The findings show that 245,000 more people are playing sport regularly compared to the previous figures from June. The number of people now playing sport stands at 15.74 million in the 12 months to the end of September 2015. This figure represents an increase of 1.65 million since London won the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
A key finding of the survey is the increase in female participation.
The number of women playing sport and getting active once a week, every week, has increased by 148,700. Linked to this, the number of women playing sport and being active is increasing at a faster rate than that of male participation. The overall gender gap has narrowed slightly – from 1.78 million to 1.73 million.
Ahead of the publication of a new sports strategy, the requirement for a change in approach and focus on the needs of individual consumers is seen starkly in the figures for lower socio-economic groups and disabled people:
• Lower socio economic groups – 25.9 per cent of people in the lowest socio-economic groups (known as NSSEC 5-8) play sport once a week, a very small increase on the 25.7 per cent in June 2015. This compares to more affluent socio-economic groups where 39.1 per cent of people are now active.
• Disabled people – 17,500 more disabled people are playing sport once a week, now at 1.58 million (17.2 per cent), meaning that a disabled person is still half as likely to play sport as a non-disabled person.
Emma Boggis, Chief Executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, said:
“The Minister used the last set of Active People results to launch the consultation on a new strategy for sport, declaring that the current approach has had its day. Whilst we welcome a strategy which makes improvements to the status quo, we need to make sure that it doesn’t assume that everything that governing bodies have been doing to engage people in sport is failing – because todays results show that that is far from the case.
These results reflect the hard work and invention that is going on in the sports sector at the moment. Governing bodies are innovating and adapting to the changing demand of participants and this is reflected in these figures.
Governing bodies are creating opportunities for people across the whole country to discover sport and what it can offer. Their work means that more people are taking part in sport, and that’s a testament to the huge effort put in by governing bodies to create quality opportunities for people.”
Jennie Price, Sport England’s Chief Executive, said:
"It’s good news that more women are playing sport, and driving an overall increase in the numbers. It’s particularly great to see This Girl Can is making a real difference. That’s because we’ve really focused on what drives women’s attitudes and behaviours.
If we’re to see a further step change in the total number of people playing sport, we need to take a similar, consumer-focused approach in areas where the figures are stubbornly low, like disability and lower socio-economic groups.”
Find out more about the latest APS figures here.
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