participation in sport and physical recreation 2011-2012 australia

Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation, Australia: 2011-12 ReportPrepared by the National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics, Australian Bureau of Statistics for the Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials Research Group
Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation,
Australia
PARTICIPATION IN SPORT AND AC TIVE RECREATION, AUSTRALIA 2011-12 Report
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© Commonwealth of Australia 2013
Unless otherwise noted this report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. You are free to copy, communicate and adapt this work, so long as you attribute the source. For more information see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au
Produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials (CASRO) Research Group.
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Contents
SECTION 2 Introduction 9
SECTION 3 Glossary 10
SECTION 5 Participation in sport and physical recreation 16
5.1 Frequency of participation in sport and physical recreation 16
5.2 Median frequency of participation in sport and physical recreation 17
5.3 Regular participation in sport and physical recreation 17
5.4 Duration of recent participation in sport and physical recreation 19
5.5 Average number of different physical activities 21
5.6 Top ten physical activities 21
SECTION 6 Participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation 24
6.1 Frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation 24
6.2 Median frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation 25
6.3 Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation 26
6.4 Top ten non-organised physical activities 27
SECTION 7 Participation in organised sport and physical recreation 29
7.1 Frequency of participation in organised sport and physical recreation 29
7.2 Median frequency of participation in organised sport and physical recreation 30
7.3 Regular participation in organised sport and physical recreation 31
7.4 Type of organisation 32
7.5 Top ten organised physical activities 33
SECTION 8 Participation in sports club based sport and physical recreation 35
8.1 Frequency of participation in sports club based sport and physical recreation 35
8.2 Median frequency of participation in sports club based sport and physical recreation 36
8.3 Regular participation in sports club based sport and physical recreation 36
8.4 Top ten sports club based physical activities 37
SECTION 9 Participation in recreation club based sport and physical recreation 38
9.1 Frequency of participation in recreation club based sport and physical recreation 38
9.2 Median frequency of participation in recreation club based sport and physical recreation 39
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List of tables 40
10.2 State and territory tables 129
10.3 Individual state/territory tables 144
10.3.1 Australian Capital Territory tables 144
10.3.2 New South Wales tables 172
10.3.3 Northern Territory tables 200
10.3.4 Queensland tables 228
10.3.6 Tasmanian tables 284
10.3.7 Victorian tables 312
SECTION 12 Contacts 373
APPENDIX 2 Technical notes 376
APPENDIX 3 2011-12 MPHS Participation in sport and physical recreation questionnaire 378
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Page no.
1 PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By sex, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12 16
2 PERSONS, Sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation in any sport and physical recreation activity 16
3 PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — Median frequency of participation, By sex and age 17
4 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By sex and age 18
5 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By region and sex 18
6 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By country of birth and sex 19
7 PERSONS, Sport and physical recreation — Duration of recent participation 20
8 RECENT PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — Median duration of participation per week, By sex and age 20
9 PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — Mean number of physical activities, By sex and age 21
10 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 physical activities 21
11 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 regular physical activities 23
12 PARTICIPANTS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation — By sex, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12 24
13 PERSONS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation 25
14 PARTICIPANTS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation — Median frequency of participation, By sex and age 25
15 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation —By sex and age 26
16 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 non-organised physical activities 27
17 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 regular non-organised physical activities 28
18 PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — By sex, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12 29
19 PERSONS, Organised sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation 30
20 PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — Median frequency of participation, By sex and age 30
21 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — By sex and age 31
22 PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — Type of organisation, By sex 32
23 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 organised physical activities 33
24 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 regular organised physical activities 34
25 PERSONS, Sports club based sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation 35
26 PARTICIPANTS, Sports club based sport and physical recreation — Median frequency of participation, By sex and age 36
27 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Sports club based sport and physical recreation — By sex and age 37
28 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 sports club based physical activities 37
29 PARTICIPANTS, Recreation club based sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation 38
List of boxes
1 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 physical activities — 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12 22
2 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 non-organised physical activities — 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12 28
3 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 organised physical activities— 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12 33
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BACKGROUND
The ABS Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS) Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation module collects information on the frequency, duration, nature and type of physical activities participated in for exercise, recreation or sport by persons aged 15 years and over in Australia. Information on participation in sport and physical recreation was collected by the MPHS in 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12. In 2011-12 the module had a total of 13,630 respondents across Australia over the 12 month period. A summary of key findings is provided below.
KEY FINDINGS
Participation in sport and physical recreation
• In 2011-12, an estimated 11.7 million persons aged 15 years and over, or 65.0% of the population living in private dwellings, participated at least once annually in sport and physical recreation. This is the participation rate.
• An estimated 8.7 million persons aged 15 years and over, or 48.1% of the population, participated at least once per week in sport and physical recreation. This is the weekly participation rate.
• An estimated 4.6 million persons aged 15 years and over, or 25.6% of the population, participated at least three times per week in sport and physical recreation. This is the regular participation rate.
• An estimated 2.4 million persons aged 15 years and over, or 13.1% of the population, participated five times per week or more in sport and physical recreation. This is the frequent participation rate.
• The median frequency of participation in sport and physical recreation for all persons (including non-participants) was 1.0 times per week. Males in the younger age groups of 15 to 17 and 18 to 24 years had higher median frequen- cies of participation (1.3 and 1.1 times per week respectively) than females in the same age groups (0.8 and 1.0 times per week respectively).
• An estimated 8.2 million persons, or 45.4% of the population, participated for two hours or more per week in the two weeks prior to interview. An estimated 5.3 million persons, or 29.3% of the population, participated for five hours or more per week in the two weeks prior to interview.
• Except in the youngest (15 to 17 and 18 to 24 years) and oldest age groups (65 years and over), females had higher regular participation rates in sport and physical recreation.
• While females participated in sport and physical recreation more regularly than males, males participated for a longer duration. The median duration of participation in the two weeks prior to interview was 3.0 hours for males and 2.5 hours for females. Males had a higher median duration across all age groups.
• Among males, those who were born in non-main English speaking countries had slightly higher regular participation rates (27.7%) than those born in Australia (24.9%) or in main English speaking countries (24.4%). Among females, those who were born in non-main English speaking countries had the lowest regular participation rates (18.3%), especially when compared with those who were born in a main English speaking country (34.1%).
• The number of different physical activities participated in was strongly related to age for both males and females. Par- ticipants aged between 15 and 17 years participated in an average of 2.0 different physical activities in the 12 months prior to interview, whilst participants aged 65 years and over participated in an average of 1.4 different physical activities.
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• The top ten physical activities in 2011-12 were walking for exercise, fitness/gym, swimming/diving, cycling/BMXing, jogging/running, golf, tennis (indoor and outdoor), soccer (outdoor), netball (indoor and outdoor) and bush walking. An estimated 4.3 million persons, or 23.6% of the population, participated at least once in walking for exercise in 2011-12.
• In terms of the top ten physical activities, the largest increase in participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12 was for jogging/running, increasing by 100%.
• Of the top ten physical activities, bush walking experienced the largest fall in participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12 (16.0%).
Participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation
‘Non-organised sport and physical recreation’ is physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was non-organised in full or in part (that is, not fully organised by a club, association or other type of organisation).
• The participation rate for non-organised sport and physical recreation was 52.8% in 2011-12. Of people who participated in sport and physical recreation, 81.2% engaged in partially or fully non-organised physical activity.
• An estimated 3.8 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least three times per week in non-organised sport and physical recreation, a regular participation rate of 20.9%.
