For the first time more than 15
million people in England are playing sport once a week, every
week.
The latest figures from Sport England’s Active
People Survey show that 15.28 million people[i] aged 16 and over are
playing sport at least once a week, 500,000 more than six months
ago and 1.3 million more than in 2005/6 when London won the Olympic
bid.1
“This is a strong set of results, with all of
the key measures showing participation in sport is increasing,”
said Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England. “As we
approach the London Games some of our key sports such as cycling
and hockey are already beginning to feel the Olympic effect. I am
particularly pleased that there has also been a sharp increase in
the number of disabled people who are playing sport every
week.”
Twenty-one sports have shown a positive trend
over the past six months, with particularly strong growth in the
Olympic sports of cycling, football, athletics2 and
hockey.
“Cycling in this country has never been in
better health, said British Cycling Chief Executive, Ian Drake.
“We’re on course to achieve our target of delivering a sustainable
participation legacy before the Games thanks to our partnerships
with Sport England and Sky, without whom we would not be seeing
these results today.
“Grassroots initiatives like Sky Ride and
Breeze are continuing to inspire people to get on their bikes and
enjoy life on two wheels and it is particularly encouraging to see
a rise in women’s participation. At the start of what could be
British Cycling’s greatest summer, our ambitions remain high and
the focus is on maintaining momentum and continuing to build on our
success.”
Overall, the growth in sports participation
continues to be driven by those aged 26 and over. Although the
results for the 16-25 age group are more positive than they were
six months ago, there is still a long-term downward trend. Our new
Youth and Community Sport Strategy, announced in January, is
helping us address this issue.
“With the London 2012 Games round the
corner it’s encouraging that sports participation is on the rise,”
said Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport,
Jeremy Hunt.
“Hosting the Games will give us the platform
to go even further and inspire many more to take up sport. We want
people to have a sporting habit for life. Going forward sports
governing bodies will target the 14-25 year old age group to do
just that and strengthen grassroots sport across the country.”
Today’s results also show encouraging signs of
recovery among a number of sports, such as where participation had
fallen in recent years. This includes sports such as such as rugby
league, rugby union and golf which have had their funding reduced
by Sport England, but have now made significant changes in their
participation strategies.
Find out more about the
Sixth Active People survey.
Footnotes
1. Based on telephone interviews with
167,000 adults (aged 16 and over) living in England between April
2011 and April 2012 for the Active People Survey 6 (APS6), which
was carried out by TNS-BMRB on behalf of Sport England. APS6
figures are based on Office for National Statistics (ONS)
population data for mid-2010. Comparisons are with APS5 and
APS1.
2. Athletics
includes running