This study uniquely provides details of population-level participation in sport across a whole state, across the lifespan, over a 3-year period, based on over 400,000 participant registrations in five popular sports. It provides evidence of the trends in participation across the lifespan for both sexes and for metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions. The summaries presented in this paper, and the more detailed multi-factorial profiles which can be constructed from these data, can be utilised by the sport sector and government for planning of policy and strategic directions to increase participation in sport. This paper contributes to an identified need for more comprehensive sport participation data to inform evidence-based decision making [3].
The overall participation rate for the five sports included in this study increased from 7.5 to 8.3 % over the three year period. It is difficult to compare this to other studies, which are generally more broadly based, although generally age-limited, and which often employ more inclusive definitions of participation. For instance, Eime, Sawyer et al. (2014) reported participation rates for the period 2001–2010 of around 30 % for males and 20 % for females aged 15 years and above, but included all sporting activity organised by a sport or recreation club or association, and defined participation as having participated at least once in the preceding 12 months. This study also reported no significant changes in sport participation rates from 2001 to 2010 [3]. Another study reported that for Australians aged 15 years and over, participation in any form of “sport and physical recreation” at least once in the preceding 12 months decreased from 65 % in 2011–2012 to 60 % in 2013–2014 [29]. The current study is more specifically focused on club sport per se, and while based on only five sports, extends the findings of other studies in that it captures sport participation across the lifespan, and in particular includes children, for whom sport is a popular activity, Further, this study is unique as it is based on a census of sport club members and is therefore inherently more accurate than a cross sectional sample survey.
Over a third of all Victorians aged 10–14 years were registered participants in these five sports and the participation rate increased by four percentage points between 2010 (36 %) and 2012 (40 %). This was the age range with the highest participation rate, which is consistent with the study of Olds et al., [18], which reported peak sport participation at age 12–13 years. The second highest participation rate was among the 5–9 year olds, which was 30 % for each of the three years.
Whilst a large proportion of the population plays sport in childhood, this declines rapidly in late adolescence. The present study showed that in 2012 there was a decline of 17 percentage points in the rate of participation from 10–14 to 15–19 years. Other studies of organised sport participation have reported that 60 % of children aged 5–14 years participated in at least one organised sport outside of school hours [16] compared with only 28 % aged 15 years and older [29]. This decline in participation during adolescence is partly explained by a change in context of participation in PA away from club- and team-based participation towards unorganised and individual PA pursuits [21, 30]. By age 20 only 12 % participate in these sports, with further declines with age evident across the lifespan.
Furthermore, this decline coincides with the age when elite pathways open up through talent programs, and a small minority of participants move to national and then international competitions [31]. However the impact of the more broadly-based drop-off in sport participation during adolescence on the health of individuals and communities is not known [21].
While it is a consistent finding that males are more likely to participate in sport than females [18, 30], the present study does not contribute to such comparisons because of the gender bias in the particular five sports studied. However, the present study shows that the under-representation of females relative to males was greatest in the youngest age groups in those sports studied. This finding may support the contention that parents are more likely to provide sport opportunities to their sons rather than daughters [32].
Location of residence was also a factor contributing to participation in these five sports. Participation rates were much higher in non-metropolitan than metropolitan areas, for both males and females. This may be related to the sports being traditional sports which are readily available in non-metropolitan areas; whilst within metropolitan areas there is often greater choice in types of sports and recreation activities for young people [10]. The participation rate for males in non-metropolitan aged 10-14 years was particularly high, at 64 % in 2012, which was 20 percentage points higher than for metropolitan males in this age group.
Limitations
We acknowledge some limitations to this study. The number of sports studied was limited and there was no way of detecting multiple counting of those who participated in more than one of the five sports. There was also sex bias in the data; of the five sports included, three are predominantly played by males and only one is predominantly played by females, which precludes meaningful comparison between the participation rates of males and females. However notwithstanding this, comparison of sex-specific rates of participation over time or age-specific rates of participation for each sex does not require equal representation of the sexes in the data set.