Differential motivational pathways to flow experience in competitive sailing

Introduction: Understanding how motivational orientations shape flow experience is central to sport and performance psychology, particularly in competitive contexts characterized by high task demands and environmental uncertainty. Although motivation has long been regarded as a key antecedent of flow, limited empirical research has examined how different motivational orientations differentially influence flow experience in sailing regattas. Methods: This study investigated the relationships between participation motivations and flow experience among competitive sailing regatta participants. Flow experience was operationalized through three core experiential dimensions: concentration, perceived control, and time distortion. Data were collected from 192 sailors with recent regatta experience and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results: The results reveal that competition motivation and novelty-exploration motivation exert significant positive effects on all three dimensions of flow experience. In contrast, relaxation motivation demonstrates a consistent and significant negative association with concentration, perceived control, and time distortion. Challenge motivation does not show a significant direct effect on any flow dimension, suggesting that perceived challenge may be normalized within highly competitive sailing environments. Environmental experience and social interaction motivations exhibit selective positive effects on specific flow dimensions. Discussion: These findings highlight the context-dependent nature of motivational influences on flow experience in competitive sailing. While achievement-oriented and novelty-driven motivations facilitate deep immersion and optimal engagement, relaxation-oriented motives appear psychologically incompatible with the heightened attentional and control demands of competition. The study contributes to sport psychology by clarifying how distinct motivational orientations differentially shape flow experience in competitive maritime sport settings, offering practical implications for event design, participant segmentation, and performance-oriented sport management.