Fostering unorganized sport to sustain adolescent participation: empirical evidence from two European countries

Abstract

Sport participation in adolescence helps to reach the recommended levels of physical activity and predicts participation during adulthood. Few cross-cultural studies compare contexts of sport participation and their relation with sport participation rates. In Europe, Austria and France are two countries that differ in their economic situation and sport policy structure. The main objective of this study was to compare sport participation rates and sport contexts (unorganized/organized sport) in Austria and France, by sex and SES.Two data collections were conducted during spring 2015 in Austria and France among high-school students. Logistic regressions were used to compare the sport participation rates of Austrian and French students by sex, SES and context of participation. The Austrian adolescents had higher sport participation rates than the French adolescents but were less likely to participate in organized sport compared with the French (OR= 0.64, 95% CI= 0.52-0.78). The Austrian students were more likely to participate in unorganized sport (OR= 3.46,. The large participation difference between the two countries was also caused by the higher unorganized sport practice of low-SES Austrian adolescents, especially by low-SES girls. This indicates that, next to organized sport, unorganized practice can help to enhance adolescent participation and to balance existing social and gender inequalities.

Developmental Outcomes for Young People Participating in Informal and Lifestyle Sports: A Scoping Review of the Literature, 2000–2020

“…2023, 12, 299 2 of 28 activities and thus new activity contexts based on different values and aims compared to traditional Olympic sports (see also King and Church 2015). In this new diversity, the growth of activities categorized under the umbrella term "lifestyle sports" (e.g., skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, parkour, tricking, freeride skiing, longboarding, rock climbing, and other types of informal, explorative, and expressive movement activities) has garnered increased attention (Bignold 2013;Jonasson and Eriksson 2022;Rindler et al 2022;Säfvenbom et al 2018;Van Bottenburg and Salome 2010;Wheaton 2004;Wheaton et al 2017). Research has shown that despite public concern regarding a lack of adult leaders and structure, the number of young people involved in these types of activity contexts has been steadily growing in many nations (Howell 2008;Jeanes et al 2022;King and Church 2015;Thorpe 2012;Wheaton 2013) all over the world.…”