The implications of female sport policy developments for the community-level sport sector: a perspective from Victoria, Australia

Abstract

This study examines changes in sport participation among females over a six year period (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016) within five popular sports by age and region. It also identifies future challenges community sports face in increasing female sport participation. Deidentified participant registration data for the five sports were obtained and analysed according to age, gender and region (metropolitan v non-metropolitan) within the state of Victoria, Australia. Data for all sports were aggregated and analysed collectively to produce a broad participation profile. Interviews were held with community sport stakeholders (n=17) across low socioeconomic metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions to understand challenges associated with increasing female sport participation.Our results showed that female sport participation levels increased over the six year period, with greater proportional increases among the youngest age group (4-9yrs), which is the common entry age into organised sport through modified sports programs.Retention of females in sport throughout adolescence and adulthood remains a challenge. Community-level sports face challenges to accommodate growth in female sport participation in terms of availability and quality of sport infrastructure and volunteer capacity -both human resources to deliver sport and organisational capacity to devise and implement strategies to recruit and retain females. Sport policies that encourage female sport participation need to also consider the supply of sport in terms of 1. maximising infrastructure usage and where required planning infrastructure development 2. developing volunteer capacity. Infrastructure planning must account for changing demographic characteristics of communities and the changing nature of sport participation over the lifespan for both males and females.

Sport participation in Victoria, 2018 Research summary Part 2: Discussion of key findings

“…These results demonstrate that there are greater proportional increases in female participation for certain ages, compared to males, and this is consistent with other recent research (Casey, Fowlie et al 2019).…”

“…The demand for community-level sport for females has increased in line with increased opportunities for sports that were traditionally male-dominated. However, this increased demand can place pressures on the supply at the communitylevel, in terms of facilities, infrastructure and volunteer workforce to deliver sport (Casey, Fowlie et al 2019).…”

“…Despite this, females remain underrepresented in sport participation. Gender equity in sport requires continued focus, and sport may need further assistance to continue to create female-friendly environments to better engage and retain females (Casey, Fowlie et al 2019).…”

Longitudinal Trends in Sport Participation and Retention of Women and Girls

“…In summary, in relation to sport we know that: (a) many children sample many different sports before choosing one or two in which to specialize (Gallant et al, 2017 ; Eime et al, 2019b ); (b) participation decreases with age (Coll Cd et al, 2014 ; Eime et al, 2016b ); (c) boys are more likely to participate than girls and girls may drop out early because of not wanting to play sport in presence of boys/men (Casey et al, 2019 ); (d) many drop out of participation during adolescence, when the elite pathway begins for those most talented (Coté et al, 2009 ); and (e) more people are transitioning from organized sport to un-organized forms of participation (Eime et al, 2010 ; Vella et al, 2014 ). Although there are other reasons for drop-out, a spike in leaving organized sport (out of sport altogether or into unorganized sport or physical activity) can be observed just when the elite pathway begins for the most talented.…”

Five-Year Changes in Community-Level Sport Participation, and the Role of Gender Strategies

“…Nevertheless, there is evidence globally that new opportunities are emerging for more women and girls to play sport. There are many reasons for this trend, including: gender equality policies and strategies (Casey et al, 2019), opportunities for women and girls to play traditionally male-only or male-dominated sports such as Australian football, football (soccer) and cricket (Ekholm et al, 2019;Ishigami, 2019;Fowlie et al, 2020), changes related to ethnicity, culture and religious beliefs (Hanlon et al, 2019;Oxford and Spaaij, 2019), and changing societal expectations and gender norms (Spaaij et al, 2015).…”