Social Status, Self-Development, and the Process of Sailing Specialization

The specialization framework argues that participation in a leisure activity is a linear process of self-development where people progress from novice to expert. Aversa (1986) challenges this notion of a linear progression and argues that sailors enter the activity in different ways tied to one's social status. Some enter through yacht clubs, others through sailing schools, and still others through boat shows. Depending on the entry into sailing, people develop unique sailing preferences and behaviors, and therefore distinct expressions of sailing specialization. This study compared the linear continuum approach implied in most specialization research with Aversa's social status framework, which implies multiple routes to specialization. Data came from sailors at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin. The results did not support the social status approach to specialization. Entry into sailing was not based on social status, and differing styles of participation were not unique to entry groups. The results supported the linear continuum concept, providing evidence that different styles of sailing participation were aligned along a developmental continuum.