Nature-Based Extreme Sport Participation and Eco-Sensitivity: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study in South Africa

Nature-based extreme sports are often framed through sensation seeking, thrill, and voluntary exposure to risk, yet this framing can obscure the meanings participants attach to prolonged engagement with demanding natural environments. This study explored how experienced South African participants interpreted the relationship between nature-based extreme sport participation and eco-sensitivity. In this article, eco-sensitivity refers to participants' reported environmental attention, affective connection with nature, recognition of ecological dependence, concern about degradation, and efforts to reduce personal impact. A qualitative design using interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to semi-structured interviews conducted between 29 April and 4 July 2019 with 10 experienced participants, five men and five women, who represented 11 nature-based extreme sport activities and reported two to 22 years of experience. Four interconnected themes were identified: risk as a managed component of participation; connection rather than conquest; sensory sensitivity and experiences consistent with mindfulness and flow; and eco-sensitivity and self-reported pro-environmental orientation. Participants described risk as something to calculate and manage through competence, preparation, and situational judgement. They also described respect for natural forces, heightened bodily and environmental attention, and a stronger sense of ecological dependence. Reported pro-environmental practices were self-reported and were not independently observed. The findings provide an interpretive account of how participants made sense of environmental meanings within prolonged outdoor sport involvement. They do not establish a causal developmental mechanism. The results suggest propositions for athlete education, outdoor recreation management, environmental learning, and future longitudinal research.