The aim of competitive sport is to win. To this end, ego orientation facilitates drive, producing potency in James Anderson’s bowling, forcefulness integral to the court play of Serena Williams and the tenacity featured in Lisa Whiteside’s boxing (see pp. 2–5). This is not detrimental to sportsmanship.
However, elite athletes’ personalities register excessively high measures of ‘vigour’ (see PE Review, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 6–10). If this characteristic coincides with an ego-orientated approach to performance, then impulsive behaviour may occasionally result. Therefore, players may unintentionally transgress while striving for excellence.
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