Recreation (& Sport) Participation Data

Recreation (& Sport) Participation Data

Results by Activity

Posted on 18.06.2019

AusPlay provides data on the most popular participation sports and activities in Australia and who is participating in them.

On 30 April 2019 Sport Australia released the latest AusPlay results for sports and physical activities covering data collected in the 2018 calendar year.

This release includes:

  • New data tables (downloadable below); and
  • Individual reports for 20 of the most popular participation activities in Australia (downloadable below), which are also summarised in an online animated story:  A Story of Sports and Physical Activities

This Bushwalking State of Play Report has been designed to deliver a single sport snapshot, to help identify trends and opportunities to maximise participation and engagement.

DOWNLOAD

Bush Walking: State of Play Report

Key Take Outs

Overall Participation

  • The annual population estimate for Adults 15+ participating in Bush Walking was 1,174,049 (or 5.8% of the Adult 15+ population).
  • Adult participation was very gender balanced with 576,132 men (or 5.8% of the male population) and 597,918 women (or 5.9% of the female population) taking part in Bush Walking. This represents an almost equal (49%/51%) gender split in overall participation.
  • Bush Walking was most popular in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) (10.6% of the ACT Adult 15+ population participated in Bush Walking) and Tasmania (10.2%).
  • Interestingly, participation in Bush Walking was significantly higher in major cities (5.9%) and inner/outer regional areas (6.2%) compared to remote and very remote locations (3.9%).
  • Not surprisingly, only 11% of Bush Walking participation was organised.
  • Unlike recreational Walking, which showed peak participation rates at later stages of life (55+), peak participation rates for Bush Walking was at 25-34 years of age for women (7.8%). Men’s participation was similarly high at the same age (6.5%) but peaked at 55-64 years of age (7.7%).

Frequency & Duration

  • Adults 15+ who participated in Bush Walking had a median frequency of 12 sessions per annum (about once per month) and the median session duration was 180 minutes.

Motivations for Participation (Adults 15+)

  • The main motivations to participate in Bush Walking were ‘Fun/enjoyment’ (35%), ‘To be outdoors/to enjoy nature’ (34%) and ‘Physical health or fitness’ (32%).
  • ‘Social reasons’ were also a motivator by just less than one in five (18%) participants.
  • ‘To be outdoors/enjoy nature’ was clearly the dominant motive for younger participants.
  • ‘Fun/enjoyment’ is slightly more prevalent at middle age and
  • ‘Physical health/fitness’ becomes the primary motivation for older Bush Walkers aged 65+.

Reasons For Dropping Out of Participation

  • The dominant reason for dropping out of Bush Walking participation was ‘Poor health or injury’ (25%) but other notable reasons were ‘Don’t like it’ (16%) and ‘Not a priority anymore’ (14%).

Growth & Opportunities

  • Net growth market opportunity is average to low

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