The number of adults* across England who regularly participate in sport and active recreation has increased, with the 55s and over showing the biggest growth spurt, a Sport England survey reveals.

Early results of Sport England’s second year of The Active People Survey show that the number of adults, aged 16 plus, participating in 30 minutes of moderate intensity sport or active recreation three times a week, has increased by 359,423.

This is a 0.7 per cent increase from 19.0% in the period mid September 2005 to mid December 2005 to 19.7% in the period mid September 2007 to mid December 2007.

It was the 55s and over who contributed the biggest leap in participation in sport and active recreation, with a 1.3 per cent increase, from 10.9% to 12.2%.

During the same period, men’s participation in sport and active recreation increased by 1.1 per cent, from 21.5% to 22.6%. There was no significant change in women’s sport participation.

Across England 34 sports have seen a significant growth in the proportion of people who have participated in their sport**. The biggest increases were in people going to the gym followed by playing football (outdoor) and road running***.

• Going to the gym increased by 0.7 per cent, from 9.9% to 10.6% of the adult population in England
  
• The number of adults participating in football (outdoor) increased by 0.6 per cent from 4.8% to 5.4%
  
• And the figure for adults participating in road running increased by 0.5%, from 2.2% to 2.7%.

[For top 10 sports participation results see table in Notes to Editor.]

Jennie Price, Chief Executive of Sport England, said:

“I am delighted that the latest results show participation in sport is moving in the right direction. It is a tribute to the innovative thinking and hard work of the sports sector that more and more people are motivated to take part.

“With such a wide variety of sports available to people varying from taekwondo to rock climbing we believe we will encourage more women and girls to take part. Sport England has recently invested £1million into The FA to help increase the numbers of women and girls taking part in football.”

Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP said:

"It is encouraging that sports participation is on the rise across a whole range of sports. The over 55s are showing that you're never too old to take up sport and get active. It is testament to the hard work of sport providers in encouraging people to do just that. Of course there is still more that can be done and I would like to see more women getting out there and finding the sport for them."


ENDS


Notes to editors:

For more information contact the Sport England Communications team: Alex Russell Tel: 0207 273 1866, or Anna Wharton Tel: 0207 273 1822

* Adults classed as those 16 years of age and over and all statistics relate to England only.

** A person who has taken part in a particular sport once within the last four weeks is counted as a participant in that sport.

**Figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1 decimal place.

Population figures are based on ONS mid 2005 and 2006 estimates.

The statistics are from Active People Survey 2 (APS2) first quarter results for mid September 2007 to mid December 2007. They are compared to equivalent results from Active People Survey 1 (APS1), figures for mid September 2005 to mid December 2005. The time between the two sets of data is 2 years.

Sport England commissioned Ipsos MORI, the independent research company, to conduct the Active People Survey. The Active People Survey 1 was carried out between mid October 2005 and mid October 2006.  The survey was conducted by telephone using Random Digit Dialling (RDD) to generate a sample of telephone numbers. One respondent is randomly selected from the eligible household. At least 1,000 interviews were achieved across every Local Authority in England (except Isles of Scilly and City of London). A total of 363,724 adults aged 16 and over were surveyed over the period.

Active People Survey 2, also being conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Sport England commenced in mid October 2007 and will run continuously for 12 months until mid October 2008. The survey is being conducted by telephone, using RDD to generate sample. The survey will deliver a total of 500 interviews with adults aged 16+ per Local Authority in England.

Continues…


ACTIVE PEOPLE SURVEY: Table of increases in sports participation of adults in England, Active People Survey 1, Quarter 1 to Active People Survey 2, Quarter 1.

Participation is defined as adults who have participated at least once in the sport in the previous four weeks.

Point to note: The results in this press release compare statistics from mid September 2005 to mid December 2005 to mid September 2007 to mid December 2007. All changes reported are statistically significant. These results refer to one quarter only and will not necessarily be replicated in future quarters