New research published by Sport England shows a high
level of satisfaction amongst people taking part in grassroots
sport.
Regular participants from over 40 sports gave an overall
satisfaction rating of 80.3 out of 100 across ten areas - including
coaching, exertion and fitness, officiating, facilities and value
for money.
The sporting satisfaction survey1 is a new piece
of research that will provide real insight to national governng
bodes, enabling them to drive improvements for their customers.
44,390 people across England took part in the survey.
Increasing satisfaction lies at the heart of one of our
strategic outcomes – sustaining participation – because the quality
of the sporting experience on offer is a key factor in attracting
and retaining participants.
The headline
results2 show that the sports with the highest
overall satisfaction scores are taekwondo, orienteering, judo and
golf. Survey respondents were recruited among three different types
of participant for each sport:
- General participants
Affiliated club members
Talent pool (a sample of athletes on the sport’s talent
pathway).
The results show that satisfaction is higher among affiliated club
members than general participants, suggesting that being part of a
club enhances the sporting experience.
Mihir Warty, our Director of Strategy and Research, said:
“This annual survey will help us to unlock the DNA of sporting
participation by revealing what motivates people to take part, the
issues they face, and the key drivers that will influence them to
continue and do more.
“The more we can help national governing bodies of sport to
understand what motivates and matters to people playing their
sport, the more able they will be to respond to the needs of
existing customers and encourage new participants.”
The survey was carried out on behalf of Sport England by Ipsos
MORI. It will provide a robust measure of the progress made by each
sport in improving satisfaction and enable us to track who well
the governng bodes in which we have invested are
contributing to our national outcomes.
Fndout more about the four-year targets
for funded sports.
1The ‘Satisfaction with the quality of the sporting
experience survey’ was conducted between March and May 2009. The
survey will be repeated annually, with the same panel of people.
Respondents were aged 14 and over.
2 More detailed results and analysis will be
published in July, following workshops with the national governing
bodies of each of the sports covered by the survey