Acceptance and Intended Use of a Feedback System for Fencing

Fencing is a sport requiring high levels of physical and mental abilities from athletes. Amongst others traits, fencers need to be able to hit small targets with high accuracy. In order to be able to investigate changes in the accuracy of fencers over prolonged periods of training, a training device needs to be accepted by its users. This article presents a low-cost feedback system that can be used to train and monitor accuracy. The system was evaluated for its acceptance and intended use by potential users using a qualitative version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) (Venkatesh et al. 2012). Nine athletes participated in the evaluation. After conducting a standardized session, qualitative interviews were conducted with the athletes. Categorization was performed inductively along the dimensions of the UTAUT2 model. Results showed that the athletes were satisfied with the prototype and expressed their desire for a system with a simple setup. No effect of gender on usage intentions was found. However, an effect of age and/or experience on how athletes intend to use such as system was identified. More experienced athletes intended to use the system in dedicated parts of their training while novice athletes desired to integrate it into existing training sessions.