• Females had higher regular participation rates in non-organised sport and physical recreation (21.7%) than males (20.1%). The only age groups where males had a higher regular participation rate were those 18 to 24 years and 65 years and over.
• Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was highest for those in the 55 to 64 years age group and lowest for those in the 15 to 17 years age group.
• Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was highest among those whose highest educational achievement was a graduate diploma or graduate certificate.
• Regular participation rates in non-organised sport and physical recreation were lowest among persons who were born in a non-main English-speaking country.
• The top ten non-organised physical activities in 2011-12, in terms of total participation rate, were walking for exercise, fitness/gym, cycling/BMXing, jogging/running, swimming/diving, golf, tennis (indoor and outdoor), bush walking, fishing and surf sports. Over 90% of participation in walking for exercise, jogging/running, swimming/diving, bush walking, fishing and surf sports was non-organised.
• Jogging/running had the largest increase in non-organised participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12, increasing by 101%.
Participation in organised sport and physical recreation
‘Organised sport and physical recreation’ is physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was organised in full or in part by (1) a fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre that required payment for participation, (2) a sports club or association that required payment of membership, fees or registration, (3) a recreation club or association, (4) a workplace, (5) an educational institution, (6) a physical activity course, (7) a community fitness program or event, or any other type of organisation.
• The participation rate for organised sport and physical recreation was 27.2% in 2011-12. Of people who participated in sport and physical recreation, 41.8% engaged in partially or fully organised activity.
• An estimated 827,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated at least three times per week in organised sport and physical recreation, a regular participation rate of 4.6%.
• Overall, regular participation rates in organised sport and physical recreation were slightly higher among females (4.7%) than males (4.4%) in 2011-12. However, within some age groups males had higher regular participation rates than females: 15 to 17 years (15.1% and 10.7% respectively), 18 to 24 years (8.5% and 5.9% respectively) and 35 to 44 years (5.1% and 4.5% respectively).
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• Regular participation in organised sport and physical recreation was most common among persons aged 15 to 17 years, and participation declined with age, in contrast to regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation which was lowest for the 15-17 years age group.
• Those whose highest educational achievement was Year 12 (6.3%) or Year 11 (5.8%) had the highest regular participation rates in organised sport and physical recreation.
• The top ten organised physical activities in 2011-12, in terms of total participation rate, were fitness/gym, golf, soccer (outdoor), netball (indoor and outdoor), tennis (indoor and outdoor), football sports, basketball (indoor and outdoor), lawn bowls, martial arts and cricket (outdoor).
• In terms of the top ten organised physical activities, soccer (outdoor) had the largest increase (30%) in total participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12. The majority of this increase in organised participation in soccer (outdoor) occurred between 2009-10 and 2011-12.
• Other top ten organised physical activities experiencing increases in participation since 2005-06 were martial arts (13%) and netball (indoor and outdoor)(6%).
• Of the top ten organised physical activities, cricket (outdoor) experienced the largest fall (8%) in participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12.
Participation in sports club based sport and physical recreation
‘Sports club based sport and physical recreation’ is physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was organised in full or in part by a sports club or association that required payment of membership, fees or registration. This was distinct from fitness, leisure or sports centres that required payment for participation, and from recreation clubs or associations.
• The participation rate for sports club based sport and physical recreation was 15.4%.
• An estimated 289,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated at least three times per week in sports club based sport and physical recreation, a regular participation rate of 1.6%.
• In sports club based sport and physical recreation, and in contrast to non-organised sport and physical recreation, the male regular participation rate (2.5%) exceeded the female rate (0.7%).
• Regular participation in sports club based sport and physical recreation was most common among persons aged 15 to 17 years (6.8%).
• The top ten sports club based physical activities in 2011-12 were golf, soccer (outdoor), tennis (indoor and outdoor), netball (indoor and outdoor), lawn bowls, football sports, Australian rules football, cricket (outdoor), basketball (indoor and outdoor) and martial arts.
Participation in recreation club based sport and physical recreation
‘Recreation club based sport and physical recreation’ is physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was organised in full or in part by a recreation club or association that required payment of membership, fees or registration. This was distinct from fitness, leisure or sports centres that required payment for participation, and from sport clubs or associations.
• The participation rate for recreation club based sport and physical recreation was 1.8%.
• An estimated 109,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once per week in recreation club based sport and physical recreation, a weekly participation rate of 0.6%.
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SECTION 2 Introduction
This report presents results from the 2011-12 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS) Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation module. For more information on the MPHS please refer to section 11 Explan- atory Notes.
This report replaces the Exercise Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) Annual Report. The ERASS was run annually from 2001 until 2010 by market research firms contracted by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC). In 2010 the ERASS was decommissioned following The Future of Sport in Australia review by the Independent Sports Panel in 2009. The ABS is now the primary provider of data relating to participation in sport and physical recreation. The MPHS Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation module has a time series over three iterations, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12. The Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials (CASRO) have provided the ABS with funding to increase the frequency of the MPHS Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation module from four yearly to biennial. The next iteration of the module is scheduled for 2013-14.
Data from the Exercise Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) and the MPHS Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation module are not comparable due to methodological differences.
The MPHS collects information about the characteristics of persons aged 15 years and over, living in occupied private dwellings. This report presents details of persons who participated in a sport or physical recreational activity as a participant at least once during the 12 months prior to interview in 2011–12. The term ‘participant’ is defined as a player, competitor or person who takes part in some other physically active role. Information on involvement by people who participated solely as coaches, umpires or club officials are excluded from the data in this report. Activities such as gardening, housework, manual labouring and other forms of occupational physical activity were excluded from the data. Please see section 4 Physi- cal activity definitions for more information on which activities were classified as sport and physical recreation.
This publication presents information regarding the:
• frequency of participation
• facilities used by participants.
Information is available for all states and territories and for a number of demographic variables.
Data is presented on the participation rate in sport or physical recreational activities over the 12 month period. The participation rate is based on the number of persons who have undertaken an activity at least once during the previous 12 months. This rate does not reflect the number of persons who are physically active on a regular basis.
In the ERASS annual reports there was a focus on persons who were physically active three times per week or more on average over the 12 month period. This is referred to as the regular participation rate. Due to the method of collection of the frequency of participation in the 2005-06 and 2009-10 iterations of the MPHS Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation module, time series data is not available on the regular participation rate.
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SECTION 3 Glossary
Area of usual residence Two geographic classifications are used in this publication to determine a person’s area of usual residence: the Austra- lian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) and the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).
Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) State capital cities The areas determining the six state capital cities are the Statistical Divisions for those capital cities defined in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification, ASGC (cat. no. 1216.0).
Balance of state/territory This category comprises people usually resident in areas outside of the six state capital city Statistical Divisions (as defined in the Australian Standard Geographical Classifica- tion, ASGC (cat. no. 1216.0)), including all residents of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Capital city The areas determining the eight capital city regions (as defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 – Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001)), including all residents of the Australian Capital Territory and the Darwin Statistical Division.
Rest of state/territory This category comprises people usually resident in areas outside of the eight capital city Statistical Divisions (as defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 – Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001)), excluding all residents in the ACT.
Couple Two people in a registered or de facto marriage, who usually live in the same household.
Dependent Children All people aged under 15 years, and people aged 15-24 years who are full-time students, have a parent in the household and do not have a partner or child of their own in the household.
