ATTENDANCE BY THE GENERAL ADULT POPULATION
Characteristics of persons attending
During the 12 months prior to interview in 2005-06, 7.1 million or 44.3% of Australians aged 15 years and over attended at least one sports event. More males (4.1 million or 51.9%) attended than females (3.0 million or 36.9%).
The attendance rate at sports events was highest for persons aged 15-24 years and declined across the age groups. Attendance rates varied among the states and territories, ranging from 42.1% in New South Wales to 49.5% in the Northern Territory (includes mainly urban areas only).
The attendance rate at sports events was higher for persons employed full-time (56%) than persons employed part-time (48.1%), unemployed persons (42.9%) and persons not in the labour force (27.2%).
5.1 ADULT ATTENDANCE AT SPORTS EVENTS(a), Characteristics of attendants - 2005-06 |
|  |
| | NUMBER | ATTENDANCE RATE | |
| | Males | Females | Persons | Males | Females | Persons | |
| | '000 | '000 | '000 | % | % | % | |
| |
| AGE | | | | | | | |
| 15-17 | 242.0 | 204.6 | 446.6 | 60.8 | 48.7 | 54.6 | |
| 18-24 | 611.5 | 492.2 | 1 103.7 | 60.9 | 52.6 | 56.9 | |
| 25-34 | 857.6 | 621.8 | 1 479.4 | 62.1 | 44.5 | 53.2 | |
| 35-44 | 813.7 | 577.8 | 1 391.5 | 55.7 | 38.6 | 47.0 | |
| 45-54 | 704.8 | 538.9 | 1 243.7 | 51.3 | 38.3 | 44.7 | |
| 55-64 | 529.1 | 326.7 | 885.8 | 47.7 | 29.5 | 38.6 | |
| 65 and over | 339.0 | 236.9 | 575.9 | 29.2 | 17.5 | 22.9 | |
| STATE OR TERRITORY | | | | | | | |
| New South Wales | 1 310.0 | 949.3 | 2 259.4 | 49.6 | 34.9 | 42.1 | |
| Victoria | 1 057.6 | 766.9 | 1 824.5 | 53.6 | 37.3 | 45.3 | |
| Queensland | 769.7 | 574.8 | 1 344.5 | 50.4 | 37.0 | 43.6 | |
| South Australia | 342.4 | 252.2 | 594.6 | 56.8 | 40.5 | 48.5 | |
| Western Australia | 410.1 | 307.2 | 717.2 | 53.0 | 39.0 | 46.0 | |
| Tasmania | 102.2 | 78.7 | 180.9 | 54.6 | 40.3 | 47.3 | |
| Northern Territory(b) | 31.7 | 23.3 | 55.0 | 56.0 | 42.7 | 49.5 | |
| Australian Capital Territory | 74.1 | 46.6 | 120.6 | 60.1 | 35.7 | 47.6 | |
| REGION | | | | | | | |
| Capital cities(c) | 2 517.8 | 1 820.8 | 4 338.5 | 51.0 | 35.6 | 43.2 | |
| Rest of Australia(d) | 1 580.0 | 1 178.1 | 2 758.2 | 53.5 | 39.2 | 46.3 | |
| LABOUR FORCE STATUS | | | | | | | |
| Employed | 3 305.9 | 2 074.6 | 5 380.5 | 59.9 | 46.3 | 53.8 | |
| Full-time | 2 900.3 | 1 105.9 | 4 006.2 | 60.9 | 46.3 | 56.0 | |
| Part-time | 405.7 | 968.7 | 1 374.4 | 53.4 | 46.2 | 48.1 | |
| Unemployed | 144.2 | 90.7 | 234.9 | 50.9 | 34.3 | 42.9 | |
| Not in the labour force | 647.7 | 833.6 | 1 481.3 | 31.1 | 24.7 | 27.2 | |
| Total | 4 097.8 | 2 998.9 | 7 096.7 | 51.9 | 36.9 | 44.3 | |
| |
| (a) Relates to persons aged 15 years and over during the 12 months to interview. |
| (b) Comprises predominantly urban areas only. |
| (c) Comprises the six state capital city statistical divisions. |
| (d) Includes all of ACT and NT. |
| Source: Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4174.0). |
Attendance at selected sports
In 2005-06 Australian Rules football was the sport most attended by both males (1.5 million or 19.2%) and females (1.0 million or 12.5%) aged 15 years and over. Eight of the top ten sports with the highest attendance rates were the same for males and females (see table 5.2). Nevertheless, for all sports, the attendance rate for females was consistently lower than that for males.
