The young adult life stage consists of two cohorts:
This life stage sees increased independence and transitions such as finishing school, starting study, working full time and leaving home. These transitions can impact activity choices and should be considered in sport participation offerings.
Life-stages-snapshot_18-24-years.pdf
Insights to help attract and retain participants
Most active 18-24 year olds play sport and do other physical activities.
They are doing slightly less sessions and activities than active 15-17 year olds, but they significantly exceed the physical activity guidelines and see physical activity as a critical part of their routine.
871,000 people37% of 18-24 year olds
8 Average number of sessions per week
2.9 Average number of different activities
While these active young adults already love their sport, it’s important for organisations to adapt their offerings to keep this group engaged.
Insights to help retain participants and keep people active
Insufficiently active 18-24 year olds are more likely to stick to either sport or physical activity.
They are developing other interests, which they feel are more important than being active every day. They are capable of doing more, but are choosing not to. Sport and physical activity are less likely to be part of their daily or weekly routine.
1.03 million people54% of 18-24 year olds
2.5 Average number of sessions per week
2 Average number of different activities
Making participation fun and easy promoting the health benefits could increase the motivation of this group to prioritise sport and make it part of their routine. They often refer to being too busy to be active, but an experience that delivers on what they need can make them re-evaluate its importance.
Insights to help acquire and retain participants and get people more active
Inactive populations are not playing sport or staying physically active. Their interest in getting more active is low and they often identify significant barriers to getting active.
In this life stage, inactivity is more prevalent for people with disability and people who speak a language other than English at home.
222,000 people9% of 18-24 year olds
Insights to help understand the barriers to participation for inactive people
Insights to help attract and retain participants
While life can change significantly during this stage, those who are active maintain their activity level and consider it a ‘must-do’ in their daily routine.
They are twice as likely to participate in both sport and physical activity.
1.3 million people35% of 25-34 year olds
8 Average number of sessions per week
3 Average number of different activities
Sport is really important for this group, but it is a critical life stage where transition away from team sports can start. Sporting organisations need to think about how to keep this group participating for longer or keep them connected if they take up individual pursuits.
Insights to help retain participants and keep people active
At this life stage, many people place less importance on sport and physical activity due to other priorities such as starting a family and/or establishing a career.
Although it's not part of their daily routine, they tend to participate a couple of times a week. They are more likely to play either sport or physical activity, not both.
2.06 million people55% of 25-34 year olds
2.5 Average number of sessions per week
2.1 Average number of different activities
Making participation fun and easy and promoting the health benefits could increase the motivation of this group to prioritise sport in their routine. They often say they are too busy to be active, but the right experience could make them re-evaluate the importance of sport and physical activity.
Insights to help acquire and retain participants and get people more active
Inactive populations are not playing sport or staying physically active. Their interest in getting more active is low or they identify significant barriers to getting active.
In this life stage, inactivity is more prevalent for people with disability and people who speak a language other than English at home.
363,000 people10% of 25-34 year olds
Insights to help understand the barriers to participation for inactive people
As career and parental responsibilities increase, commitment to organised sport and physical activity levels decline slightly.
Life-stages-snapshot_25-34-years.pdf
The life stages resource uses 2019 data from AusPlay; the Australian sport and physical activity participation survey.