Employed All persons aged 15 years and over who, during the week prior to interview:
• worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on
a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers)
• worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers)
• were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
• away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week
• away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week
• away from work as a standard work or shift ar- rangement
• on strike or locked out
• on workers’ compensation and expected to return to their job, or
• were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.
Employed full time All people who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.
Employed part time All people who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and either did so during the reference week, or were not at work in the reference week.
Equivalised household income Equivalising adjusts actual income to take into account the different needs of the households of different sizes and compo- sitions. There are economic advantages associated with living with others, because household resources, especially housing, can be shared. The equivalence scale used to obtain equivalised income is that used in studies by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is referred to as the ‘modified OECD scale’. The scale gives a weight of 1.0 to the first adult in the household, a weight of 0.5 for each additional adult (persons aged 15 years and over) and a weight of 0.3 for every child. For each household, the weights of the household members are added together to form a household weight. Total household income is then divided by the household weight to give an income that a lone person household would need for a similar standard of living. Equivalised household income can be viewed as an indicator of the economic resources available to each member of the household.
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ERASS Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey. A quarterly tele- phone collection conducted by ACNielsen Research (now The Nielsen Company) from 2000 to 2007 and Newspoll from 2008 to 2010. The overall aim of ERASS was to measure trends in physical activity by Australians aged 15 years and over. Results were published annually from 2001 to 2010. See Appendix 1 for a brief history of ERASS annual reports.
Family Two or more people, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who usually live in the same household. A separate family is formed for each married couple, or for each set of parent-child relationships where only one parent is present.
Fitness and leisure centre based sport and physical recreation Physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was organised in full or in part by a fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre that requires payment for participation. This includes aerobics and fitness/gym participants. This is distinct from (1) sports clubs or associations that required payment of membership, fees or registration; and (2) recreation clubs or associations that may, or may not have, required payment for participation.
Frequency of participation The number of times a person participated in physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport in the 12 months prior to interview. Frequency of participation per week is derived by dividing the number of times a person participated in the 12 months prior to interview by the number of weeks in a year (52). This provides an average of the number of times persons participated per week. This calculation is also used to derive ‘weekly participation rate’, ‘regular participation rate’, ‘frequent participation rate’, and the frequency categories listed below.
Less than once per week — 1 to 51 times in the 12 months prior to interview
Once per week or more — 52 times or more in the 12 months prior to interview
Twice per week or more — 104 times or more in the 12 months prior to interview
Three times per week or more — 156 times or more in the 12 months prior to interview
Five times per week or more — 260 times or more in the 12 months prior to interview
Once to two times per week — 52 to 155 times in the 12 months prior to interview
Three to four times per week— 156 to 259 times in the 12 months prior to interview
Frequent participation rate The number of persons who participated ‘at least five times weekly’ in the 12 months prior to interview, expressed as a percentage of the population in the same group. Frequency of participation per week is derived by dividing the number of times a person participated in the 12 months prior to interview by the number of weeks in a year (52). A ‘frequent participant’ therefore participated at least 260 times in the 12 months prior to interview.
Household A group of two or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling, who regard themselves as a household, and who make common provision for food or other essentials for living; or a person living in a dwelling who makes provision for his/her own food and other essentials for living, without combining with any other person.
Household composition Descriptions of the different types of household composition are provided below:
Couple only — A household consisting of a couple with no other related or unrelated persons usually resident.
Couple with dependent children — A household consisting of a couple and at least one dependent child usually resident in the household. Related non-dependent children may also be present in the household. Households which also have other related or unrelated residents are included.
One parent with dependent children — A household consisting of a lone parent and at least one dependent child usually resident in the household. Non-dependent children may also be present in the household. Households which also have other related or unrelated usual residents are included.
Lone person — A household consisting of a person living alone.
Other — Comprises all other households, including multi- ple family households, group households and households consisting of unrelated adults, and other one family households.
Labour force status A classification of the civilian population aged 15 years and over into employed, unemployed or not in the labour force, as defined. The definitions conform closely to the international standard definitions adopted by the International Conferences of Labour Statisticians.
Main English-speaking countries The list of main English-speaking countries provided here is not an attempt to classify countries on the basis of whether or not English is the predominant or official language of
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each country. It is a list of the main countries from which Australia receives, or has received, significant numbers of overseas settlers who are likely to speak English. These countries comprise the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and the United States of America. Non-main English-speaking countries is a descriptor for people originating from countries where a language other than English is likely to be spoken. It is im- portant to note that being from a non-main English-speaking country does not imply a lack of proficiency in English.
Married Married persons are those who describe their marital status as being married or in a de facto relationship.
Mean The mean is the sum of the value of each observation in a distribution divided by the number of observations.
Median The median is the middle value in a distribution when the values are arranged in ascending or descending order.
MPHS Multi-Purpose Household Survey
Non-main English-speaking countries See Main English-speaking countries.
Non-organised sport and physical recreation Physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was non-organised in full or in part (that is, not fully organised by a club, association or other type of organisation).
Non-participation rate The number of people who did not participate in any activity at least once in the year as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over. For example, the non-participation rate for males aged 15–17 years in NSW would be the estimate of males aged 15–17 years in NSW who did not participate expressed as a percentage of all males aged 15–17 years in NSW.
Not in the labour force People who were not in the categories ‘employed’ or ‘unemployed’.
Not married Not married persons are those who describe their marital status as being either separated, divorced, widowed or never married.
Off-road cycleways or bike paths Includes off-road tracks or trails that are surfaced (e.g. gravel or bitumen) or unsurfaced (e.g. dirt). Excludes on-road bicycle lanes.
Organised sport and physical recreation Physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was organised in full or in part by (1) a fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre that required payment for participation, (2) a sports club or association that required payment of membership, fees or registration, (3) a recreation club or association, (4) a workplace, (5) an educational institution, (6) a physical activity course, (7) a community fitness program or event, or any other type of organisation. Note that this classification system differs to that used in previous ERASS reports (which included 5 categories).
Outdoor sports facilities Includes public swimming pools, outdoor tennis, basketball etc. courts, bowling greens, ski resorts, BMX tracks/courses, golf courses and athletics tracks. Excludes residential and educational institution swimming pools.
Parks or reserves Includes open space or tracks or trails in nature areas.
Participants Those persons playing a sport or physically undertaking an activity. Persons involved solely as a coach, teacher, instructor, referee, umpire, administrator or club committee member are excluded from the data.
Participation rate The number of people who participated in an activity at least once during the year as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over. For example, the participation rate for males aged 15–17 years in NSW would be the estimate of males aged 15–17 years in NSW who participated expressed as a percentage of all males aged 15–17 years in NSW.
Per week Frequency of participation per week is derived by dividing the number of times a person participated in the 12 months prior to interview by the number of weeks in a year (52). This provides an average of the number of times persons participated per week. However, users should be aware that persons who are reported as participating for example ‘once per week’, may not have participated once per week each week throughout the 12 months prior to interview, as their participation might be concentrated during particular time periods. For example, an individual who participates in cricket 52 times over three months, then in no other activity for the other 9 months, would appear to participate in physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport ‘once per week’.
Physical activities See section 4 Physical activity definitions for physical activity groups featured in this publication.
Public playing fields and ovals Grounds that consist of wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand
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with any marked lines, goals/goal posts or other sport-specific infrastructure, such as football fields.
Quintiles Groupings that result from ranking all households or people in the population in ascending order according to some characteristic such as their income and then dividing the population into five equal groups, each comprising 20% of the estimated population.
Recent participants Respondents are asked about their recent participation in regards to the three physical activities for which they reported the highest frequency of participation in the 12 months prior to interview. Persons who participated in at least one of these physical activities in the two weeks prior to interview are ‘recent participants’.
