Economic recovery hits participation in sports
Despite finding that participation in sport among adults aged 16 and older has decreased by more than two percentage points since 2013, the Irish Sport Monitor shows the number of adults engaged in low levels of physical activity has decreased to its lowest level since the study started in 2007.
The report says the turnaround in the economy since the last survey in 2013 means some people may not have the time to participate in sport as much as they used to.
“As more people move from unemployment into employment, and many already in employment work longer hours than in previous years, this limits the level of free time available for other activities such as playing sport and other forms of physical activity,” it states.
John Treacy, chief executive of Sport Ireland, welcomed the study, which involved interviews with 8,540 respondents aged 16 or older, and the decreasing level of sedentarism, but warned against complacency.
“Following a number of years where we have seen increasing levels of involvement in sport, the current report has identified a slight decline in participation from 2013 driven primarily by improved economic conditions and associated time pressures on particular groups,” he said.
“Understanding the factors behind this decline is important in allowing us to focus attention on these groups.
“Sport Ireland will continue its work to increase participation in sport and reduce the level of sedentarism with a range of programmes and initiatives implemented through the national governing bodies and local sports partnerships.”
The most popular form of sporting activity is exercise, such as gym-based activities or fitness classes, with 13.7% of respondents taking part in such pursuits. It is followed by running (8.2%), swimming (8%), and cycling (5.5%).
Soccer is the most popular team sport in terms of numbers of participants, with 4.8% of people taking part, followed by Gaelic football (2%), hurling and camogie (1.2%), and rugby (1.1%).
About 10.2% cycle regularly for transport, with women less likely to cycle for transport than men. While 14% of men cycle regularly for transport, only 6.5% of women do so.
Slightly more than one in five (20.7%) of those asked had attended a sporting event, ranging from international professional sport to local children’s sports, in the previous seven days.
Gaelic football remains the most popular form of sporting event for attendance (7.5% of respondents), followed by soccer (4.8%), hurling and camogie (4.6%), and rugby (1.8%).
Similarly, 21.5% of people volunteer for sports, with men (13.8%) more likely to volunteer than women (12.1%).
Nearly three quarters (74%) of parents participate in sport with their children on a weekly basis, the majority of which is on a casual basis.
Soccer, Gaelic football, and swimming are the most common sports played with children.
People with sons are more likely to say that having children has a positive effect on their participation in sport, while mothers are more likely to say that they have participated in more sport since having children.
While some sports participated in on an individual basis — such as gym-based exercise and pilates — show increases in people taking part, the proportion playing team-based sports has declined.
