Adults segment profile - Sport Driven

Sport Driven are highly active in both sport and recreational physical activity. They are likely to participate in organised activities within sport clubs as well as in other organisations such as fitness or leisure centres. They participate in a range of team and individual activities.

• This segment is often younger, wealthier urbanites and with a high proportion from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds.
• They are less invested in the wider sport club experience for a variety of reasons, the club being a place for them to access facilities and participate in their sport – but they don’t necessarily want involvement beyond that.
• Sport Driven do not really socialise within the club. Their motivation for doing sport tends to be more personal and focused on self-improvement and the sheer enjoyment of it.
• They can feel that sport clubs are overly competitive, inflexible and too demanding of their time when really they just want to use the facilities and organisation to play sport and keep other elements of the club at arms-length.
• While still enjoying the competition, they are less fanatical about sport and less competitive than some of their club counterparts.

Retaining the sport driven

Their relationship with sport clubs is less assured, and the threat here is that they may move to the non-club segments. The challenge is to keep them engaged and provide ways to help them fit club membership into their lives.

The Sport Driven can be at a very busy life stage, often balancing membership with commitments of family life, work, and other interests.

While they appreciate the camaraderie and the opportunity to get together with friends that clubs offer, it is the sport rather than the social aspects of clubs that are paramount. This may be as much about other competing interests for their time as it is about them being less sociable.

To encourage club membership renewal, ensure flexibility so they can work around their own schedules and consider different pricing options.

Focus on ‘enjoyment’ and the ability to stay active and be part of a team without too much focus on competition or being a ‘pro’.

A range of activities can appeal.

There can be practical barriers to keeping the Sport Driven as members – namely the level of commitment required and the cost to participate. They also tend to perceive sport clubs as too competitive and placing too much emphasis on the social aspect.