OBJECTIVES: To compare professional freeride skiers (an experienced high-risk cohort) with recreational freeride skiers (a less experienced high risk cohort) and slope skiers (a low-risk sport cohort) in regard to their motives and their reported accident involvement.
DESIGN: Case-control study.
METHODS: In an online survey, skiers completed the German Sensation Seeking, Emotion Regulation and Agency Scale and the German Accident and Close Calls in Sport Inventory. Freeriders were further asked about their risk-management strategies and their use of safety equipment. For every professional freerider (total 31; 29% female) within the sample, two matched controls (age, gender) were allocated (slope skier and recreational freerider). Univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and Chi-square differences were calculated.
RESULTS: Freeriders showed significantly higher sensation seeking scores than slope skiers. No differences were found in the experience of agency while participating; however freeriders experienced higher agency transfers after the activity than slope skiers. No further motivational disparities between recreational or professional freeriders were shown. Both freeride samples reported a significantly higher accident and close call involvement than slope skiers. Accident and close call involvement was not predicted by motives of participation.
CONCLUSIONS: Freeriding might provide beneficial transfer effects as shown through a higher agency transfer, for participants into aspects of everyday life. Nevertheless it should not be ignored that the potential behavioural gain of freeriding is at the cost of a higher risk which is underlined by the higher involvement in accidents and experienced close calls of freeriders compared to slope skiers.