A survey conducted by AusPlay has found that athletics/running ranks as the fourth most popular form of recreational fitness in Australia for both children and adults, with over 3,334,693 annual participants.

AusPlay estimated that about 247,064 children aged 0-14 participated in organised running/athletics out of school in the 2018/19 season, but also found that 30,000 of those have already dropped out or are at risk of dropping out soon.

Unlike the adults, children’s participation was slightly skewed towards females (52%) – specifically, there were 119,361 boys and 127,703 girls partaking aged 0-14.

A further 105,000 children would consider joining athletics, suggesting potential for engagement with the wider sporting community – the biggest opportunity for participation increase is in the 5-8 age demographic.

It is encouraging to note that New South Wales had one of the highest levels of athletics participation in the country (5.9%) – only Tasmania and the ACT had higher participants aged 0-14 per capita.

Similarly, participation frequency in organised athletics amongst New South Wales children is trending upwards.

AusPlay also found there was a 61% conversion rate of organised participants continuing their athletics into clubs.

Sport Australia CEO Kate Palmer says the gradual increase in physical activity levels of Australians is encouraging, but warns more needs to be done to combat Australia’s inactivity crisis.

“It’s a small step in the right direction, but we’re still falling a long way behind when it comes to meeting recommended physical activity guidelines,” said Palmer.

“For example, research tells us only 19 per cent of children meet the recommended one hour of physical activity a day.”

CLICK HERE to read the original Sport AUS article

CLICK HERE to read the AusPlay Athletics Report