Support whilst skating : the perceptions of significant figures and the athletes

![CDATA[Figure skaters, especially female skaters, compete internationally at a young age as the onset of puberty creates a body shape that makes it more difficult to execute intricate moves on the ice. For this reason, figure skating is predominantly a young sport and the athletes still need a great deal of parental support. A review and synthesis of the research on support has supported its multi-dimensional structure (Cutrona & Russell, 1990), consisting of emotional, informational, tangible, network, and esteem support. This qualitative study investigated perceptions of parents, coaches, and athletes about the different types of support they provided and received from each other. A total of 10 figure skaters of international level, 7 parents, and 10 coaches from ice centres across the United Kingdom participated. Parents and coaches provided extensive and diverse support in the dimensions of emotional, tangible, network, and esteem support to the athletes. However, informational support from the coach and parent was perceived by the parent and athlete, respectively, to be slightly inadequate. Further investigation needs to explore the extent to which esteem and emotional support are two separate dimensions and potential methods of how greater support between all stakeholders can be obtained.]]