Abstract

Active recreation offers benefits such as improvement in the physical, mental, and social health of an individual. This article reports the attitudes, choices, and intents of staff in a Nigerian tertiary institution. It is based on the recreational survey conducted in 2018 among staff of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Findings show the availability of numerous recreational facilities within the staff quarters. Intention to participate in recreational activities encompasses exercise (RSI = 4.42), improve physical well-being (RSI = 4.19), be with family and friends (RSI = 3.97), develop skills (RSI = 3.93), minimize stress (RSI = 3.91), and keep physically fit (RSI = 3.73). Respondent choices were evident in exercises (jogging, playing football, and table tennis), reading, walking, and listening to music. However, the study reports low participation in recreational activities; more than half of the respondents have never been to basketball court (83%), gymnasium (85%), swimming pool (89%), or volleyball court (83%); whereas only a small proportion of the respondents visited these recreational facilities and participate actively in the activities. The factors driving low participation were revealed using exploratory factors analysis as socioeconomic (21.67%), facility (18.31%), mobility (10.11%), information (9.95%), and time factors (6.15%). The outcome of this study contributes immensely in evolving policies that could create inclusiveness among members of staff in tertiary institutions irrespective of their ages, sociocultural, economic, and intellectual status, through active participation in recreational activities.