
participants showed well awareness of the importance of the role of
sports academies in developing Saudi sports. Further studies are recommended to
understand the role of sports academies from specific population such as
coaches from different sports.