Participation in Sport

Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister of State for Sport was recently asked what, exactly, were the top ten sports in terms of active participation in the UK? Mr Sutcliffe’s answer, split into both gender and nine different age brackets, gave an interesting insight into the sporting habits of Britain.

Not everything about Mr. Sutcliffe’s answer to surprising – for males aged from 17-31 football was the undisputed leader. Among males aged 17-21 years, it is three time more popular than its nearest rival. However, once males reach 31-35 years old, going to the gym, previously always second among males, overtakes football. By the time males reach the 36-40 age bracket gym has been overtaken by swimming. Perhaps unsurprisingly, by the time males are 56 and beyond, golf has become the favoured participation sport. Among females, swimming remains the most popular sport throughout – from 17 to 65+. Similarly, gym remains second throughout the age brackets.

What is interesting to note in the data is that among football, swimming and tennis, gym, running road (their phrasing not mine), jogging and weight training also feature. By the age of 56-59 among males, exercise bikes feature. Yoga, pilates, and even ‘keeping fit’, become prominent among females as they age.

Such inclusion is surely of benefit to everyone – although some may raise an eyebrow at the suggestion yoga is likely to result in the same physical exertion as rugby union, including such activities should allow all disciplines to benefit from the commitment made by Sport England and the Olympic Delivery Authority to increase participation in the UK.

The data, from Sport England’s Active People Survey (2005-2006) can be found here, along with Mr. Sutcliffe’s full answer.