Recent physical activity Physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport undertaken in the two weeks prior to interview. Respondents are only asked about their recent participation in regards to the three physical activities for which they reported the highest frequency of participation in the 12 months prior to interview.
Recreation club based physical activity Physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was organised in full or in part by a recreation club or association that may, or may not have, required payment for participation. This is distinct from (1) fitness, leisure or sports centres that required payment for participation; and (2) sports clubs or associations that required payment of membership, fees or registration.
Regular participants Persons who participated ‘at least three times weekly’ in the 12 months prior to interview, expressed as the percentage of the population in the same group, are referred to as ‘regular participants’. Frequency of participation per week is derived by dividing the number of times a person participated in the 12 months prior to interview by the number of weeks in a year (52). A ‘regular participant’ therefore participated at least 156 times in the 12 months prior to interview.
Regular participation rate The number of persons who participated ‘at least three times weekly’ in the 12 months prior to interview, expressed as a percentage of the population in the same group. Frequency of participation per week is derived by dividing the number of times a person participated in the 12 months prior to interview by the number of weeks in a year (52). A ‘regular participant’ therefore participated at least 156 times in the 12 months prior to interview.
RSE The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a proportion of an estimated value. See section 11.7 Reliability of estimates for further information.
Schools and educational facilities Includes swimming pools in educational facilities.
Sports club based sport and physical recreation Physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport that was organised in full or in part by a sport club or association that required payment of membership, fees or registration. This is distinct from (1) fitness, leisure or sports centres that required payment for participation; and (2) recreation clubs or associations that may, or may not have, required payment for participation.
Sport and physical recreation Respondents were not advised what activities they should include as sport or physical recreation. However, activities such as gardening, housework, manual labouring and other forms of occupational physical activity were excluded. See Section 4 Physical activity definitions for physical activity groups featured in this publication.
SE The standard error (SE) indicates the amount of variation between any estimated value based on a sample and the true value of the population.
Unemployed People aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:
• had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week, or
• were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.
Weekly participation rate The number of persons who participated ‘at least once a week’ in the 12 months prior to interview, expressed as a percentage of the population in the same group. Frequency of participation per week is derived by dividing the number of times a person participated in the 12 months prior to interview by the number of weeks in a year (52). A ‘weekly participant’ therefore participated at least 52 times in the 12 months prior to interview.
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The following physical activity groups are featured in this publication.
Aerobics Excludes aqua aerobics.
Aqua aerobics
Australian rules football
Bush walking
Canoeing/kayaking Excludes dragon boat racing and canoe polo. Estimates on the individual activities of canoeing and kayaking have been provided in selected tables.
Carpet bowls
Cricket (indoor)
Cricket (outdoor)
Cycling/BMXing
Includes bike riding and mountain bike riding. Excludes exercise bike cycling and spin cycling.
Dancing/ballet Includes ballroom dancing, bellydancing, boot scooting, callisthenics, dance sport, folk dancing, Latin dancing, line dancing, salsa, swing dancing and dancing (other).
Darts
Fencing
Fitness/gym Includes boot camp, circuits, exercise biking, exercising, fitness classes, gym classes, gym workouts, RPM, spin cycling, treadmill activities, weight training and zumba.
Football sports Includes Gaelic football, gridiron, Oztag, touch football, and other football sports. Excludes rugby, soccer and Australian rules football. Estimates on the individual activities of Oztag and touch football have been provided in selected tables.
Frisbee/boomerang throwing Includes ultimate frisbee and flying disc games.
Golf Excludes minigolf.
Hockey (indoor and outdoor) Excludes inline hockey.
Horse riding/equestrian activities/polo Includes dressage, polo cross and show jumping. Excludes rodeo and horseracing. Estimates on the individual activities of horse riding and polo cross have been provided in selected tables.
Ice/snow sports Includes bobsledding, broomball, ice hockey, ice-skating, snowboarding, skeleton, snow skiing and ice sport (other).
Jogging/running Includes running (for exercise).
15
Lawn bowls
Martial arts Includes aikido, Chi Kung, judo, jujitsu, karate, kendo, kick- boxing, ninjitsu, taekwondo, Tai Chi, and martial arts (other).
Minigolf
Motor sports Includes car racing, motorbike racing, speedway, drag racing, go-karting and motor sports (other).
Netball (indoor and outdoor)
Pilates Excludes yoga.
Rope skipping
Rugby union Includes rugby sevens.
Sailing
Scuba diving/snorkelling
Shooting sports Includes bird, clay, clay pigeon, crossbow, duck, pistol, rifle, running target, shotgun, trap and target shooting, hunting (with gun), paintball, skirmish and shooting sports (other). Excludes archery and bow hunting.
Skateboarding/inline hockey/roller sports Includes inline hockey, rollerblading, rollerskating, skateboarding and roller sport (other).
Soccer (indoor) Includes futsal.
Surf sports Includes surfing, bodyboarding and surf sports (other). Excludes wind surfing, sailboarding or surf lifesaving. Estimates on the individual activity of surfing have been provided in selected tables.
Swimming/diving Includes springboard diving and platform diving.
Table tennis
Walking for exercise Excludes bush walking.
Water polo Excludes canoe polo.
Waterskiing/powerboating Includes jet skiing and wakeboarding. Estimates on the individual activity of waterskiing have been provided in selected tables.
Water volleyball/canoe polo/rafting/other water sports Includes underwater hockey, white water rafting, rafting, dragon boat racing, and water sports (other).
Weight lifting/body building Excludes weight training or circuits.
Wind surfing/sailboarding Includes kite surfing.
Yoga Excludes Pilates.
Additional sport/physical activity groups were collected, but did not receive sufficient responses to enable them to be included in this publication. These activities were: handball, harness racing, horse racing, korfball, lacrosse (indoor and outdoor, including softcross), marching, rodeo, wood chop- ping and wrestling.
16
During the 12 months prior to interview in 2011-12:
• An estimated 11.7 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once annually in sport and physical recreation, a participation rate of 65.0% (Table 1).
• The 2011-12 total participation rate was higher than in 2009-10 (63.6%), but lower than in 2005-06 (65.9%) (Figure 1 and Table 10).
Figure 1 PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By sex, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12
5.1 Frequency of participation in sport and physical recreation
• An estimated 8.7 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once per week1 in sport and physical recreation, a weekly participation rate of 48.1% (Table 4).
• An estimated 4.6 million persons aged 15 years and over participated three times per week or more, a regular participation rate of 25.6% (Table 4).
• An estimated 2.4 million persons aged 15 years and over participated five times per week or more, a frequent participation rate of 13.1% (Table 3).
• An estimated 6.3 million persons aged 15 years and over did not participate in any sport or physical recreation in the 12 months prior to interview in 2011-12, a non-participation rate of 35.0% (Table 3).
