AusLeisure

According to the Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) latest national AusPlay survey, sport is moving beyond the club to parks, pavements and backyards with sporting organisations embracing the challenge to create new ways to welcome Australians of all ages and abilities.

The AusPlay survey shows sports like basketball, football (soccer), rugby league and cricket are in a prime position to increase their participation base.

47 % of respondents who played basketball only did so informally rather than as an organised activity.

Basketball Australia is already welcoming new members through its non-traditional programs such as the increasingly popular 3x3 format, social competitions including walking and wheelchair basketball and the newly created Ability Hoops program.

Football Australia, the National Rugby League and Cricket Australia are also evolving to meet the needs of today’s participants, offering different formats of the game for children such as Miniroos, all abilities, women and girls, and seniors.

For the first time, the AusPlay results also reveal where Australians choose to move and who they get active with.

Adults are opting to exercise in local parks, streets, beaches or at home with informal activities proving most popular across the country.

The new data highlights the integral role public spaces play, with 61% of adults getting active outside, followed by exercising in the home (29%), and visiting a gym/fitness club/sports or leisure centre (28%).

ASC Chief Executive Kieren Perkins said the results demonstrate the many ways adults and children can get involved in sport and physical activity.

Perkins noted “whether you are going for a run on your own, kicking a footy with your mates at the local park or playing in a weekly netball competition, it’s wonderful to see Aussies finding so many opportunities to keep fit.

“We know being part of a sporting community improves our physical and mental health and builds resilience, which is why it’s encouraging to see sports embracing different formats and continuing to adapt so all Australians have a place in sport.

“We also need to ensure that there are enough places and spaces available for people to get active in ways and at times that suit them.

“This is a key priority of the Play Well Strategy which is all about breaking down barriers so everyone who wants to be involved can be involved in sport.”

The data was collected over an 18-month period (July 2023 - December 2024) and includes responses from more than 60,000 adults and 13,000 children.

The latest results show:

• Informal activities like going for a run alone or with friends/family on a casual basis are more popular than organised activities for both men and women.
• Over 11 million Australian adults (51%) took part in a sport-related activity.
• Nearly six million adults (26%) played organised sport.
• Around a quarter (or nearly 1.3 million) of children are active through a sports club or association in addition to being active during school hours.
• Four million Australian adults do some type of organised sport or physical activity in a public space or at free community facilities.
• Men are more likely to participate through a sports club or association than women, while participation through gym/fitness clubs and private or commercial businesses is higher for women than men.
• 85% of Australian adults are active and 48% exercise at least three times a week.
• Full-time students are most likely to participate in sport and physical activity (91%), whereas those living with a disability (68%), the unemployed (71%), and retirees or people on a pension (75%) are least likely.

The latest AusPlay data is available via the Clearinghouse for Sport.

New reports for the top 15 sports and activities are also available. 

Related Articles

7th November 2024 - Basketball Australia welcomes AusPlay statistics showing participation growth

31st October 2024 - AusPlay survey shows gyms and pickleball as popular activity choices for Australians

30th April 2024 - ASC national AusPlay survey shifts its data collection to online

4th November 2023 - Gymnastics Australia responds to latest national AusPlay report

28th April 2023 - Latest AusPlay data shows exercise worth $16.4 billion a year to Australians

22nd December 2022 - Netball Australia welcomes AusPlay data showing rising participation

1st November 2022 - AusPlay research results highlight a change in the way Australians are getting active

11th July 2022 - AusPlay report shows surfing, skate sports and exergaming experience growth in popularity

8th February 2022 - Data from Golf Australia and AusPlay shows significant increase in golf participation

31st October 2021 - Latest Ausplay reports shows volunteers as key to sport’s successful return post COVID-19

2nd May 2021 - Latest Ausplay report shows renewed participation in Olympic sport

30th October 2020 - Latest Sport Australia AusPlay survey results focus on early impact of COVID-19 on sport and activity

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.