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Sport, Recreation & Physical Activity Participation Among NZ Adults

Volunteers

Over 12 months:

  • one in four adults volunteered for a sport or recreation activity, equating to 829,735 sport and recreation volunteers;
  • a similar percentage of men and women volunteered;
  • parent helper and coach were the most common roles;
  • volunteering levels peaked in the 35 to 49 year old age group; and
  • compared with the total population, volunteering levels were higher among Maori and Pacific adults and lower among Asian and Other adults.

Volunteer Levels Among All Adults

  %
Total Population
25.3
Gender
Men
24.9
Women
25.8
Age
16-24
27.3
25-34
25.9
35-49
34.8
50-64
20.1
≥ 65
12.5
Ethnicity
Māori
33.2
Asian
31.9
NZ European
26.1
Pacific
13.2
Other
24.3

Most Common Volunteer Roles Among All Adults

Table showing the Most Common Volunteer Roles Among All Adults

Volunteer Role Number of New Zealand adults volunteering %
Coach/Trainer/Teacher/Instructor
386,025
11.8
Parent helper
306,243
9.3
Referee/Judge/Official/Umpire
257,251
7.9
Administrator/Secretary/Committee member
218,334
6.7

Most Common Roles Among Volunteers

  %
Coach/Trainer/Teacher/Instructor
46.5
Parent helper
36.9
Referee/Judge/Official/Umpire
31.0
Administrator/Secretary /Committee member
26.3

Among the 25.3 percent of adults who did volunteer:

  • the most common role was coach/teacher/trainer, followed by, in sequential order, parent helper, referee and administration-based roles.