Record number of disabled people playing sport but more to be done
The number of people playing sport regularly in England remains higher than at any time before the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, according to official statistics published today by Sport England.
The Active People Survey is an annual, in-depth measure of the nation’s
sporting habits and is the biggest of its kind in Europe. Today’s results, which
cover October 2012-October 2013, show that the number of people playing
sport regularly remains at 15.5 million, an increase of over 1.5m since London
won the bid to host the Games.
We are the first host nation to have delivered a sustained increase in the number of people playing sport after the Games and today’s data shows the continuing positive impact of London 2012 on people’s sporting habits. In particular the data reveals:
- A record number of disabled people now play sport each week. This has increased by 62,000 over the last year, bringing the total number to its highest recorded figure of 1.67 million
- The highest ever recorded numbers of people from BME origin taking part in sport – rising from 2.13 million when London won the Olympic and Paralympic bid, to 2.7 million in 2012-13
- The number of men and women playing sport has increased over the last six months (151,000 and 55,000 respectively), showing that the nation has bounced back into playing sport after the coldest March for 50 years
- The highest ever number of people aged 26 years old and over now play sport once a week.
Whilst the data shows record participation numbers for many areas, figures for
the 16-25 year old age group have declined by 51,000 over the last year to 3.74
million (53.7 per cent).
Jennie Price, Chief Executive of Sport England, said:
“This shows that more people are continuing to play sport and the growth we saw in 2012 was not just a post-Olympic bounce. I am particularly pleased to see record numbers of disabled people playing sport, which is a real testament both to the impact of the Paralympics and our increased investment in the grassroots. We are concerned about the results for young people – although the majority of 16-25 year olds still play sport regularly the numbers are not going up. The evidence shows a sharp drop in the popularity of traditional sports like football and netball, and we need to make sure they have a wider range of sporting activities to choose from.”
Minister for Sport, Helen Grant, said:
“I am encouraged that sports participation is back up on the rise compared to six months ago and that participation among disabled people is at an all-time high. More women are getting involved too and I want to keep up that momentum. But there is still more to be done to encourage greater participation across the board. Sports governing bodies must step up and deliver for the half a billion pounds of public money that they receive. If they don’t, funding will be taken away and channelled into grassroots sport through other routes.”
Nation recovers from bad weather
Today’s results include data from March 2013 – the coldest March for 50 years. Interim Active People Survey results published in June showed that this had led to a dip in the number of people playing sport. However, today’s figures show strong growth once again, indicating that motivation to play sport was not
damaged.
Individual sports on the rise
Over the last year the strongest growth has come from individual sports such as cycling. More traditional sports such as football, netball and cricket have seen dips in participation, particularly for 16-25 year olds. The data indicates that whilst many young people enjoy traditional team sports, significant and
sustained growth will depend on offering a wide range of options, including less
traditional sporting activities from dance to dodgeball.
14 and 15 year olds measured for the first time
For the first time, the Active People Survey for 2012/13 (APS7) includes data on
14 and 15 year olds. By including the sporting habits of this younger age group,
the aim is to generate a clearer understanding of when sporting habits are made and broken and inform more targeted interventions.
To ensure that APS7 data is comparable with the previous years, these new
figures are treated separately in today’s report. The baseline data reveals that
906,700 14 and 15 year olds (530,800 boys and 375,900 girls), or 71 per cent,
currently play sport for at least 30 minutes once a week. This brings the total
number of people aged 14 and over playing sport to 16.4 million.