Figure 2 PERSONS, Sport and physical recreation — Frequency of participation in any sport and physical recreation activity
1 See glossary for information a bout how per week statistics are calculated.
60
62
64
66
68
17
5.2 median frequency of participation in sport and physical recreation
All Persons aged 15 years and over
• The median frequency of participation in sport and physical recreation for all Australians aged 15 years and over (including zero frequency) was 1.0 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 5).2
• For all females, the median frequency of participation was 1.0 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 5).3
• Male median frequency of participation was 0.9 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 5).4
• The median frequency of participation was highest for males in the 15 to 17 and 18 to 24 years age groups (1.3 and 1.1 times per week respectively) (Table 5).5
Participants
• Among those who did participate in sport and physical recreation (excluding zero frequency), the median frequency of participation in any physical activity was 2.2 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 6).6
• Median frequency of participation was 2.5 times per week for female participants and 2.0 times per week for male participants (Table 6).7
• Amongst participants, those in the age groups 45 to 54 years (2.8 times per week), 55 to 64 years (2.9 times per week) and 65 years and over (2.9 times per week) had the highest median frequency of participation (Figure 3 and Table 6).8
Figure 3 PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — Median frequency of participation, By sex and age
5.3 Regular participation in sport and physical recreation
Regular participation in sport and physical recreation is defined as those participating three times per week or more, on average.9
• The regular participation rate in sport and physical recreation in 2011-12 was 25.6% (Table 16).
2 , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 See glossary for information about how per week statistics are calculated
0
1
4
2
Females Persons
15 to 17 18 to 24 25 to 34 45 to 5435 to 44 Age group (years)
65 and over55 to 64
18
Age and sex
• In 2011-12, regular participation rates (three times per week or more) in sport and physical recreation were higher for females than males (26.5% and 24.7%, respectively) (Table 16).
• Females were generally more regularly active as they got older, peaking at 55 to 64 years old (30.5%), and then declining again for those aged 65 years or older (20.9%) (Figure 4 and Table 16).
• Males in the age groups 15 to 17, 18 to 24 and 65 and over (26.1%, 27.6% and 25.8% respectively) were more regularly active than females of the same age group (Figure 4 and Table 16).
Figure 4 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By sex and age
Labour force status
• Labour force status had some impact on the regular participation rate in 2011-12, with part-time employed persons having the highest regular participation rate (28.6%), compared with persons who were full-time employed (26.3%), unemployed (24.3%) and not in the labour force (23.0%) (Table 16).
Regional status
• The regular participation rate in sport and physical recreation among persons living in capital cities was slightly higher than for those living in the balance of state/territory (26.5% and 23.9% respectively) (Table 16).
• In both geographic areas, regular participation was higher for females than for males (Figure 5 and Table 16).
Figure 5 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By region and sex
0
10
20
40
30
Percent (%) Males Females Persons
65 and over55 to 64
0
10
30
20
19
Education
• The regular participation rate was highest for those whose highest educational attainment was a graduate diploma or graduate certificate (36.8%), a bachelor degree (35.1%), or a postgraduate degree (33.7%). The regular participation rate was lowest for those whose highest level of educational attainment was Year 10 or below10 (16.9%) (Table 16).
Country of birth
• Among males, there was little difference in regular participation rates between those who were born in Australia (24.9%) and those born in main English-speaking countries11 (24.4%). Males in both groups had slightly lower regular participation rates than males who were born in non-main English-speaking countries (27.7%) (Figure 6 and Table 16).
• Among females, those who were born in non-main English-speaking countries had the lowest regular participation rate (18.3%), especially when compared with those who were born in a main English-speaking country (34.1%) (Figure 6 and Table 16).
Figure 6 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — By country of birth and sex
5.4 Duration of recent participation in sport and physical recreation
• An estimated 9.4 million people, or 52.1% of the population aged 15 years and over, participated in sport and physical recreation at least once in the two weeks prior to interview12 in 2011-12 (Table 11). These people are described as ‘recent participants’ in this report 13.
• Just under half of all persons (47.9%) did not participate in sport and physical recreation 14 in the two weeks prior to interview in 2011-12 (Figure 7).
• The majority of recent participants, an estimated 5.3 million people, or 29.3% of all persons, participated for five hours or more per week in the two weeks prior to interview (Table 11).
• An estimated 1.2 million people, or 6.5% of all persons, participated for less than two hours per week in the two weeks prior to interview in 2011-12 (Table 11).
10 Including those with no educational attainment. 11 See glossary for definitions of main and non-main English speaking countries. 12 Includes persons who answered ‘Don’t know’ to the number of sessions participated in during the previous two weeks. 13 See glossary for more information about how ‘recent participants’ are defined. 14 Did not participate in one of their ‘top three’ activities for 2011-12 in the two weeks prior to interview.
0
10
40
30
20
20
Figure 7 PERSONS, Sport and physical recreation — Duration of recent participation
Whilst females were more likely to be ‘regular participants’ 15 in sport and physical recreation (see section 5.3 Regular participation in sport and physical recreation), males participated for a longer duration than females. Figure 8 shows ‘recent participants’ 16 median duration in hours of sport and physical recreation per week.
• Almost two-thirds of males (60.3%) who participated in sport and physical recreation during the two weeks prior to interview did so for five hours or more per week (Table 12). The median duration of participation for males was 3.0 hours per week (Table 15).
• Among females, 52.2% who participated in sport and physical recreation during the two weeks prior to the interview did so for five hours or more per week (Table 13). The median duration of participation for females was 2.5 hours per week (Table 15).
• Among males, median duration of participation in sport and physical recreation was highest among those aged 18 to 24 years and those aged 65 years and over (both 3.5 hours per week). Median duration was lowest for males aged 35 to 44 years (2.8 hours per week) (Figure 8 and Table 15).
• Among females, median duration of participation in any physical activity was highest among those aged 45 to 54 years (2.9 hours per week). Median duration was lowest for females aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 years (both 2.3 hours per week) (Figure 8 and Table 15).
Figure 8 RECENT PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — Median 17 duration of participation per week, By sex and age
15 See glossary for more information about how ‘regular participants’ are defined. 16 See glossary for more information about how ‘recent participants’ are defined. 17 Median calculation excludes participation in activities for which the respondent reported ‘Don’t know’ to the average duration of each session of the specific activity participated in within the two weeks prior to interview.
0
10
50
40
20
30
Percent (%)
Two hours or more but less than five hours
Five hours or more
Females Persons
65 and over55 to 64
21
5.5 Average number of different physical activities
Participants took part in an average (mean) of 1.7 different physical activities in the 12 months prior to interview (Table 7).
• This peaked at 2.0 different physical activities for the 15 to 17 year age group and was lowest for the 65 years and over group at 1.4 different physical activities (Figure 9 and Table 7).
• Males participated in an average of 1.8 different physical activities, compared with an average of 1.7 different physical activities for females (Table 7).
Figure 9 PARTICIPANTS, Sport and physical recreation — Mean 18 number of physical activities, By sex and age
5.6 Top ten physical activities
• Of all physical activities, walking for exercise had the highest participation rate (23.6%). This excludes bush walking, which is categorised separately and had a participation rate of 2.4%.
• Other physical activities with relatively high participation rates were fitness/gym activities (17.1%), swimming/diving (7.8%), cycling/BMXing (7.6%) and jogging/running (7.5%) (Figure 10 and Table 30).
Figure 10 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 physical activities
18 Mean calculation excludes participation in activities for which the respondent reported ‘Don’t know’ to the number of times participated in the specified activity in 12 months prior to interview.
0
0.5
1.0
2.5
1.5
2.0
no. Males Females Persons
65 and over55 to 64
0
5
10
15
25
20
22
Walking for exercise had the highest participation rate for both males (16.5%) and females (30.4%)(Table 31).
• For males, the physical activities with the highest participation rates were walking for exercise (16.5%), fitness/gym activities (15.1%), cycling/BMXing (9.8%), jogging/running (8.7%), golf (8.2%), swimming/diving (7.5%) and tennis (indoor and outdoor) (4.9%) (Table 31).
