Parent segment profile - Self Sport Focused

Potential acquisition of children in sport clubs

Prioritise their own activity over their children’s. One of the most physically active segments.

• Significantly less likely than other active segments to have a child in club sport (but still comparatively high at 46%).
• Benefits for the child from club sport are largely functional and personal (and less social compared to other active parent segments):
  • learning teamwork and responsibility
  • getting exercise on a regular basis
  • belonging and pride.
• Identify benefits of club sport for their children and physical activity in general.
• As active people, willing to undertake activity with children if is something they also wish to do.
  • Most parents undertake organised sport out of clubs, or are active but not in sport (45%).
  • Less likely than other parents to volunteer in child’s sport club (24%)

Who / how is a decision made?

The initial prompt for their child to join a sport club was strongly initiated by the child – mainly they tried the sport / activity at school – despite many parents playing the same sport.

This said, unlike other segments, the number one reason for their child to join a sport club was most often because they wanted their child / children to participate (25%). While the child did also play a role in the decision, this was significantly less often than on average for all segments.

Some less frequent reasons but more important for the Sport Focused than other types of parents were new opportunities or sport facilities in the area, the parents having had more free time at this point in time and them wanting their children to lose weight.

For other organised physical activity on the other hand, and like other parent segments, the child’s wishes were paramount. However, wanting their child to get fit was also a key reason for ‘Self Sport Focused’ parents in this instance.

Barriers

‘Self Sport Focused’ parents are significantly more likely to have had a child stop playing club sport (36% versus the total of 29%) and are more likely than other active segments to have a child who has never played club sport (41%, versus 14% for ‘Sport Focused’ and 29% for ‘Sporty Actives’). This indicates there are a high number of threats for those children who are currently club members.

• Lack of flexibility is the greatest barrier to their child’s participation in sport clubs.
• Their kids’ activities interfering with their own activity is another one.
• Children not having the time due to school or other commitments is also a threat.
• Perceptions of undue competitiveness in sport clubs are also a barrier.

Maintain or build participation

To maintain/ build participation of children of Self Sport Focused, encourage participation by:

1. Free trials of facilities / sport (51%)
2. More social / less competitive competitions (32%)
3. ‘Beginner’ classes for older children who may not have equivalent skills to others their age (28%)
4. Trial of sport through school (27%)
5. Family membership (26%)

How do we communicate to them