SPARC Facts 1997-2001

Over the past year, 18% of adults have taken up a new sport or active leisure activity, 13% have given at least one up, 6% have done both (taken up a new sport or active leisure activity and also given one up), while around six in 10 adults (62%) have not changed their participation rate.

Adults, aged 18-34 years (in particular those aged 18-24 years) are more likely to have taken up a new sport or active leisure activity than adults who are older. They are also more likely to have given up one or done both – taken up at least one and given one up.

As adults get older they are less likely to take up a new sport or active leisure activity.

Sports and active leisure taken up or returned to in the last 12 months included exercise classes (12%), golf (9%), swimming (8%), netball (6%), running (5%), squash (5%), walking 10-30 minutes (5%) and tennis (5%). Other sports and active leisure activities taken up or gone back to included recreational cycling, aerobics, exercising at home and fishing (4% each). Close to one in five adults (18%) have taken up other sports or activities.

Men’s top three sports or active leisure taken up or gone back to were golf (12%), exercise classes (10%) and swimming (6%). For women it was exercise classes (14%), swimming (10%) and netball (12%). One in five men and 16% of women took up another sport and active leisure.

Māori were more likely to pick up or go back to netball (13%), exercise classes (12%) and golf (8%). 12% of European adults took up or went back to exercise classes, while close to one in 10 of them (9%) took up golf and 8% took up or went back to swimming. The top three sports that Pacific adults took up or went back to were netball (20%), rugby league (15%) and exercise classes (11%), and for adults from other ethnic groups they were exercise classes followed by golf and swimming (12%, 9% and 8% respectively).

Exercise classes, netball and golf (13%, 12% and 8% respectively) were the sports and active leisure adults aged 18-24 years took up or went back to in the past year. For 25-34-year-olds it was exercise classes (13%), swimming (9%) and golf (8%).

Again, exercise classes (11%), golf (10%) and swimming (6%) were the sports and active leisure that 35-49 year olds most commonly took up or had gone back to. For people aged 50-64 years it was golf (12%), exercise classes (10%) and outdoor bowls (9%). Adults aged 65 years or over were more likely to take up or go back to outdoor bowls (18%), exercising at home (11%) and aquarobics (10%) in the past year.

Changes in participation