Abstract:
The objective of this research is to study the welfare needs of table tennis
athletes, and to differentiate the welfare needs, according to sex, ranking, and length
of time as a table tennis athlete. The target population of this research were general
table tennis athletes,both male and female, and youth under18 years old, who were
registered in the ranking list of the Table Tennis Association of Thailand, on 17
November 2003. The sampled table tennis athletes, totalled 139 cases. The research
instrument was a questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done by percentage, mean,
standard deviation, and t-test.
The results revealed that table tennis athletes had welfare needes in
physiology, security needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization.
The overall welfare needs of the athletes were relatively high. In all of these
categories, women had greater welfare needs than men. There was little difference
between the needs of elite players and ordinary players and between experienced
players and less experienced players.
On the basis of the research results, it is recommended that promotion of
public relations during competitions and training should be arranged to meet the
esteem needs of players. Emphasis should be placed on meeting the welfare needs of
the Thai national team, as a motivation for competent athletes to put themselves
forward for selection to the national team.