Abstract:
The objective of this study was to find out the students' sports behaviors and their
perceptions during their university times. This study was carried out using 51
randomly selected undergraduate students reading for the Geography special
degree at the University of Colombo. The sample size was 37% of the total
undergraduates who are reading Geography special degree. An online
questionnaire survey was carried out during a one-month period. The data relating
to the birthplace of the students, sports activities carried out during the school and
university period, the awareness of the sports facilities in the university, reasons
for not engaging with the sports activities, prizes and medals received, their
knowledge of the importance of sports to the lives were collected using the
questionnaire. The students (61%) reading for the Geography special degree were
from Galle, Rathnapura, Monaragala, Kaluthara, and Matara districts. The
students (33%) were engaged in sports activities during their school time. The most
popular sports event during school time is Netball. The students (80%) had good
awareness about the sports facilities in the university, and 96% of students were
not engaged in any of sports during their university period. The majority (27%) of
students emphasized that the distance from the residing place to the university is
the main reason for not participating in sports activities. Only 16% of the students
followed “Introduction to Sports, Physical Activity and Exercises” as a subject for
their degree. All of the students had better knowledge about the importance of
sports activity to a person. 7% of them highlighted sports are important to reduce
depression. It is concluded that geography specialized students are rarely engaged
with university sports activities and none of the students are representing the
university at the interuniversity gains.
