What it is to take the flow of leisure seriously

Abstract

Associations made between serious leisure and flow have until now remained theoretical, conceptually linking the two. Returning to the experiences themselves, to the actual experiencing of flow, this article draws upon an exploratory study into the intricacies of flow-based serious leisure experience (Elkington, S. (2006). Exploring the nature of pre- and post-flow in serious leisure. In S. Elkington, I. Jones, & L. Lawrence (Eds.), Serious leisure: Extensions and applications (pp. 145–159). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association; Elkington, S. (2008). The need for theoretical originality when taking the flow of leisure seriously. In P. Gilchrist & B. Wheaton (Eds.), Whatever happened to the leisure society? Theory, debate and policy (pp. 135–164). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association; Elkington, S. (2010). Articulating a systematic phenomenology of flow: An experience-process perspective. Leisure/Loisir, 34, 327–260) of participants from one activity characteristic of Stebbins's amateur, hobbyist and career volunteer serious leisure categories, namely amateur actors, hobbyist table tennis players and voluntary sports coaches. This initial foray into examining flow in serious leisure has revealed that each activity is capable of generating flow and does so in terms unique to it, evoking the affinity of serious leisure activity for flow experience and the discovery that both serious leisure and flow are not disparate frameworks, but are structurally and experientially mutually reinforcing, producing strong evidence that experiencing the qualities of flow is what makes their leisure most rewarding and experienced as optimal.

Les liens entre le flow et les loisirs sérieux sont jusqu'à présent restés théoriques. Revenant à l'expérience et plus précisément à l'expérience du flow, ce document s'appuie sur une étude exploratoire et examine les subtilités du flow et du loisir sérieux (Elkington, S. (2006). Exploring the nature of pre- and post-flow in serious leisure. In S. Elkington, I. Jones, & L. Lawrence (Eds.), Serious leisure: Extensions and applications (pp. 145–159). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association; Elkington, S. (2008). The need for theoretical originality when taking the flow of leisure seriously. In P. Gilchrist & B. Wheaton (Eds.), Whatever happened to the leisure society? Theory, debate and policy (pp. 135–164). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association; Elkington, S. (2010). Articulating a systematic phenomenology of flow: An experience-process perspective. Leisure/Loisir, 34, 327–260) chez les acteurs amateurs du tennis de table, et les entraîneurs sportifs bénévoles. Cette première incursion dans l'examen du flow et du loisir sérieux révèle que chaque activité est capable de générer du flow et le fait en termes uniques à chaque activité, ces données évoquent aussi l'affinité du loisir sérieux avec le flow. Le fait que le flow et les loisirs sérieux ne sont pas des cardes disparates, mais qu'ils sont en effet des expériences qui se renforcent mutuellement démontre que l'expérience du flow est ce qui rend les loisirs plus enrichissants.

Keywords:

• flow
• serious leisure
• optimal leisure
• seriousness

Mots-clés:

• flow
• loisirs sérieux
• loisirs optimaux
• gravité

Notes

1. For a more comprehensive and systematic insight into the research process undertaken, see Elkington (2008, 2010).