Taiwanese university students' satisfaction with sports facilities and exercise equipment in schools

In general, students are the primary users of sports facilities and exercise equipment. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which Taiwanese university students were satisfied with the sports facilities and equipment their schools provide for them to use. The second purpose of this study was to examine the need for schools to have swimming pools and to address the importance of developing aquatic sports.;A survey instrument developed by the researcher was used to collect data from a random sample of 405 university students throughout Taiwan. Five-point Likert scales were used to measure respondents' attitudes toward sports facilities and exercise equipment, aquatic sports, and water safety issues.;Results indicated that respondents were moderately satisfied with the number and quality of recreational sports facilities in their schools. They were also moderately satisfied with the amount and quality of equipment their schools provided for recreational sports facilities. Most respondents had no strong opinions regarding their willingness to pay extra fees to have better recreational sports facilities in their schools. Respondents expressed a desire to have swimming pools in universities in Taiwan and for schools to offer aquatic sports courses. Although most respondents participated in aquatic sports about once a week, they did not have a high level of knowledge regarding water safety. Finally, a t test analysis revealed that males participated in aquatic sports significantly more often than females.