4156.0 - Sports and Physical Recreation: A Statistical Overview, Australia, 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/10/2009   
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TIME SPENT BY PARTICIPANTS

While 99% of Australians aged 15 years and over had participated in recreation and leisure activity in their free time, only 25% had participated in Sport and outdoor activity.

Table 4.2 shows the average time that participants spent on selected free time activities. The information relates to the time that persons spent in participating in activities on a single day and are derived from data that take into account all days of the week and all seasons of the year. Other surveys, cited in Chapter 3 - Participation in Sport and Recreation, ask about participation in sports and physical recreation during a 12 month period.

According to the Time Use Survey, participants who spent time on Sport and outdoor activity did so for 1 hour 28 minutes per day on average. This accounted for 18% of time spent on recreation and leisure.

4.2 AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON FREE TIME ACTIVITIES, All activities by sex, Participants(a) - 2006
Males
Females
Persons
Purpose of activities
minutes per day
minutes per day
minutes per day
Social and community interaction
Socialising
123
96
108
Visiting entertainment and cultural venues
125
108
114
Attendance at sports events
144
109
127
Religious activities / ritual ceremonies
91
91
91
Total(b)
115
103
108
Recreation and leisure
Sport and outdoor activity
103
73
88
Games, hobbies, arts, crafts
108
93
100
Reading
79
74
76
Audio / visual media
288
260
274
Attendance at recreational courses (excluding school and university)
100
118
113
Talking (including phone) or writing / reading own correspondence
142
153
148
Total(b)
484
411
478
(a) Refers to persons aged 15 years and over on a single day.
(b) Total includes additional categories not shown in the table.
Source: How Australians Use Their Time, 2006 (cat. no. 4153.0).


In 2007, participants spent an average of 2 hours 28 minutes per day on formal sport - organised sport undertaken with a club or as a competition, or with a commitment to skill development, including practice and training. In comparison, participants spent an average of 2 hours 4 minutes each day on informal sport - sport undertaken for recreation or socialising rather than with the commitment needed for competitive sport.

4.3 AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON SPORT AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, All activities by sex, Participants(a) - 2006
Males
Females
Persons
minutes per day
minutes per day
minutes per day
Organised sport
154
135
148
Sport informal
135
97
124
Exercise (excluding walking)
57
52
54
Walking (including or exercise)
56
51
53
Hiking / bushwalking
68
78
74
Fishing
220
189
216
Holiday travel, driving for pleasure
133
119
127
(a) Refers to persons aged 15 years and over on a single day.
Source: How Australians Use Their Time, 2006 (cat. no. 4153.0).





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