Background
Scientific evidence shows that regular physical activity (PA) has many physical, psychological and social benefits (Mascaró et al., 2022). Despite these benefits, however, women are notably less numerous than men to reach the recommended PA guidelines (Statistics Canada, 2021). In addition, some studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic had substantially impacted everyone’s lives, including women (Nienhuis & Lesser, 2020). Many specific initiatives have been implemented in different countries to promote PA practice among women, including Le Défi des Roses, a major uncompetitive sporting challenge in Quebec, Canada.
Aims
The objective of this study is to describe the physical, psychological and social impacts of the challenge on participants and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their training.
Method
Individual interviews (n=38) were conducted two to three months after the challenge. Each interview was guided by 12 key questions divided according to the four types of impact mentioned above.
Results
Results indicate that the Le Défi des Roses challenge had positive impacts physically, psychologically and socially. Physically, participants reported an increase in the frequency of their PA practice. Psychologically, several women reported improvement in their body image and self-esteem. Regarding the social impacts, participants reported tangible support from a structured training program, emotional support from encouragement by other women, and informational support from the group’s private Facebook page and from coaches. As for the impacts of the pandemic, two key findings emerged: some women said the pandemic allowed them to devote more time to PA practice, while others stated that the closure of gyms had a negative impact on their training.
Conclusion
Since PA is clearly positive psychology in motion (Faulkner, 2019), these results could be used to consolidate the Le Défi des Roses initiative as well as other similar uncompetitive challenges designed to promote women’s regular PA practice and, ultimately, their physical, psychological, and social well-being.