Einleitung

Athletic performance is tested to its maximum within competition and being competitive is a trait that can be found at the heart of competitors who strive for achievement (Gill, 1986). However, athletes' perspectives on competitiveness were not found in the reviewed literature. Athletes often talk about something they call competitiveness, competitive fire, edge, or desire, but what they mean has not been explored. Athletes in various sports use different language to describe competitiveness. The theoretical basis of competitiveness can be found in the psychology literature of achievement motivation and orientation, as well as social evaluation. Achievement motivation reflects one's tendency to strive for satisfaction of the achievement motive, which is aroused by the achievement situation. It is a choice that individuals have to either approach or avoid competitive situations. Athletes have a sport-specific achievement motive that directs their behavior. According to Weinberg and Gould (1995), this sport-specific achievement motivation "is popularly called competitiveness". In terms of sport competitiveness, Martens (1976) wrote that it is the trait which makes athletes strong and persistent when pursuing excellence and helps them stay in the present. In this study, the researcher attempted to uncover and understand the polo athlete's perspective, perceptions, and ideas on competitiveness. Just like all other athletes, poloists practice and play games, aspire to become better, want to compete, want to win, and want to be competitive. Polo brings together many sports on one field. It is like playing hockey, baseball, tennis, and soccer while riding a horse. After reviewing the existing literature, the researcher "hypothesized" that if we could learn more on competitiveness, we possibly could work out a way to teach it to the "less competitive" athletes. Einleitung