Geographic
Community size and infrastructure can impact upon sport participation.
Community size and infrastructure (which can also influence organisational capacity) can impact upon sport participation.
Prevailing social and cultural characteristics of a community can have a great influence on which sports are popular. Some research suggests that 'mid-size' communities create a better environment for sport participation than either very small or large communities. However, the research is ongoing because of the multiple social factors involved and their interaction.
AusPlay survey data from 2024 shows that participation varies across different geographical areas. The percentage of people aged 15 and over who participated in sport-related activities at least once per week was: 36
- 28% for major cities
- 25% for inner regional
- 27% for outer regional
- 29% for remote or very remote
For children under 15 years of age, organised sport participation outside of school hours at least once per week also varies:
- 37% for major cities
- 34% for inner regional
- 32% for outer regional
- 35% for remote or very remote
More information is available in the Sport in Rural and Regional Australia topic.
Resources and reading
- Sink or Swim? A survival analysis of sport dropout in Australian youth swimmers, opens in a new tab, Kylie Moulds, Shaun Abbott, Johan Pion, et al., Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, Volume 30(11), pp.2222-2233, (2020). In a large representative sample of swimmers, survival analyses identified age‐group, competition level, and city proximity were associated with increased swimming dropout rates.
- Physical activity of rurally residing children with a disability: A survey of parents and carers, opens in a new tab, Luke Wakely, Jessica Langham, Catherine Johnston, Disability and Health Journal, Volume 11(1), pp.31-35, (2018). The children in this study were from rural areas and face similar barriers to children in metropolitan areas. However, they are also confronted with the same barriers children without a disability in rural areas face, participating in physical activity. This may have detrimental effects on their health and development.
- VicHealth Research Practice Fellowship – Physical Activity Final report, opens in a new tab, Eime, Rochelle, Sport and Recreation Spatial, (March 2016). This research report examined participation trends for seven sports - Australian football, tennis, netball, basketball, cricket, hockey and bowls – played in Victoria. Findings related to rural and regional sports included: males (10-14 years) from non-metropolitan areas had the highest participation rate ; there was an increase in participation rate from 2010 to 2012 for non-metropolitan compared to metropolitan people ; non-metropolitan participation compared to metropolitan areas was higher during adolescence (14–18 years) and throughout mature adulthood (30+ years) ; rates of regular physical activity participation decreased as remoteness increased ; and the rate of participation for Australian football, cricket, netball, hockey, bowls and fishing was higher as geographical remoteness increased.
- Community size and sport participation across 22 countries, opens in a new tab, Balish S, Rainham D, Blanchard C, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, Volume 25(6), pp.e576-e581, (2015). Data from 22 countries (including Australia) was analysed to determine the association between community size and the rate of individual and team sport participation and physical activity participation. The analysis provides evidence to support the hypothesis that communities that have between 10,000 and 100,000 residents provide a context in which individuals are more likely to participant in sport, especially team sport. In addition, this study found that the size of communities was unrelated to physical activity participation. Although the individual participation rates vary across countries, the relationship stays the same. More research into community size and sport participation in more diverse contexts is required to explain this relationship. The authors point out that this study has limitations; it employed only two relatively crude (i.e., dichotomous) measures of community size (10,000 to 100,000 and less than 10,000), leaving open the possibility that more specific classifications could better explain the associations.
- Participation in sport and physical activity: Associations with socio-economic status and geographical remoteness,, opens in a new tab Eime R, Harvey J, Charity M, et al., BMC Public Health, Volume 15, Article: 434, (2015). This study demonstrates the complexity of the associations between SES and location across different contexts of participation. Nevertheless, it seems that once initial engagement in PA is established, SES and remoteness are not critical determinants of the depth of engagement.
- Understanding the relationships between the physical environment and physical activity in older adults: a systematic review of qualitative studies, opens in a new tab, Moran M, Van Cauwenberg J, Hercky-Linnewiel R, et al., International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Volume 11, article 79, (2014). While physical activity (PA) provides many physical, social, and mental health benefits for older adults, they are the least physically active age group. This study provides a systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the potential impact of the physical environment to influence PA behaviours in older adults. Environmental factors that potentially influence older adults’ PA behaviours were categorised into five themes: (1) pedestrian infrastructure; (2) safety; (3) access to amenities; (4) aesthetics; and (5) environmental conditions. Environmental factors especially relevant to older adults that tended to emerge more frequently in studies were access to facilities and green open spaces with rest areas.
- Physical activity and screen time behaviour in metropolitan, regional and rural adolescents: A -sectional study of Australians aged 9–16 years, opens in a new tab, James Dollman, Carol Maher, Tim S. Olds, et al., Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Volume 15(1), pp.32-37, (2012). While there is consistent evidence that rural adults in Australia are less active than their urban counterparts, studies relating geographical remoteness to activity patterns in Australian adolescents have yielded inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to describe objectively and subjectively measured patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviours across remoteness categories in a representative sample of 9–16-year-old Australians. Adolescents living in major cities self-reported 11–29 min less moderate to vigorous physical activity each day than their counterparts living in geographically more remote areas, and took 150–850 fewer steps each day. While there were no differences in time spent in sport or active transport, differences in free play participation were significant. Males in major cities also reported higher levels of screen time. Differences were somewhat more marked among males than among females. Conclusions: Activity levels among Australian adolescents show contrasting patterns of geographical differences to those found in Australian adults. Higher levels of free play among rural Australian adolescents may be due to more available space and less fear of traffic and stranger risks.
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