4156.0 - Sport and Recreation: A Statistical Overview, Australia , 2006 Edition 2  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/11/2006   
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Contents >> Chapter 3.1 Participation - Introduction >> Chapter 3.2 Participation - Adult Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation

PARTICIPATION


ADULT PARTICIPATION IN SPORTS AND PHYSICAL RECREATION

Characteristics of participants

During the 12 months prior to interview in 2002, 62.4% of Australians aged 18 years and over participated in physical activities for recreation, exercise or sport. More males participated in sports and physical recreation (4.7 million or 65.0% of males) than females (4.4 million or 59.9% of females). The participation rate was higher for persons aged 18-24 (72.6%) than for any other age group, and lower for persons aged 65 and over (45.6%).


A larger proportion of persons in capital cities participated in sports and physical recreation than did persons living in other areas of Australia (63.4% compared with 60.6%). Participation rates varied among the states and territories, ranging from 59.5% in New South Wales to 76.1% in the Australian Capital Territory.


The participation rates for both Full-time and Part-time employed persons (69.5% and 67.6% respectively) were higher than that for Unemployed persons (61.3%). For persons Not in the labour force, the participation rate was particularly low at 49.6%. However, this was largely because a substantial proportion of this group were aged 65 years and over. The May 2002 Labour Force Survey found that 43.4% of persons Not in the labour force were aged 65 years and over, compared with only 16.5% of the civilian adult population (i.e. aged 18 years and over).

3.1 ADULT PARTICIPATION IN SPORTS AND PHYSICAL RECREATION(a), Characteristics of participants - 2002
NUMBER
PARTICIPATION RATE
Males
Females
Persons
Males
Females
Persons
'000
'000
'000
%
%
%
Age group (years)
18-24
751.6
630.5
1 382.1
77.6
67.4
72.6
25-34
1 098.3
988.2
2 086.5
75.5
68.0
71.8
35-44
994.1
915.8
1 909.9
68.1
62.2
65.1
45-54
771.5
799.7
1 571.2
58.3
60.5
59.4
55-64
533.2
557.4
1 090.7
56.1
59.7
57.9
65 and over
516.0
500.0
1 016.0
50.6
41.3
45.6
State or territory
New South Wales
1 516.4
1 398.3
2 914.7
62.5
56.6
59.5
Victoria
1 189.7
1 117.7
2 307.4
65.9
60.2
63.0
Queensland
849.8
804.2
1 654.1
63.4
59.0
61.2
South Australia
326.6
327.5
654.1
58.6
56.8
57.7
Western Australia
547.0
520.8
1 067.8
76.9
73.0
74.9
Tasmania
106.3
101.6
207.9
63.3
57.4
60.3
Northern Territory(b)
38.8
35.7
74.5
70.4
70.9
70.6
Australian Capital Territory
90.1
85.8
175.9
78.9
73.4
76.1
Region
Capital city(c)
3 122.9
2 875.6
5 998.5
67.1
59.9
63.4
Other
1 541.8
1 516.1
3 057.9
61.2
60.1
60.6
Labour force status
Employed
Full-time
3 095.5
1 485.0
4 580.5
70.1
68.2
69.5
Part-time
497.8
1 325.4
1 823.2
66.2
68.2
67.6
Unemployed
191.7
156.4
348.0
62.1
60.3
61.3
Not in the labour force
879.7
1 424.9
2 304.6
51.7
48.4
49.6
Total
4 664.7
4 391.6
9 056.3
65.0
59.9
62.4
(a) Relates to persons aged 18 years and over who participated in physical activities for recreation, exercise or sport as players during the 12 months prior to interview.
(b) Refers to mainly urban areas only.
(c) Excludes Canberra and Darwin.
Source: Participation in Sport and Physical Activities, Australia, 2002 (cat. no. 4177.0).


Table 3.2 shows the number of players who participated in sports or physical recreation that was organised by a club or association (e.g. playing tennis as part of a tennis club competition). The table also shows participation in non-organised activity. Examples of this include swimming at the beach with the family, walking for exercise, and playing tennis socially. Some players participated in both organised and non-organised activity. Of the 9.1 million adult participants in sports and physical recreation, a large majority (80.8% or 7.3 million) had undertaken at least some non-organised activity, while about half (50.2% or 4.6 million) had participated in some activity which was organised.


