The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on Australians' frequency and duration of participation in different types of sport and physical activity

Eime, Rochelle; Harvey, Jack; Charity, Melanie; Pankowiak, Aurélie; Westerbeek, Hans

doi:10.1186/s13102-022-00435-z

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The impact of COVID-19 on participation in sport and physical activity in general in uenced various demographic groups differently. For example, the largest decline in participation in community sport in Australia was for those aged 4-9 years, and the decline was greater for females than males (11). The gender differences reported for participation in sport are similar to those from other studies on leisuretime physical activity which reported greater declines in participation during COVID-19 restrictions for females (12).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 77%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID- 19 restrictions: a longitudinal study

Eime,

Harvey,

Charity

2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Internationally, COVID-19 restrictions impacted negatively on participation in sport and physical activity. Participation in community club sport was particularly disrupted with cancelled training and competitions, and this has been shown to impact the health of individuals. We now need to investigate the effects of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Aim: The aim of this study was to longitudinally investigate the health of Australian adult sports club participants, during and post-COVID-19 restrictions. Methods: Two waves of an online survey were conducted in mid-2020 and mid-2021. The first wave also captured retrospective pre-COVID19 (2019) data. For each year 2019-2021 each survey respondent was categorized as participating (Yes/No) in club sport. Respondents also assessed their current health (overall, physical and mental) in both 2020 and 2021. The six health assessments were cross-tabulated against three patterns of participation (dropout, dropout and return, continuation), for the survey sample overall and for six demographic subsamples: 42 crosstabulations in all. Results: A total of 1,037 Australians aged 18 years and above completed both survey waves. Those who continued playing club sport throughout, and to a lesser degree those who returned to club sport in 2021, reported better physical and general health than those who dropped out. This pattern was consistent, for the overall survey sample and for the sub-samples based on gender, age and region of residence, with statistically significantly associations (p<0.05) in 24 of 28 analyses. The pattern of club sport participation was only weakly associated with reported mental health, with only one of 14 associations being statistically significant. Conclusion: Changes in club sport participation impact general and physical health of adults; continuation or return were associated with better physical and general health than drop-out. There was little evidence of an association between participation in sport and mental health, which is inconsistent with previously reported cross-sectional results; this may be due to a combination of factors, including confounding with the broader effects of the pandemic. In conclusion, it is clear that retention in participation in sport is not just important for sports management policy and strategies; it is also important for the health of individuals.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Similarly, in a Korean study, participation in indoor activities such as bodybuilding and swimming decreased whilst outdoor activities including climbing and cycling increased (10). Overall, community sport participation in Australia declined by 27% in 2020 compared to pre-COVID levels (11). I…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID- 19 restrictions: a longitudinal study

Eime,

Harvey,

Charity

2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, all levels of government, government agencies and sport organisations need to understand that the way in which many people want to consume and play sport is more diverse than being channelled into organised competition structures. Changing patterns of participation have been developing over the past couple of decades, and perhaps COVID-19 has been the "perfect storm" for stakeholder organisations to reassess, develop and implement a new model of sport (4). In order to consider what a new model of sport would look like, we first need to summarise what are the most important motivators for people to participate in sport.…”

Section: The Broader Needs Of Participants -Key Influencing Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst children's participation in sport is largely through a local sport club or association, adults who play sport are much less likely to do so within a club-based setting because more flexible and less competitive options seem to be preferred by many adults (3). Also, organised sport is increasingly being offered by various private and public organisations that are not sport clubs (4).…”

Section: Introduction the Origins Of Club-based Sportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sport4Me: A people focused approach to engaging Australians in sport

Eime

Westerbeek²,

Pill³

et al. 2023

Front. Sports Act. Living

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The traditional model of community club-based sport is fine for those, particularly children and youth, who enjoy the competitive focus and have the skills and commitment to play. But societal preferences during leisure time have changed dramatically over recent decades. However, sport organisations have made limited progress in response to these changes in providing ways in which children and youth can participate outside the traditional competitive structures and environments. In this paper the context of community club-based structures is reviewed leading into an assessment of the associated impact of these structures on sport participation. Children and youth's current motivations to play sport including what makes sport fun to play, are considered. It is then demonstrated that the associations between motivations to play sport and the factors that contribute to fun and enjoyment, are often misaligned for many individuals, with a primary focus on competition-based structures to deliver community club sport. In the final part of the paper a model for community sport organisations where people are put first is proposed - Sport4Me. Sport4Me is about flexible, inclusive, equitable sporting opportunities that focus on friends, fun, physical literacy and play. The model would complement the traditional competitive club-based model and afford participants more choice whilst fostering an environment that promotes lifelong involvement in sport. This model will require structural and cultural changes to the sporting environment and include coaching practices. Sport4Me is an evidence-based model, but it is not radical in its conceptualisation but rather, builds on previously proposed approaches, considers the needs and wants of potential sport participants and widens the scope of sport delivery.

show abstract

“…The European Parliament resolution of 10 February 2021 on the impact of COVID-19 on youth and on sport stressed that "the COVID-19 pandemic is having devastating consequences on the entire sports sector at all levels, especially on sporting organisations and clubs, leagues, gyms and fitness centres, athletes, coaches, staff, and sport-related business, including sports event organisers and sports media; considers that the road to recovery will be challenging and underlines the need for targeted relief measures" [10]. The devastating effect of COVID-19 pandemic on various aspects of sport and athletes at all levels and types of sport was also observed outside of Europein Australia [9], Japan [18], USA [19], Brazil [13], South Africa [25], Turkey [29] and other countries [14]. Haan et al [14] analyzed both physical and mental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposed restrictions and regulations on athletes in soccer, hockey, rugby, cricket, athletics, netball, basketball, handball, endurance running, cycling, track and field, swimming, squash, golf, tennis and karate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on swimmers in Poland

Ogonowska-Słodownik

Kawa²,

Morgulec‐Adamowicz

2022

Biomedical Human Kinetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Study aim: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, lifestyle, training loads and competition starts of swimmers in Poland in 2020. Material and methods: The study was conducted in the form of a questionnaire on group of 123 Polish swimmers in 2020. The survey asked about differences in training, lifestyle and well-being following the introduction of pandemic restrictions. The mean age of the athletes was 23 years ± 7.6 and training experience 10 years ± 5.3. Results: The majority of swimmers (81%) were satisfied with their health status. Respondents did not experience changes in sleep quality and length during the COVID-19 pandemic. A large proportion of respondents (83%) did not follow a special diet, while they were willing to use supplementation (58.5%). Respondents stated that the pandemic did not affect their physical activity outside of training. The athletes evaluated negatively the changes in training and competition conditions caused by the pandemic (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a major impact on the health, sleep and physical activity of swimmers in Poland in 2020, while it had a negative impact in terms of training conditions and sport competition.

show abstract

The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on Australians' frequency and duration of participation in different types of sport and physical activity

Cited by 14 publications

References 33 publications

Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID- 19 restrictions: a longitudinal study

Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID- 19 restrictions: a longitudinal study

Sport4Me: A people focused approach to engaging Australians in sport

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on swimmers in Poland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About