Parent segment profile - Family Focused

Low acquisition segment with focus on retention of children

Parents prefer to do activities as a family where they can and nearly four in ten (38%) do no activity, half (51%) claim to be active but not in sport. 5% of the total are club members.

• Appreciate sport clubs offer children benefits of physical activity but see them as requiring too much commitment and lacking f lexibility. Are therefore differentiated in attitudes towards sport clubs due to reluctance to commit to child’s and own time to activity.
• Prefer children do activity that does not detract from time available for ‘family’ at the weekend.
• Child is the driver of participation in both sport and other activities.
• Sport clubs are by far not the only alternative for physical activity:
  • This segment tends to be older and with family commitments.
  • One in seven (14%) had child in club sport, one half (58%) had children doing other organised physical activity.
    • Only 4% currently volunteer at child’s sport club and over half (52%) never volunteered at a sport club.
• Also susceptible to expectations of others – acting on children’s sporting activities when hearing about it from other parents.

Who / how is a decision made?

For those few ‘Family Focused’ that did have a child in club sport, the initial decision for their child to join a club was most often influenced by suggestion from other parents (significantly more than for other segments), or by the child themselves.

This indicates that while they have some negative attitudes towards clubs, they can be motivated by others. When it comes to reasons for their child to join a sport club, they may be motivated if they think the child will enjoy it and they will want them to get fit.

They were more likely to–themselves–prompt the initial decision to join other organised sports / activities for their child.

Barriers

• Over-competitiveness was a major threat to existing club participation.
• Other threats were:
  • The cost of membership becoming too expensive.
  • Children wanting to do other sport / physical activity.
  • Children wanting to spend time on other interests rather than sport.

Maintain or build participation

To maintain or build participation amongst their children, sport clubs should consider:

• Free trials of the facilities / free trials of the sport (51%)
• More social and less competitive competitions (46%)
• Beginners classes suitable for older children to help them ‘catch up’ to their peers (42%)
• Consistent game time and location (40%)
• Trial of the sport through the school (39%)
• Flexible membership options (prices) (36%)
• Equal treatment whether you are good at the sport or not (e.g. access to facilities, the better grounds or playing times) (36%)
• Less pressure to get involved in fundraising, coaching supervision etc. (35%)
• Clear information about what commitment is required from them and their child (35%)

How do we communicate to them