Аннотация
Sports career is a long-term process, during which there are significant changes in the motivation of athletes.At the same time, despite the lack of unified motivation theory, it is practically important to know peculiarities of athletes' motivation with regard to specific kind of sports and the stages of the sports career.Motivation is a factor on which the effectiveness of sports activities and the level of achievements of athletes depend.The aim of the research was to study the leading motives of athletes at different stages of sports career.The study involved three groups, 55 people in total -25 sportsmen of the initial stage of sportsmanship, 11 sportsmen engaged in the stage of sports perfection, and 10 professional athletes.The study used a standardized questionnaire to study the motivation of sports activities, which included 34 statements on personal and social motivation, as well as a standardized interview.The data proving differences in the motivation within the groups, as well as motives contributing to the development of long-term motivation leading in the context of achieving high sports skills are obtained. Research Methodology and ProcedureThe study was conducted on the basis of athletics club "The Ray" in Yekaterinburg, Russia.A total of 55 persons participated in the study.The first group -the sportsmen at the initial stage of 1st International Conference on Contemporary Education and Economic Development (CEED 2018)