The second most highly attended sport overall was Horse racing, with 1.1 million males (13.8%) and 912,200 females (11.2%) attending. Motor sports was attended by almost twice as many males (1 million or 13.0%) as females (462,100 or 5.7%). Rugby League was attended by 943,800 males (12.0%) and 542,600 females (6.7%).
5.2 ADULT ATTENDANCE AT SELECTED SPORTS EVENTS(a) - 2005-06 |
| |
| | Number | Attendance rate | |
| | '000 | % | |
| |
| MALES | | | |
| Australian Rules football | 1 515.5 | 19.2 | |
| Horse racing | 1 091.5 | 14.8 | |
| Motor sports | 1 023.1 | 13.0 | |
| Rugby League | 943.8 | 12.0 | |
| Cricket (outdoor) | 547.5 | 6.9 | |
| Rugby Union | 449.6 | 5.7 | |
| Soccer (outdoor) | 348.6 | 4.4 | |
| Harness racing | 253.7 | 3.2 | |
| Dog racing | 139.7 | 1.8 | |
| Basketball | 132.6 | 1.7 | |
| FEMALES | | | |
| Australian Rules football | 1 011.3 | 12.5 | |
| Horse racing | 912.2 | 11.2 | |
| Rugby League | 542.6 | 6.7 | |
| Motor sports | 462.1 | 5.7 | |
| Rugby Union | 232.4 | 2.9 | |
| Soccer (outdoor) | 212.2 | 2.6 | |
| Harness racing | 190.5 | 2.3 | |
| Cricket (outdoor) | 183.2 | 2.3 | |
| Tennis | 163.5 | 2.0 | |
| Netball | 130.8 | 1.6 | |
| |
| (a) Relates to persons aged 15 years and over during the 12 months prior to interview. |
| Source: Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4174.0). |
Trends in sports attendance
Comparable data on sports attendance are available for 1999 and 2005-06, for persons aged 18 years and over. The top ten sports for all of these years are presented in table 5.3.
The number of Australians aged 18 years and over attending a sports event increased from 6.0 million in 1999 to 6.1 million in 2005-06. Over this period, there was an increase in the number of persons attending Horse racing (from 1.7 million to 1.9 million) and Rugby Union (from 329,900 to 648,200). Conversely, there was a decrease in the number of persons attending outdoor cricket matches between 1999 and 2005-06 (falling from 870,700 to 694,300). Attendance at tennis and basketball also fell during this period from 404.300 to 246,600 and from 461,600 to 206,800 respectively.
5.3 ADULT ATTENDANCE AT SELECTED SPORTS EVENTS, 1999 and 2005-06(a)(b) - 1999 and 2005-06 |
| |
| Number | Attendance rate | |
| 1999 | 2005-06 | 1999 | 2005-06 | |
| '000 | '000 | % | % | |
| |
| Australian Rules football | 2 330.7 | 2 364.0 | 16.5 | 15.6 | |
| Horse racing | 1 698.8 | 1 949.8 | 12.1 | 12.8 | |
| Rugby League | 1 371.9 | 1 362.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 | |
| Motor sports | 1 416.0 | 1 356.5 | 10.1 | 8.9 | |
| Cricket (outdoor) | 870.7 | 694.3 | 6.2 | 4.6 | |
| Rugby Union | 417.8 | 648.2 | 3.0 | 4.3 | |
| Soccer (outdoor) | 563.3 | 516.4 | 4.0 | 3.4 | |
| Harness racing | 508.4 | 431.5 | 3.6 | 2.8 | |
| Tennis | 404.3 | 246.6 | 2.9 | 1.6 | |
| Basketball | 461.6 | 206.8 | 3.3 | 1.4 | |
| 'Total sports(c)(d) | 5 964.1 | 6 058.5 | 42.3 | 39.9 | |
| |
| (a) Data relates to persons aged 18 years and over during the 12 months prior to interview in the year shown. |
| (b) Data are presented for the ten main sports attended in 2005-06. |
| (c) Includes attendance at all sports, not just those listed above (excluding motor sports) |
| (d) A person attending sports events in a given year will only be counted once in the figure for Total sports, regardless of how many different sports they may have attended. |
| Source: Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4174.0). |
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