4147.4.55.001 - Culture and Recreation News, Sep 2013  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/09/2013   
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PERSPECTIVES ON SPORT


JUNE EDITION

The Perspectives on Sport series addresses topical issues within sport and physical recreation in Australia. The following articles were featured in the recent release Perspectives on Sport, June 2013 (cat. no. 4156.0.55.001):

  • Square eyes and couch potatoes: Children's participation in physical activity and screen-based activities
  • Women in Sport: The State of Play 2013
  • Stats & Facts: Sporting Facilities 2011-12

Here is a quick summary of each article.

Square eyes and couch potatoes: Children's participation in physical activity and screen-based activities used data from the publication Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Apr 2012 (cat. no. 4901.0) to explore the impact of time spent on screen-based activities in relation to children's participation in physical activities. Generally, children who spent more time on screen-based activities had lower participation rates in physical activities. Interesting findings include:
  • 52% of children aged 5-14 years who spent 20 hours or more per week accessing the Internet at home participated in one organised sport or more in the 12 months prior to interview. In contrast, 70% of children who spent 3-4 hours per week online participated in one organised sport or more.
  • in the last two school weeks, 64% of children who spent 20 hours or more watching TV participated in organised sport and/or dancing compared with 72% of children who spent 3-4 hours watching TV.

Women in Sport: The State of Play 2013 used data from a number of ABS sources to present data on women's participation and involvement in sport. Of note was that:
  • 64% of women aged 15 years and over participated in sport and physical recreation in the 12 months prior to interview.
  • 80% of women with postgraduate degrees participated compared with 62% of those whose highest educational attainment was Year 11.
  • women on lower incomes were less likely to participate with 46% of those whose weekly household income fell in the lowest quintile participating compared with over 80% of those with income in the highest quintile.

Stats & Facts: Sporting Facilities 2011-12 used data from the publication Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation, 2011-12 (cat. no. 4177.0) to present information on the facilities people use for sport and physical recreation activities. We found that:
  • 45% of those who only participated in organised sport or physical recreation activities used Indoor sports or fitness centres.
  • for non-organised sport or physical recreation activities, 42% of people used Parks and reserves.
  • of those people who participated in both organised and non-organised sport or physical recreation activities, 58% used Indoor sports or fitness centres.