Tara Murray
Sporting clubs will need to find new ways to re-engage young people to keep them involved in local sport.
New research by Victoria and Federation universities has found that sport club participation rates in Victoria have plummeted during the pandemic.
The research found that many young people have swapped community sport for bike rides and other unstructured activities.
Registration records for the state’s most popular 10 sports, including Aussie rules, cricket, gymnastics, netball, tennis, and swimming, indicate members fell from a 2019 peak of 868,000 to about 637,000, in 2020.
VU researcher Professor Rochelle Eime said if clubs could not entice former members to return – and recruit new ones – community sport could lose a generation of people, especially children aged four to nine who showed the biggest drop-off.
“The early adopter group missed out on school PE as well as club sport,” she said.
“Many have not yet developed skills to throw or kick a ball and don’t have much motivation or confidence to join clubs.
“Recruiting this group will require junior clubs to go back to basic skills development in a fun and inclusive environment.”
Ms Eime said declining physical literacy of young children has been an issue for years, but the pandemic made it worse.
She said if something isn’t done now, COVID-19’s legacy will be an even wider gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children.
“Another reason for the drop-off may be due to parents who have reassessed time and cost commitments of club sport compared to the less demanding activities that featured during lockdowns –especially those with several kids,” she said.
Professor Eime said one solution to address this is for clubs to find flexible ways to involve the family in a range of competition and play formats, including informal sport.
Previous research revealed participants join clubs primarily for enjoyment and socialising, meaning recruitment strategies must emphasise fun over premierships.
Data from 2021 isn’t available at this stage.