In the 12 months prior to interview in 2002, 31.4% of the population aged 18 years and over had participated in some organised sport or physical recreation. More males (34.3%) participated than females (28.5%). The most marked difference between males and females related to those who participated in both organised and non-organised activity. While 12.8% of males and 11.2% of females participated only in organised activity, many more males (21.5%) participated in both organised and non-organised activity than did females (17.3%).

3.2 ADULT PARTICIPATION IN SPORTS AND PHYSICAL RECREATION(a), Type of participation - 2002
Organised
only (A)
Non-organised
only (B)
Both organised and
non-organised (C)
Total
organised
(A + C)
Total
non-organised
(B + C)
Total participation
(A + B + C)
NUMBER ('000)
Males
919.3
2 203.1
1 542.3
2 461.6
3 745.4
4 664.7
Females
823.0
2 302.8
1 265.8
2 088.8
3 568.6
4 391.6
Persons
1 742.3
4 505.9
2 808.2
4 550.4
7 314.0
9 056.3
PARTICIPATION RATE (%)
Males
12.8
30.7
21.5
34.3
52.2
65.0
Females
11.2
31.4
17.3
28.5
48.7
59.9
Persons
12.0
31.1
19.4
31.4
50.4
62.4
(a) Relates to persons aged 18 years and over who participated in physical activities for recreation, exercise or sport as players during the 12 months prior to interview.
Source: Participation in Sport and Physical Activities, Australia, 2002 (cat. no. 4177.0).


Participation in selected sports and physical recreation activities

A major aim of ABS surveys about sports and physical recreation participation is to find out about the wide range of physical recreation activities that people undertake. This section presents summary information for the top ten sports and physical recreation activities participated in by adults.


During the 12 months prior to interview in 2002, Walking for exercise attracted the largest number of both male and female participants. However, a much larger percentage of females participated in Walking for exercise than did males (32.9% compared with 17.5%). A larger proportion of females than males participated in Walking for all age groups except persons aged 65 years and over, where 26.9% of males participated compared with 23.7% of females.


Aerobics/fitness, Swimming, Cycling, Tennis and Running were amongst the top ten activities participated in by both males and females. There were, however, some marked differences in participation rates for some of these activities. More females participated in Aerobics/fitness (13.0% compared with 8.8%) and Swimming (11.8% compared with 9.9%). On the other hand, more males played Tennis (7.6% compared with 6.1%), went Cycling (7.3% compared with 4.2%) and participated in Running (6.1% compared with 3.0%).


Many more females participated in Netball (5.3% of females), Yoga (3.6%), and Dancing (2.8%) than males. Bushwalking was an activity that was amongst the top ten for females, with 3.3% participating. However, a similar proportion of males (3.1%) also participated in bushwalking even though this was not amongst their top ten activities. Conversely, many more males participated in Golf (12.4% of males), Fishing (6.1%), Cricket (4.7%) and Soccer (4.4%) than females.

3.3 ADULT PARTICIPATION IN SPORTS AND PHYSICAL RECREATION ACTIVITIES(a) - 2002
Number
Participation rate
'000
%
MALES
Walking for exercise
1 225.2
17.5
Golf
890.3
12.4
Swimming
708.4
9.9
Aerobics/fitness
632.3
8.8
Tennis
544.5
7.6
Cycling
524.0
7.3
Running
440.9
6.1
Fishing
437.5
6.1
Cricket (outdoor)
340.8
4.7
Soccer (outdoor)
318.9
4.4
FEMALES
Walking for exercise
2 407.9
32.9
Aerobics/fitness
953.2
13.0
Swimming
867.4
11.8
Tennis
443.4
6.1
Netball
389.4
5.3
Cycling
305.6
4.2
Yoga
266.2
3.6
Bush walking
240.1
3.3
Running
221.9
3.0
Dancing
206.4
2.8
(a) Relates to persons aged 18 years and over who participated in physical activities for recreation, exercise or sport as players during the 12 months prior to interview.
Source: Participation in Sport and Physical Activities, Australia, 2002 (cat. no. 4177.0).



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