• For females, the physical activities with the highest participation rates were walking for exercise (30.4%), fitness/gym activities (19.1%), swimming/diving (8.0%), jogging/running (6.4%), cycling/BMXing (5.4%), netball (indoor and outdoor) (4.5%) and tennis (indoor and outdoor) (3.4%) (Table 31).
Walking for exercise also had the highest participation rate across all age groups over 34 years (Table 32).
• The participation rate for walking for exercise increased with age, peaking at 55 to 64 years (36.3%) and declining moderately among those aged 65 years and older (27.5%) .
• In the youngest age group (15 to 17 year olds), soccer (outdoor) (13.3%), swimming/diving (10.2%), fitness/gym activities (9.6%), basketball (indoor and outdoor) (9.2%) and tennis (indoor and outdoor) (9.1%) had the most participants (Table 32).
• Participation in soccer (outdoor) tapered off quickly, with only 5.6% of people aged 18 to 24 years participating. There were even lower participation rates in older age groups (Table 32).
• In the oldest age group (65 years and older) the most popular activies were walking for exercise (27.5%), fitness/gym (8.6%) and golf (7.5%) (Table 32).
Top ten physical activities: A time series comparison of 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12
• In terms of the top ten physical activities, jogging/running had the largest increase in total participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12 (99.7%). The majority of this increase in participation in jogging/running occurred between 2005-06 and 2009-10 (Box 1).
• Other physical activities in the top ten to experience large increases compared with 2005-06 included:
• Cycling/BMXing (35.0% between 2005-06 and 2011-12)
• Soccer (outdoor) (16.6% between 2005-06 and 2011-12) (Box 1)
• Of the top ten physical activities, bush walking experienced the largest fall in participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12, down 16.0% (Box 1).
Box 1 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 physical activities(a) — 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12
2005-06 2009-10 2011-12 % change 2005-06—2011-12 (b)
NUMBER (‘000)
Fitness/gym .. .. 3,089.3 ..
Tennis (indoor and outdoor) 768.9 702.4 750.3 -2.4
Soccer (outdoor) 419.6 401.0 489.1 16.6
Netball (indoor and outdoor) 431.0 445.8 450.2 4.5
.. Not applicable. Category is not comparable across iterations.
(a) The top 10 ranked physical activities for Australia in terms of total participation in 2011-12.
(b) To calculate the percentage change in the number of participants between 2005-06 and 2011-12, the following formula was used: ((N2011-12 – N2005-06) / N2005-06) x 100.
23
Top ten regular physical activities
• Of all physical activities, walking for exercise had the highest regular participation rate (10.2%). An estimated 1.8 million persons aged 15 years and over participated in walking for exercise at least three times per week in the 12 months prior to interview (Figure 11 and Table 34).
• Other physical activities with relatively high regular participation rates were fitness/gym (3.8%), jogging/running (1.3%), cycling/BMXing (1.2%) and swimming/diving (0.7%) (Figure 11 and Table 34).
Figure 11 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 regular physical activities
Frequency of specific activities
People participated most frequently in walking for exercise. The median number of times participated per year in walking for exercise was 150 (Table 33), or 2.9 times per week. 19
Other physical activities20 that people frequently participated in were:
• Weight lifting/body building (median of 122.1 times per year, or 2.3 times per week)
• Fitness/gym activities (median of 100 times per year, or 1.9 times per week)
• Skateboarding/inline hockey/roller sports (median of 100 times per year, or 1.9 times per week)
• Jogging/running (median of 88.5 times per year, or 1.7 times per week)
• Lawn bowls (median of 52 times per year, or 1.0 times per week)
• Martial arts (median of 52 times per year, or 1.0 times per week) (Table 33).
19 See glossary for information about how ‘per week’ statistics are calculated. 20 Activities included in this analysis refer only to those activities that are participated in by 50,000 or more persons aged 15 years and over in 2011-12.
0
2
6
8
12
10
4
24
SECTION 6 Participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation
• An estimated 9.5 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once annually in sport and physical recreation that was non-organised21, a participation rate in non-organised activity of 52.8% (Table 1). Over three-quar- ters (81.2%) of all persons who participated in sport and physical recreation undertook at least some non-organised physical activity.
• The 2011-12 participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation (52.8%) was higher than in 2009-10 (52.2%), but lower than in 2005-06 (53.7%) (Figure 12).
Figure 12 PARTICIPANTS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation — By sex, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12
6.1 Frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation
• An estimated 7.0 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once per week22, in a non-organised sport and physical recreation, a weekly participation rate of 38.9% (Table 17).
• An estimated 3.8 million persons aged 15 years and over participated three times per week or more, a regular participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation of 20.9% (Table 17).
• An estimated 1.9 million persons aged 15 years and over participated five times per week or more, a frequent participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation of 10.8% (Figure 13, Table 17).
• An estimated 8.5 million persons aged 15 years and over did not participate in any non-organised sport and physical recreation in the 12 months prior to interview in 2011-12, a non-participation rate of 47.1% (Figure 13, Table 17).
21 See glossary for the definition of non-organised sport and physical recreation. 22 See glossary for information about how per week statistics are calculated.
50
52
54
56
58
25
Figure 13 PERSONS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation
6.2 Median frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation
Note that the median data in this section is based only on those people who participated in non-organised physical activity.
• The median frequency of participation among non-organised sport and physical recreation participants23 was 2.3 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 18). This was higher than that of organised sport and physical recreation (1.0 times per week) (See section 7.2 Median frequency of participation in organised sport and physical recreation) (Table 18 and Table 22).
• For female participants, the median frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was 2.8 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 18).
• For male participants, the median frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was 2.0 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 18).
Figure 14 PARTICIPANTS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation — Median24 frequency of participation, By sex and age
* estimate for females aged 15 to 17 years has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
23 All those not participating in non-organised sport and physical recreation (frequency=0) and participants who responded ‘Don’t know’ are excluded from this calculation. 24 Median calculation excludes participation in a non-organised activity for which the respondent reported ‘Don’t know’ to the number of times participated in the specified activity in the previous 12 months. All those not participating in non-organised sport and physical recreation (frequency=0) are also excluded from this calculation.
0
10
20
30
40
0
1
4
2
Females Persons
15 to 17* 18 to 24 25 to 34 45 to 5435 to 44 Age group (years)
65 and over55 to 64
26
6.3 Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation
Regular participation in sport and physical recreation is defined as those participating three times per week or more, on average25.
• The regular participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation in 2011-12 was 20.9% (Table 19), while organised sport and physical recreation was 4.6% (Table 24; also see section 7.3 Regular participation in organised sport and physical recreation).
Age and sex
• More females than males regularly participated in non-organised sport and physical recreation in 2011-12 (21.7% and 20.1%, respectively) (Table 19).
• Among females, regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was lowest among those aged 15 to 17 years (12.5%) and highest in the age group 55 to 64 years (26.1%). Among females aged 65 years or older, the regular participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation was 18.8% (Figure 15, Table 19).
• Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was higher for females than males in age groups other than those aged 18 to 24 years and 65 years and over. The gap between males and females was largest in the 45 to 55 years age group (Figure 15, Table 19).
Figure 15 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Non-organised sport and physical recreation — By sex and age
* estimate for males aged 15 to 17 years has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be
used with caution
Labour force status
• Part-time employed persons had the highest rate of regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation (22.4%), followed closely by full-time employed persons (21.4%) (Table 19).
• Unemployed persons had the lowest rate of regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation (18.5%) (Table 19).
