Having supporters on the sidelines of your next athletic event could motivate you enough to achieve your personal best, however some individuals may find themselves crumbling under the pressure.

When we participate in athletic events, one of the best feelings is knowing that there are people on the sidelines, or at the finish line, cheering you on and encouraging you to execute your best performance. It can be inspiring to know that someone is watching you, in situations where motivation might otherwise be lacking.

You might have experienced this yourself when your family members or friends come to watch you play on your local sporting team, or to watch your track meets; you want to perform the best you can in order to impress the people that you love (or spectators of the opposite sex)

Some sources feel that this audience presence encourages athletes to avoid failure, rather than to actively seek success. When you’re running the 200m sprint in gym class, you really don’t want to be LAST, do you? So, you leg it and push as hard as you can to avoid the perceived embarrassment that comes with failure.

Note: I say ‘perceived’ because there is no shame in coming last. There is no embarrassment with your body moving slower than anyone else’s. Just by participating, you are already far outstripping those who are choosing not to.

Another school of thought supposes that for people who are confident in their abilities and skills, crowd influence leads to “performance facilitation”, i.e. improved performance. Contrastingly, for people who are unconfident in their skills and abilities, crowd influence leads to “performance decrement”, or a decrease in performance. Having an engaged and supportive audience is a booster for emotional reactions, and will lead most sports people to deliver heightened results. This is one of the reasons behind the concept of a ‘Home Court Advantage’, where teams typically perform better at their home stadiums than when playing at competitor stadiums; because when surrounded by their own crowd, they are motivated to perform better in front of their friends and family, and because the audience as a whole is more encouraging.

On the opposite side of the coin, having an audience presence can also negatively impact on athletic performance. However, this seems to be closely tied to the nature of the crowd.

On the flip side of a home court advantage, there is naturally a ‘Home Court Disadvantage’ as well. This may be due to the players feeling an increased pressure to succeed when on their home grounds, leading to performance anxiety and stress. This means that, ironically, playing on home turf may be a tangible disadvantage to sportspeople or teams where the public interest is high, and the events garner a lot of attention. With attention comes an expectation for success, and fear of not living up to this expectation can induce fumbling and distracted performance from athletes.

Removing this pressure may a solution to wiping out both home court advantage, AND disadvantage. For example, consider the success of American tennis players in the US Grand Slam, versus Australians in the Aus Open and Brits in Wimbledon. Sports Illustrated hypothesises that because tennis is such a low-profile sport in the US, there isn’t the same public interest and pressure that there might be in England or Australia. Their theory is that this “erases all pressure but the personal”, allowing players to just get on with the game, without worrying about any expectations being placed upon them by their home country. For some athletes, the lack of pressure (combined with skill, talent and general competitiveness, of course) can give the slight edge needed to succeed.

What does this mean for you as an athlete?

If you are someone who is confident in your ability and skill as a sports person, you may find yourself being encouraged by spectator presence. It can be a huge emotional boost, and can help push you through any tough spots or moments of low energy. If you are this kind of athlete, you might consider inviting all of your mates to your Park Run, or to watch your basketball games, knowing that having an audience will encourage peak performance out of you.

If you are someone who is perhaps less confident in your abilities, having a critical or overly invested audience can be hugely detrimental; with the pressure of performing in front of others crippling your efforts. For people who are more low-key with their athletic pursuits, perhaps consider only having one or two spectators watching you perform, and make sure that they are supporting, caring people who celebrate your efforts, no matter the result. Having a gentle audience will encourage you to do your best, while not overwhelming you with pressure.