What is competitive stress?

The negative emotional reaction of an athlete when he/she feels that his/her self-esteem is threatened during a competition. The threat comes from an imbalance between the environmental demands of competition and the athlete’s perception of his or her own ability to meet those demands successfully. The amount of stress depends on how important the consequences of failure are perceived by the athlete.

For example, a hockey player may face a situation where he/she needs to score a crucial shot to win a tournament for their team. …