Up-and-at’em: AusPlay ‘s first report

The Australian Sports Commission today released the first findings of a comprehensive national population tracking survey into sport and physical activity.

AusPlay survey is designed to provide the sport sector with vital insights into participation for adults and children, the barriers to physical activity and inform strategy.

ASC Chair John Wylie said AusPlay collected adults’ and children’s sport and physical recreation participation data together for the first time.

“The Australian Government’s investment in AusPlay means we will now have a deeper understanding of the sport and physical activity behaviours of our nation,” he said.

“The AusPlay survey will report every six months and provide up-to-date information about trends in sport and physical activity participation that will guide key decisions in this area.”

Findings from the first 12 months of AusPlay data also show:

•Sport is important for children and they are more likely to take part in organised sport-related activities than other forms of organised physical activity outside of school hours ;

• Physical health and fitness is the top motivator for all types of sport and physical activity with sport-related activity seen as being more fun and social;

• Time constraint is the biggest barrier to sport and physical activity for adults up to middle age;

• Australians spend $10.7 billion a year on sport and physical activity participation fees, with less than a third (29 per cent) going to sports clubs;

•Use of technology in support of physical activity is particularly popular among young adults and women;

• The single most popular sport or physical activity for adults is walking (43 per cent), while the most popular organised sport or physical activity outside of school hours for children is swimming

• The most popular club-based participation sport in the country for adults and children is football .

The ASC's AusPlay survey reveals that more than a million men, women, boys and girls are playing football, significantly more than any other club-based sport, reports Football Federation Australia's David Gallop (pictured).

Information was collected on 20,021 adults (15 years and over) and 3,849 children (0-14 years) over the 12 months from October 2015 to September 2016.

• The Australian Sporting Goods Association welcomes the launch of the first set of results from AusPlay.

Released today by the Minister for Sport, AusPlay is official Government research that not only tracks Australian sport participation behaviours but also informs investment, policy and sport delivery.

AusPlay is a continuous survey that will report accurate and reliable data and trends every six months, says ASGA executive director Shannon Walker.

It shows how active Australians are, what drives them to be active, what sports and physical activities they take part in, how much they spend on participation fees and what are the most popular activities.

Results from the AusPlay survey will complement existing data and research conducted by the ASC in recent years. This research is aimed at giving sports reliable information so they can plan strategies to get more Australians participating in sport and physical activity.