CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN ORGANISED SPORT
A survey of children's activities in the 12 months to April 2003 found 1.6 million children aged 5-14 years (62%) participated outside of school hours in sport that had been organised by a school, club or association.
Participation in organised sport peaked at the age of 10 years for boys and 11 years for girls. However, across all ages boys were more likely to participate than girls - the total participation rate was 69% for boys and 54% for girls (table 12.40). There was also a higher percentage of boys participating in more than one sport (35% of boys compared with 23% of girls).
12.40 CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN ORGANISED SPORT(a) - 2003
|
 | Number | Participation rate |
|
|
|
| Males | Females | Persons | Males | Females | Persons |
| Age (years) | '000 | '000 | '000 | % | % | % |
|
| 5 | 67.1 | 45.4 | 112.5 | 51.5 | 36.7 | 44.3 |
| 6 | 80.4 | 52.9 | 133.3 | 60.5 | 42.1 | 51.5 |
| 7 | 91.0 | 66.1 | 157.1 | 67.4 | 51.4 | 59.6 |
| 8 | 101.1 | 73.6 | 174.7 | 73.8 | 56.9 | 65.6 |
| 9 | 98.9 | 74.1 | 173.0 | 72.0 | 56.7 | 64.6 |
| 10 | 104.2 | 81.6 | 185.8 | 75.6 | 62.5 | 69.3 |
| 11 | 102.0 | 84.1 | 186.1 | 73.7 | 64.0 | 69.0 |
| 12 | 102.7 | 79.6 | 182.2 | 74.1 | 60.2 | 67.3 |
| 13 | 91.0 | 73.7 | 164.7 | 66.5 | 56.5 | 61.6 |
| 14 | 93.5 | 67.5 | 161.0 | 70.1 | 53.0 | 61.7 |
| Total | 931.9 | 698.5 | 1,630.4 | 68.6 | 54.2 | 61.6 |
|
(a) Outside of school hours during the 12 months prior to interview in April 2003.
Source: Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, April 2003 (4901.0). |
Children in Western Australia had the highest participation rate (66%) in organised sport outside of school hours, while those in Queensland had the lowest participation rate (54%).
CHILDREN'S SPORTS WITH THE MOST PARTICIPANTS
The most popular organised sport for children was swimming (with a participation rate of 17%), followed by outdoor soccer (13%). The organised sports that attracted most boys were outdoor soccer (with a participation rate of 22%), swimming (16%), and Australian Rules football (14%). For girls, the sports with the highest participation rates were netball (18%), swimming (17%), and tennis (8%) (table 12.41). Dancing was an organised cultural (and physical) activity with a higher participation rate for girls (24%) than any organised sport.
12.41 CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN SELECTED ORGANISED SPORTS(a) - 2003
|
| Number | Participation rate |
|
|
|
| Males | Females | Persons | Males | Females | Persons |
| '000 | '000 | '000 | % | % | % |
|
| Swimming | 213.6 | 225.5 | 439.1 | 15.7 | 17.5 | 16.6 |
| Soccer (outdoor) | 301.1 | 54.8 | 355.9 | 22.2 | 4.2 | 13.4 |
| Netball | 8.2 | 233.0 | 241.2 | 0.6 | 18.1 | 9.1 |
| Tennis | 128.3 | 100.1 | 228.5 | 9.5 | 7.8 | 8.6 |
| Basketball | 116.1 | 88.9 | 205.0 | 8.6 | 6.9 | 7.7 |
| Australian Rules football | 184.2 | 9.4 | 193.6 | 13.6 | 0.7 | 7.3 |
| Cricket (outdoor) | 124.2 | 9.5 | 133.6 | 9.1 | 0.7 | 5.0 |
| Martial arts | 83.9 | 45.8 | 129.7 | 6.2 | 3.6 | 4.9 |
| Athletics and track and field | 51.7 | 48.6 | 100.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Gymnastics and trampolining | 22.5 | 69.9 | 92.4 | 1.7 | 5.4 | 3.5 |
| Rugby League | 76.2 | **0.9 | 77.1 | 5.6 | **0.1 | 2.9 |
| Hockey | 33.3 | 33.0 | 66.3 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
|
(a) Outside of school hours during the 12 months prior to interview in April 2003.
Source: Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, April 2003 (4901.0). |
About equal percentages of girls and boys participated in athletics, hockey and swimming. However, there is a clear difference between the sexes in preference or opportunities for some sports. Most netball players and gymnasts were girls (97% and 76%), while boys made up 99% of Rugby League players, 95% of Australian Rules footballers, and 93% of outdoor cricket players.
CHANGES IN PARTICIPATION SINCE 2000
The overall number of children participating in organised sport increased by more than 62,000 between 2000 and 2003, increasing the participation rate by two percentage points to 62%. This was mainly caused by an increased participation rate among boys (from 66% in 2000 to 69% in 2003).
The organised sport with the highest participation rate in both 2000 and 2003 was swimming, which attracted an additional 59,000 participants during this period. Of the twelve sports with the highest participation rates, the one showing the largest decrease in participation was Rugby League, with 18,000 fewer children participating in 2003 than in 2000 (table 12.42).
12.42 CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN ORGANISED SPORTS(a) - 2000 and 2003
|
| 2000 | 2003 |
|
|
|
| Number | Participation rate | Number | Participation rate |
| '000 | % | '000 | % |
|
| Swimming | 380.1 | 14.4 | 439.1 | 16.6 |
| Soccer (outdoor) | 302.3 | 11.4 | 355.9 | 13.4 |
| Netball | 241.4 | 9.1 | 241.2 | 9.1 |
| Tennis | 223.8 | 8.5 | 228.5 | 8.6 |
| Basketball | 200.3 | 7.6 | 205.0 | 7.7 |
| Australian Rules football | 174.4 | 6.6 | 193.6 | 7.3 |
| Cricket (outdoor) | 140.9 | 5.3 | 133.6 | 5.0 |
| Martial arts | 104.6 | 4.0 | 129.7 | 4.9 |
| Athletics and track and field | 104.1 | 3.9 | 100.2 | 3.8 |
| Gymnastics and trampolining | 67.7 | 2.6 | 92.4 | 3.5 |
| Rugby League | 95.1 | 3.6 | 77.1 | 2.9 |
| Hockey | 64.2 | 2.4 | 66.3 | 2.5 |
| Other organised sports | 371.7 | 14.1 | 396.6 | 15.0 |
| Total(b) | 1,568.2 | 59.4 | 1,630.4 | 61.6 |
|
(a) Outside of school hours during the 12 months prior to interview in April.
(b) The sum of activities do not add to the total because some children participated in more than one activity.
Source: Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, April 2003 (4901.0). |
For information about children's participation in cultural and leisure activities, see Children's participation in organised cultural activities and Children's participation in selected leisure activities.
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