• Females participating in the labour force had higher regular participation rates in non-organised sport and physical recreation than males across all categories. For those not in the labour force, males had a regular participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation of 20.7% in comparison with 18.7% for females (Table 19).
25 See glossary for information about how per week statistics are calculated.
0
10
30
20
15 to 17* 18 to 24 25 to 34 45 to 5435 to 44 Age group (years)
65 and over
55 to 64
27
Regional status
• Regular participation rates in non-organised sport and physical recreation were slightly higher among people living in capital cities than for those living in the balance of state/territory (21.5% and 19.6% respectively) (Table 19).
Education
• Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was highest among people whose highest level of educational attainment was a graduate diploma or graduate certificate (31.7%), a postgraduate degree (29.2%) or a bachelor degree (29.0%) (Table 19).
• Those whose highest level of educational attainment was Year 10 or below (13.8%) had the lowest regular participation rates in non-organised sport and physical recreation (Table 19).
Country of Birth
• Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation was highest for those born overseas in a main English-speaking country (27.9%), lowest for those born overseas in a non-main English-speaking country (16.1%), with the participation rate for people born in Australia (21.0%) sitting in the middle. This was true for both males and females (Table 19).
6.4 Top ten non-organised physical activities
• Of all non-organised physical activities, walking for exercise had the highest participation rate (23.3%). An estimated 4.2 million persons aged 15 years and over participated in non-organised walking for exercise in the 12 months prior to interview. This excludes non-organised bush walking, which is categorised separately and had a total participation rate of 2.3%. Almost all participation in walking for exercise was non-organised (Table 30).
• Other non-organised physical activities with relatively high total participation rates were fitness/gym (12.3%), cycling/ BMXing (7.3%), jogging/running (7.3%) and swimming/diving (7.2%) (Figure 16 and Table 30).
• Over 90% of participation in jogging/running, swimming/diving, bush walking, fishing and surf sports was non-organised (Table 30).
Figure 16 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 non-organised physical activities
0
5
10
15
25
20
28
• In terms of the top ten non-organised physical activities, jogging/running had the largest increase in total participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12 (100.9%). There majority of this increase in participation in jogging/running occurred between 2005-06 and 2009-10 (Box 2).
• Cycling/BMXing also experienced a large increase between 2005-06 and 2011-12 (32.9%) (Box 2).
• In terms of the top ten non-organised physical activities, bush walking experienced the largest fall in participation, down 13.5% between 2005-06 and 2011-12 (Box 2).
Box 2 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 non-organised physical activities (a) — 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12
Top ten regular non-organised physical activities
• Of all non-organised physical activities, walking for exercise had the highest regular participation rate (10.1%). An estimated 1.8 million persons aged 15 years participated in walking for exercise at least three times per week, on average, in the 12 months prior to interview (Figure 17 and Table 34).
• Other non-organised physical activities with relatively high regular participation rates were fitness/gym (3.1%), jogging/running (1.3%), cycling/BMXing (1.2%), and swimming/diving (0.6%) (Figure 17 and Table 34).
Figure 17 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 regular non-organised physical activities
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
0
4
6
8
12
10
2
NUMBER (‘000)
Fitness/gym .. .. 2216.8 ..
Tennis (indoor and outdoor)
518.4 484.1 509.5 -1.7
Fishing 230.7 232.5 238.8 3.5
Surf sports .. 221.5 221.1 ..
(a) The top 10 ranked non-organised physical activities for Australia in terms of total participation in 2011-12.
(b) To calculate the percentage change in the number of organised participants between 2005-06 and 2011-12 the following formula was used: ((N2011-12 – N2005-06) / N2005-06) x 100).
29
SECTION 7 Participation in organised sport and physical recreation26
• An estimated 4.9 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once annually in sport and physical recreation that was organised by a club, association, fitness centre or other type of organisation. This translates to a participation rate in organised sport and physical recreation of 27.2% (Table 1). Over a third (41.8%) of those participating in sport and physical recreation did so on a partially or fully organised basis.
• The 2011-12 total participation rate was higher than in 2009-10 (26.0%), but lower than in 2005-06 (27.5%) (Figure 18).
Figure 18 PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — By sex, 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12
7.1 Frequency of participation in organised sport and physical Recreation
• An estimated 2.7 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once per week in organised sport and physical recreation, a weekly participation rate of 15.1% (Table 21). This was less than half the weekly participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation (38.9%) (See section 6.1 Frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation) (Table 17).
• An estimated 827,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated in organised sport and physical recreation three times per week or more, a regular participation rate of 4.6% (Table 21). This was about one-quarter of the regular participation rate in non-organised sport and physical recreation (20.9%) (See section 6.1 Frequency of participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation) (Table 17).
• An estimated 276,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated in an organised sport and physical recreation five times per week or more, a frequent participation rate of 1.5% (Figure 19 and Table 21).
• An estimated 13.1 million persons aged 15 years and over did not participate in any organised sport and physical recreation in the 12 months prior to interview in 2011-12, a non-participation rate of 72.8% (Figure 19 and Table 20).
26 See glossary for the definition of organised physical activities.
20
22
24
26
28
30
Figure 19 PERSONS, Organised sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation
7.2 Median frequency of participation in organised sport and physical recreation
Note that the median data in this section is based only on those people who participated in organised sport and physical recreation.
• The median frequency of participation in organised sport and physical recreation among participants27 was 1.0 times per week in 2011-12 (Table 22).28
• Amongst male participants the highest median frequency of participation in organised sport and physical recreation was for those in the 15 to 17 years age group (1.3 times per week) and lowest for the 45 to 54 age group (0.8 times per week) (Figure 20 and Table 22).29
• Amongst female participants the highest median frequency of participation in organised sport and physical recreation was for those in the 45 to 54 years age group (1.9 times per week) followed by the 15 to 17 years age group at 1.6 times per week (Figure 20 and Table 22).30
Figure 20 PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — Median31 frequency of participation, By sex and age
27 All those not participating in organised sport and physical recreation (frequency=0) and participants who responded ‘Don’t know’ are excluded from this calculation. 28,29,30 See glossary for information about how per week statistics are calculated. 31 Median calculation excludes participation in an organised sport and physical recreation for which the respondent reported ‘Don’t know’ to the number of times participated in the specified activity in the 12 months prior to interview. All those not participating in organised sport and physical recreation (frequency=0) are also excluded from this calculation.
0
20
60
80
40
Percent (%)
0
1
5
3
2
4
Females Persons
65 and over
55 to 64
31
7.3 Regular participation in organised sport and physical recreation
Regular participation in sport and physical recreation is defined as those participating three times per week or more, on average32.
• In 2011-12, the regular participation rate in organised sport and physical recreation was 4.6% (Table 24). This was considerably lower than for non-organised sport and physical recreation (20.9%) (see section 6.3 Regular participation in non-organised sport and physical recreation) (Table 19).
Age and sex
• On average, more females than males regularly participated in organised sport and physical recreation in 2011-12 (4.7% and 4.4%, respectively) (Table 24).
• Regular participation in organised sport and physical recreation was higher for males than females in the 15 to 17, 18 to 24, and 35 to 44 years age groups; and higher for females in the 25 to 34, 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 years age groups (Figure 21 and Table 24).
• For all persons, regular participation in organised sport and physical recreation decreased with age (Figure 21, Table 24).
Figure 21 REGULAR PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — By sex and age
Labour force status
• Persons employed part-time and full-time had the highest regular participation rate in organised sport and physical recreation (5.4% and 5.1% respectively), when compared with those who were not in the labour force (3.6%) (Table 24).
