SPORTS PARTICIPATION
In the 12 months to April 2012, of the 2.8 million children aged 5 to 14 years, 1.7 million (60%) participated in at least one organised sport outside of school hours. (Table 1)
Approximately two thirds (66%) of all children aged between 9 and 11 years participated in organised sport, higher than the participation rates of those aged 5 to 8 years and 12 to 14 years (56% and 60% respectively). More males (949,000) participated than females (727,000). Participation was higher for children born in Australia (61%) compared with those born overseas (52%) and higher for children in couple families (64%) compared with those living in one-parent families (48%). Participation rates varied between the states and territories, with the highest participation rate in the Australian Capital Territory (73%). (Table 8)
The most popular sport for males was outdoor soccer, with 309,700 participants and a participation rate of 22%. Nineteen percent of all females (256,900) participated in swimming and diving, the most popular sport for this group, followed by netball (220,400 females or 16%). (Table 11)
On average, children spent five hours in the last school fortnight playing and training in organised sport outside of school hours. (Table 13)
This page last updated 4 February 2013
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