Four-year trends in sport participation and retention: the gender differencesR.M Eime1,2., J.T Harvey1., M.J Charity1,2., M.M Casey1., H Westerbeek2., W.R Payne2

1 Faculty of Health, Federation University, Australia2 Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Victoria University, Australia

INTRODUCTIONWhile sport is a form of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), research on LTPA has tended to focus on general levels of physical activity, and not sport specifically 1. Understanding sport participation, including retention and drop out across the lifespan is important to inform strategies to promote lifelong participation as a strategy to reduce sedentary living and obesity, which are public health priorities. Furthermore participation in sport can contribute to better psychosocial health than individual types of physical activity, due to the social nature of participation2.Many sport participation studies have been retrospective or limited to particular age-based cohorts, rather than being broadly-based across the lifespan. Longitudinal studies, with detailed analysis of patterns of sport participation and attrition across the lifespan, are required to better inform sport management policy and practice in a range of contexts from community ‘grass-roots’ participation to elite levels of competition1.This study aimed to identify sport participation retention and dropout trends across the lifespan in four popular sports in Australia over a 4-year period, with a particular focus on the ages 4-14 years where most participation occurs.

METHODSThis study drew on the participant membership records from four popular sports in the Australian state of Victoria; between 2009-2012 in two of the sports and 2010-2013 in the other two sports. A participant was defined as a registered member of a club affiliated with the respective sport’s governing body. All participants were tracked from a base year (2009 or 2010) through a 4-year period. The age profiles presented are based on the age of each member in the base year. For each member, participation was classified as one of:• Single year – membership for the first (base) year only;• Discontinuous – membership for 2 or 3 years of the 4-year period;

and • Continuous – continuous membership for the 4-year period.All data were integrated and sports were analysed collectively in order to produce broadly based participation profiles while maintaining confidentiality of membership data for individual sports.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONFigure 1 presents details of the participation patterns of the 408,544 individuals who participated in the four sports in the base year (69% males).

The highest proportion of registered sport participants was within the 10-14 year age range, and this also represented the highest rate of continuous participation, followed by the 5-9 year age range.

Participation declined by 40% for males and 50% for females from the peak participation (10-14 years) to 15-19 years and again by 40% for males and almost 50% for females to 20-25 years. Some of the withdrawal may be related to a trend away from participation in club- and team-based competitive sports.

Overall, except for the 4-year olds, at least 40% of all participants in all age ranges participated continuously. Participation trends across the lifespan were generally consistent for males (except at age 4) whereas for females the participation patterns fluctuated more.

The retention rates for those aged 4 were considerably lower for females (14%) than that for males (34%). Parents may not encourage girls as much as boys to persevere in sport at such a young age

Compared to males, females were also more likely to be discontinuous participants, particularly between 15-29 years, which may indicate that many sports are not be catering for the needs and interests of this group.

CONCLUSIONSThere are clear gender differences in the patterns of sport participation; with males more likely to participate continuously than females across most age groups.It is encouraging that overall 40% of the sample of sports participants played continuously for the four years of the study, and around 80% participated either continuously or discontinuously; meaning that they continued or returned for more than one year of the four year period. The trends in participation were similar across the lifespan for males (except 4 year olds), however there were quite different patterns across the lifespan for females. Females also had much lower rates of continuous participation from 15 to 49 years. The much lower rates of retention for females requires attention. Secondly, the abundance of very young participants in organised sport and the association with very low retention rates in these young age groups (4-6 years) could be due to sport sampling. It is recommended that this is further investigated.

REFERENCES1. Eime R, et al. Integrating Public Health and Sport Management: Sport

participation trends 2001-2010. Sport Management Review 2015, 18. 207-217

2. Eime R, et al. A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport. IJBNPA 2013, 10(98).

Age 4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+

N 6,109 75,993 75,118 44,619 26,777 19,741 11,542 8,639 10,613 2,463 350 43

Figure 1. Male participants – all age groups Age 4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+

N 746 26,772 40,652 20,478 10,041 6,980 4,550 4,322 5,588 1,109 182 50

Figure 2. Female participants – all age groups

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSEime was supported by a VicHealth Research Practice Fellowship- Physical Activity