Surge in Sports Participation

For the first time more than 15 million people in England are playing sport once a week, every week.

The latest figures from Sport England’s Active People Survey show that 15.28 million people aged 16 and over are playing sport at least once a week, 500,000 more than six months ago and 1.3 million more than in 2005/6 when London won the Olympic bid.

“This is a strong set of results, with all of the key measures showing participation in sport is increasing,” said Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England. “As we approach the London Games some of our key sports such as cycling and hockey are already beginning to feel the Olympic effect. I am particularly pleased that there has also been a sharp increase in the number of disabled people who are playing sport every week.”

Twenty-one sports have shown a positive trend over the past six months, with particularly strong growth in the Olympic sports of cycling, football, athletics and hockey.

Overall, the growth in sports participation continues to be driven by those aged 26 and over. Although the results for the 16-25 age group are more positive than they were six months ago, there is still a long-term downward trend. Our new Youth and Community Sport Strategy, announced in January, is helping us address this issue.

“With the London 2012 Games round the corner it’s encouraging that sports participation is on the rise,” said Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt.

Results also show encouraging signs of recovery among a number of sports, such as where participation had fallen in recent years. This includes sports such as such as rugby league, rugby union and golf which have had their funding reduced by Sport England, but have now made significant changes in their participation strategies.

For more information on the sixth Active People survey, visit the Sport England website.