Sport England

The Nation's Biggest Supporter

Active People Press Release

April 2008

YORKSHIRE AND HUMBER LEADING REST OF ENGLAND IN ADOPTING MORE ACTIVE LIFESTYLES

The latest research from Sport England has shown a significant increase in the number of adults in Yorkshire and the Humber who regularly take part in sport and active recreation. The increase is the largest of all the English regions.

Figures from the second year of The Active People Survey demonstrate that over the last two years, the number of adults aged 16 and over in Yorkshire who have participated in 30 minutes of moderate intensity sport and active recreation at least three times a week has increased by 160,000.
The number of people aged 16 and over doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity sport and active recreation at least three days a week has increased by 3.5 per cent from 17.7% in the period from mid October 2005 to mid January 2006 to 21.2% in the period from mid October 2007 to mid January 2008.

Sport England Yorkshire and the four Yorkshire County Sports Partnerships have been actively working to increase the number of people participating in sport and aiding the development of talent through the funding and support of community projects. The latest figures – that are indicative as they only compare the first quarter results of the recent survey with the first quarter results of the survey that was carried out two years ago – suggest their work is proving successful.

David Gent, Regional Director of Sport England said; “How wonderful that the latest results show the Yorkshire region leading the way in motivating more people to get involved in sport.

“Yorkshire has an unrivalled sporting identity and it is great to see that more people are starting to give up the comfort of their armchair for the fun and excitement of taking part in sport. The challenge now is to continue this progress and motivate even more people into sport.”

Breaking the percentage figures down by age, it was the region’s 35-54 age group that saw the biggest leap in sports participation, with a 5.7 per cent increase from 17.6% to 23.3%.

Male participation in sport and active recreation increased by 4.8 percentage points from 20.7% to 25.5%, whilst participation among adults with a long term limiting disability increased by 4.1 per cent from 8.1% to 12.2%.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:
Adults are classed as those aged 16 years 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.

Population figures are based on unrevised Office for National Statistics mid 2005 and 2006 estimates.

The statistics are from Active People Survey 2 (APS 2) first quarter results for interviews conducted from mid-October 2007 to mid-January 2008. They are compared to equivalent figures from Active People Survey 1 (APS 1) for interviews conducted from mid-October 2005 to mid-January 2006. The time between the two sets of data is 2 years. All the changes reported are statistically significant.

The Yorkshire region sample size for APS 1 first quarter was 8,041 people. The Yorkshire region sample size for APS 2 first quarter was 2641 people.

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 is 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.

Please note: the results in this press release compare statistics from mid October 2005 to mid January 2006 to mid October 2007 to mid January 2008. These results refer to one quarter only and will not necessarily be replicated in future quarters.

IN YOUR REGION

Graphic Version | How to use this site | Site map | A-Z Index | Contact Us

FEEDBACK | PRIVACY/DISCLAIMER