Parent segment profile - Child Focused

High potential for retention and acquisition of children in sport clubs

Parents are just happy for their children to try the activities they wish to. Own participation – low involvement in sport overall, but more likely to be in club sport.

• Very busy in own lives and with their children.
• Encourage club sport for their children, but main emphasis is child’s enjoyment.
• Identify a lot of positives with sport clubs but main driver is that child enjoys it.
• More likely to identify sport clubs as having key benefit of teaching children about teamwork and responsibility.
• Busy, so led by child regarding the decision making about the activity.
  • One quarter (25%) do no activity, and over half active outside of sport (53%). But 17% are in club sport.
  • One third volunteer for child’s sport clubs (36%), with almost another third having done so in past (28%).

Who / how is a decision made?

‘Child Focused’ parents tend to be very busy in their own lives and with their children. As such they are strongly led by their children in terms of decision making about activities, and the child tends to drive the decision to participate in sport.

Reasons for joining a sport club or other organised sport / activity were also almost entirely driven by the child themselves.

However, parents require an understanding of what commitment is required by them when their child undertakes a new activity.

Barriers

• Child focused parents busy schedule means club disorganisation is likely to be a threat to participation.
• But the main threat to their child’s continuing participation comes from the children themselves losing interest.

Maintain or build participation

Just under half (47%) had all children in club sport. But limited interest in joining from those who did not have children in sport clubs (13%). Reflects that the child is the key decision maker.

Will be encouraged similarly to other segments…

1. Free trials of facilities / sport (49%)
2. Access to good coaching / training (43%)
3. Consistent game time and location (41%)
4. Have ‘beginner’ classes for older children (38%)
5. Clear information about what commitment is required from me and my child (35%)
6. Trial of the sport through school (33%)
7. Equal treatment whether good or not (33%)

How do we communicate to them