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BARRIERS AND MOTIVATORS TO SPORTS PARTICIPATION

The report Motivators and Constraints to Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, prepared by NCCRS, was released on the Australian Sports Commission website in December 2007. This report presents information on constraints and motives to participation in sports and physical recreation collected in the 2005-06 Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS). This survey included questions about participation in organised and non-organised sports and physical recreation, the types of sport and activities, the frequency of participation and constraints and motives to participation. Results from the 2005-06 MPHS are summarised in Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4177.0).

The report analyses the data to see if different social and demographic groups in the population indicate different reasons for their level of participation. This included those who did not participate at all. Overall, the main reasons for low levels of participation were "insufficient time due to work or study (22%) followed by 'not interested' (19% ), age/too old (17%) and on-going injury or illness (14%). Participants reported just two main motives for their participation: 'health/fitness' (54%) and 'enjoyment (22%).

The data also show that, other than for age and sex, the indicated motives and barriers are similar for all demographic groups. That is, those in different socio-economic groups, from a non-English speaking background, in different family and household living arrangements etc, all reported similar reasons.

The incidence of age/too old and injury/illness as a constraint increased with age while insufficient time due to work/study and being 'not interested' decreased with increasing age. There were however noticeable differences once sex was taken into account. Insufficient time due to family reasons was the main constraint reported by women aged 25-34 years and 35-44 years whereas males in the same age ranges were more likely to report insufficient time due to work/study as a constraint to participation.

The full report, Motivators and Constraints to Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, can be found on the Australian Sports Commission website at http://www.ausport.gov.au/ by clicking on the 'Information and Research' tab, then choosing 'SCORS Research Group' from the menu and clicking on 'Publications and reports'.