Understanding your participants – Sport England

Creating a sporting habit for life

UNDERSTANDING YOUR PARTICIPANTSSPORTS SUMMIT 2014

Carol FraserBusiness AdvisorSport England

April 10, 2023

Creating a sporting habit for life

Introducing Sport EnglandWe are investing over £1 billion of National Lottery and Exchequer funding between 2012 and 2017 in organisations and projects that will:

• Help more people have a sporting habit for life

• Create more opportunities for young people to play

sport

• Nurture and develop talent

• Provide the right facilities in the right places

• Support local authorities and unlock local funding

• Ensure real opportunities for communities

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Creating a sporting habit for life

What do we mean by insight?

• Insight is a process• It is holistic• It supports decision

making• It requires

understanding and interpretation

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Image courtesy of http://inthralld.com/

Creating a sporting habit for life

Understanding participants

• A deep understanding of people, their choices and behaviours is central to meeting the challenge of significantly increasing participation and developing talent

• Linking knowledge of participants and financial sustainability– Stronger and deeper

relationships– Retention and growth– Funding and sponsorship

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Creating a sporting habit for life

Our responsibilities

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Sport EnglandWhole sector

coverage and scale

Our PartnersExperts in their

area

Creating a sporting habit for life

Understanding participants - checklist

- Age- Gender- Education- Family- Life stage- Work/study

status- Social grade- Ethnicity- Disability/

health

- Area / geography

- Housing

- What activities done? - How often –

frequency/regularity/seasonal?- Previous sporting participation

behaviour- What else do they spend their

time doing?

- Who do they trust?

- What media sources and channels?

- What do they know about the offer?

- Where is the info available?

- Where do they access info?

- What media sources?

- Friends / family?

- Practical e.g. time, cost, information, people

- Emotional e.g. lack confidence / competence

- What are they looking for?

- What do they think they’ll get from doing sport? (short/long term)

- What do they associate with sport/the activity? - Who do they think it is for?

- Who do they want to take part with?

- What do they want to do?

- Do they want coached/led or..?

- Timing?- Booking

options?- Where?

Creating a sporting habit for life

Example: Understanding the youth market

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Percentage of 16-25s participating in ‘any sport’ and at least once a week

Creating a sporting habit for life

At least once a week participation

Youth market: Who they are

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Source: Active People Survey 7

Males/females

aged 14-25

66.5% 45.9

%

White-BritishWhite-Other

AsianBlack

ChineseMixedOther

White-BritishWhite-Other

AsianBlack

ChineseMixedOther

64.1%60.2%

64.5%61.4%

60.3%66.2%

62.9%

45.8%40.6%

28.1%33.8%

42.8%52.4%

40.2%

16-25 year olds

Male

Female

Creating a sporting habit for life

Youth market: Where they are

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Creating a sporting habit for life

Youth market: What do they do

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Source: Active People Survey 7

Creating a sporting habit for life

Youth market: What do they do

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Creating a sporting habit for life

Youth market: Perceptions and beliefs

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Positive about sport

Recognise benefits of sport/activity

But not participating

 Disinterested in participating in sport 

Have a more functional relationship with it

Persuadable of benefits of being active that are relevant to them

Creating a sporting habit for life

Make use of our resources

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Creating a sporting habit for life 14

UNDERSTANDING YOUR PARTICIPANTSSPORTS SUMMIT 2014