Regional status
• Regular participation in organised sport and physical recreation was higher in capital cities (5.0%) compared with the balance of the state/territory (3.8%) (Table 24).
Education
• Participants whose highest educational achievement was Year 12 or Year 11 had the highest regular participation rates in organised sport and physical recreation (6.3% and 5.8% respectively) (Table 24).
• Participants with a bachelor degree as their highest level of educational attainment also had a relatively high regular participation rate in organised sport and physical recreation at 5.4% (Table 24).
32 See glossary for information about how per week statistics are calculated.
0
5
20
10
15
65 and over
55 to 64
32
Country of Birth
• Among males, there was a small difference in regular participation rates in organised sport and physical recreation between those who were born in Australia (4.8%) and those born in main English-speaking countries33 (4.3%).
• Among females, those who were born in non-main English-speaking countries also had the lowest regular participation rate in organised sport and physical recreation (2.1%), especially when compared with those who were born in a main English-speaking country (6.3%). Females born in Australia had a regular participation rate in organised sport and physical recreation of 5.1% (Table 24).
7.4 Type of organisation
In terms of the type of organisation behind organised physical activity:
• An estimated 2.8 million persons, or 15.4%, participated at least once in 2011-12 in sport and physical recreation organised by a sports club or association (Figure 22 and Table 23).
• An estimated 1.5 million persons, or 8.6%, participated in sport and physical recreation organised by a fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre (Figure 22 and Table 23).
• Relatively few people participated in sport and physical recreation organised by a recreation club or association (325,000 persons, or 1.8%), community fitness programs/events (308,000 persons, or 1.7%) an educational institution (258,000 persons, or 1.4%), their workplace (99,000 persons, or 0.5%) or physical activity courses (91,000 persons, or 0.5%) (Figure 22 and Table 23).
• More females than males participated at least once in sport and physical recreation organised by a fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre (11.5% and 5.5%, respectively) (Figure 22 and Table 23).
• More males participated at least once in physical activity organised by a sports club or association than females (19.9% and 11.1%, respectively) (Figure 22 and Table 23).
• Participation in physical activity organised by a sports club or association was highest among the 15 to 17 and 18 to 24 years age groups (36.5% and 22.9% respectively) (Table 23).
Note that all aerobics and fitness/gym participants describing their participation as being through a sports club or association or a recreation club or association were recoded to a fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre. See section 3 Glossary or section 11 Explanatory notes for more information.
Figure 22 PARTICIPANTS, Organised sport and physical recreation — Type of organisation, By sex
* estimate for males has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
33 See glossary for definitions of main and non-main English speaking countries.
0
15
5
10
33
7.5 Top ten organised physical activities
• In 2011-12, the organised physical activity with the highest total participation rate was fitness/gym (6.0%). An estimated 1.1 million persons aged 15 years and over participated in fitness/gym in an organised environment at least once in the 12 months prior to interview (Figure 23 and Table 30).
• The other organised physical activities that attracted the greatest number of participants were golf (2.2%), soccer (outdoor) (2.1%), netball (indoor and outdoor)(2.1%), tennis (indoor and outdoor)(1.7%), football sports (1.4%), basketball (indoor and outdoor)(1.3%), lawn bowls (1.3%), martial arts (1.1%) and cricket (outdoor) (1.1%) (Figure 23 and Table 30).
Figure 23 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 organised physical activities
Top ten organised physical activities: A time series comparison of 2005-06, 2009-10 and 2011-12
• In terms of the top ten organised physical activities, soccer (outdoor) had the largest increase in participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12 (29.7%). The majority of this increase in organised participation in soccer (outdoor) occurred between 2009-10 and 2011-12 (Box 3).
• Other physical activities in the top ten to experience increases since 2005-06 included:
• Martial arts (12.9% between 2005-06 and 2011-12)
• Netball (indoor and outdoor) (6.5% between 2005-06 and 2011-12) (Box 3).
• Of the top ten organised physical activities, cricket (outdoor) experienced the largest fall in participation between 2005-06 and 2011-12, down 7.6% (Box 3).
Box 3 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 organised physical activities(a) — 2005-06, 2009-10 amnd 2011-12
0
4
8
2
6
Fitness/gym .. .. 1080.0 ..
Soccer (outdoor) 287.1 288.4 372.5 29.7
Netball (indoor and outdoor) 348.5 391.1 371.0 6.5
Tennis (indoor and outdoor) 315.8 272.6 309.9 -1.9
Football sports .. .. 245.3 ..
Lawn bowls 235.4 225.2 229.7 -2.4
Martial arts 182.4 178.3 206.0 12.9
Cricket (outdoor) 219.1 197.2 202.4 -7.6
(a) The top 10 ranked organised physical activities for Australia in terms of total participation in 2011-12.
(b) To calculate the percentage change in the number of organised participants between 2005-06 and 2011-12 the following formula was used: ((N2011-12 – N2005-06) / N2005-06) x 100).
34
Top ten regular organised physical activities
• In 2011-12, the organised sport and physical activity with the highest regular participation rate was fitness/gym (1.1%) (Figure 24, Table 34). An estimated 202,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated in fitness/gym in an organised environment at least three times per week, on average, in the 12 month prior to interview (Table 34).
• The other organised sport and physical activities that attracted the greatest number of ‘regular participants’ were walking for exercise (0.2%) and jogging/running (0.2%).
Figure 24 PARTICIPANTS, Top 10 regular organised physical activities
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution ** estimate has a relative standard error of greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use
0
0.75
1.25
0.25
0.50
1.00
35
SECTION 8 Participation in sports club based sport And physical recreation34
Persons participating in organised physical activity were asked what type of club, association or organisation organised the activity. Responses could include a fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre that required payment for participation, a sports club or association that required payment of membership fees or registration, a recreation club or association, work, an educational institution, physical activity courses, community fitness programs/events or any other organisation. Persons saying they participated in physical activity organised by a sports club or association are discussed in this section. Partici- pants in sports club based physical activity are a subset of organised participants discussed in section 7. Note that all aerobics and fitness/gym participants describing their participation as being through a sports club or association were recoded to fitness, leisure or indoor sports centre and thus excluded from the following analysis. See section 3 Glossary or section 11 Explanatory notes for more information.
• An estimated 2.8 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once annually in sport and physical recreation that was organised by a sports club or association, a participation rate in sports club based sport and physical recreation of 15.4% (Table 23).
8.1 Frequency of participation in sports club based sport and physical recreation
• An estimated 1.4 million persons aged 15 years and over participated at least once per week in sports club based sport and physical recreation, a weekly participation rate of 7.8% (Table 25).
• An estimated 289,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated in sports club based sport and physical recreation three times per week or more, a regular participation rate of 1.6% (Table 25).
• An estimated 108,000 persons aged 15 years and over participated in sports club based sport and physical recreation five times per week or more, a frequent participation rate of 0.6% (Figure 25, Table 25).
• An estimated 15.3 million persons aged 15 years and over did not participate in any sports club based sport and physical recreation in the 12 months prior to interview in 2011-12, a non-participation rate of 84.6% (Figure 25, Table 25).
Figure 25 PERSONS, Sports club based sport and physical recreation — By frequency of participation
34 See glossary for the definition of sports club based sport and physical recreation.
0
20
80
100
40
60
Percent (%)
36
8.2 Median frequency of participati

participation in sport and physical recreation 2011-2012 australia

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