Jonathan Males | Performance1 - Over the 2012 World Cup and Olympic slalom competitions, the eighteen chances to stand on the podium were taken by 13 different K1 men and 10 different K1 women.  If we narrow the focus down further, just 4 men and 4 women won gold.  89% of the competitors in these events didn’t win a medal of any colour across the whole season.  The figures are remarkably similar for men and women K1 results in 2011, although the names vary. I’ve not trawled the results for other classes or disciplines, but I expect a similar pattern.

With such a small proportion winning medals in any given season, it begs the question of what sustains the majority of racers who don’t achieve the visible rewards of success.  How do they stay motivated? Are there differences in the motivation of more and less successful competitors?

There are many, many, reasons for competing, and they change over time from event to event, or even from day to day; to win medals, to beat other people, to master a challenge, to produce their best performance, to secure funding, to prove their worth to others, to not lose, to have fun…motivation is rarely fixed or simple.  It’s normal that a racer’s motivation is multi-faceted and changes over time.  In my experience it’s also possible for paddlers to perform well regardless of their motivation. Indeed the best competitors will often perform well no matter how they feel, whether under pressure or feeling relaxed. 

However there are some motivational principles which paddlers and their coaches can develop to enable more consistent performances and a sustained approach to racing. I call these principles Mastery Motivation.

Mastery Motivation is the desire to be in control of your performance, to perform to the very best of your ability, and to continually challenge yourself.  It shows up through a high level of commitment and a willingness to be tough and determined. Mastery Motivation is largely self-focused, which means that the ultimate measure is not against opponents but against your own standards. It includes a strong desire to win – but only because competitive results are further evidence that you have performed as well as possible on the day.  The real pleasure of winning comes not from beating someone else but from achieving all that you are capable of in that particular moment of competition, especially in front of a crowd. Focusing on your own performance, on the water and the poles, makes it easier to perform at big events, when there is a risk of becoming distracted by other people’s expectations or the lure of “fame and glory”.

By contrast, motivation that is based only on meeting other people’s expectations or achieving results is often short-lived or inconsistent. It’s impossible to control how well other paddlers race, and once the result is achieved, then what? Sure it’s possible to re-set goals, but many competitive paddlers report a feeling of anti-climax and even depression if their sole focus has been on achieving a single result – even if it’s Olympic gold.

So whether you’re one of the 89% who won’t win a medal this season, or one of the fortunate 11% who will, it’s important to develop the attitude of Mastery Motivation and use it to support top quality training, preparation and racing. Bill Endicott once said that slalom is all about the search for the ultimate run. I suggest a slight modification – slalom is all about the search for YOUR ultimate run.  So go for it and enjoy the challenge!

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