The purpose of the present research was to compare the motivation of male and female competitive athletes. The research method was quasi-experimental which was carried out as a field study using a questionnaire. The population of the research consisted of all male and female,team and individual athletes in Golestan Province of whom 50 men and 62 women were selected as sample. The Sport Motivation Scale (Brière et al. 1995) was used to determine the motivational factors. The results of t-test showed that (1) the level ofidentified regulation,extrinsic regulation, and extrinsic motivation is significantly higher in male athletes, (2) there is no significant difference between male and female athletes in the level of introjected regulation,intrinsic motivation to know, and amotivation, (3) the level of intrinsic motivation to accomplish, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, and intrinsic motivation is significantly higher in female athletes, and (4) there is no significant difference between male and female athletes in sport motivation, but the mean sport motivation of male athletes is considerably higher. The results of the research will be discussed from the viewpoint of motivational differences between men and women marked bydisplaying physical skills for women and achieving fame and championship for men.
