Rochelle Eime, Melanie Charity, Katherine Owen
This study demonstrates that, while overall numbers of participants playing sport have increased, there are inconsistencies across age, sex, and region. We recommend that sport policy and research focus on physical literacy and retention of participants, specifically for children, and the transition of individuals into different sport offerings that match their motivations, needs, and desires. Further, the sex and regional participation disparities require investigation. Without formative action, we are at risk of failing to provide sporting opportunities that are suited to our children and youth, which will impact their health and well-being and the sporting system for both community and elite.
BACKGROUND: Sport policy focuses on increasing community-level participation numbers and on development and performance at the elite level. There is limited literature on participation trends across demographic subgroups with specific references to sport policy. The study aim was to investigate the latest sport participation trends and discuss them through the lens of sport policy and sport offerings.
METHODS: Community-level registered sport participants/players from 10 major sports in Victoria, Australia, were combined to examine broad participation trends. Age-Specific participation rates were calculated for each age cohort, sex, year, and region.
RESULTS: Overall participation numbers increased from 749,037 in 2015 (12.6%) to 939,295 in 2023 (14.2%). However, participation increases were not consistent. The largest decline in participation was for those aged 10-11 years, with participation in 2023 (69.7%) 7% points lower than the peak in 2017 (77.3%). Participation was consistently higher in regional compared with metropolitan areas and for males compared with females.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that, while overall numbers of participants playing sport have increased, there are inconsistencies across age, sex, and region. We recommend that sport policy and research focus on physical literacy and retention of participants, specifically for children, and the transition of individuals into different sport offerings that match their motivations, needs, and desires. Further, the sex and regional participation disparities require investigation. Without formative action, we are at risk of failing to provide sporting opportunities that are suited to our children and youth, which will impact their health and well-being and the sporting system for both community and elite.