More effort needed to overcome the barriers of taking part in sport – says National Assembly committee

13 March 2014

Costs, sedentary lifestyle and lack of choice are all barriers which must be overcome to get more people in Wales taking part in sport, according to a National Assembly committee.

The Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee also heard evidence that encouragement to take part in sport needs to start at an early age but that a lot of people were put off early on because of their experience of physical education in schools.

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As an example the Committee was told that girls were generally very keen to play sports like hockey and netball between ages 7-9 but tended to drop out around 10-11. Reasons for this included concerns about body image and lack of availability of preferred activities such as fitness work or dance.

Barriers to participation in the LGBT community included fears over homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. Black and Minority Ethnic groups highlighted problems with discrimination, along with unsuitable equipment and environments for women of certain faiths.

“Warnings of rising childhood obesity rates and increasing cases of diabetes have been very much in the news recently, and the evidence linking these conditions to a more sedentary lifestyle is clear,” said Christine Chapman AM, Chair of the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee.

“Changing this attitude requires a cultural shift in the way people choose to live their lives and one of the main ways we can do that is to increase their knowledge and understanding of what options are available to them.

“Another is to ensure that the encouragement and positive experiences of physical activity start early on at school age. Therefore we believe the Welsh Government’s consideration of whether to make PE a core subject in the Welsh Curriculum is crucial.

“We also want to see the Welsh Government do more to encourage women and Black and Minority Ethnic communities into sport.

“With local authorities feeling the squeeze from budget cuts we believe there is a greater need than ever to ensure access to affordable leisure facilities across Wales.”

The Committee makes 12 recommendations in its report including:

• That the Welsh Government assesses the impact of the reductions in local authority budgets on sport and leisure services on access and affordability.

• That the Welsh Government works with local authorities to identify opportunities to increase and improve access to leisure facilities across Wales; and,

• The Welsh Government ensures that further work is undertaken to identify ways to encourage girls to participate in sport. This should include research into the types of sport or activities that appeal specifically to girls, and the factors affecting their participation.

Report: Participation levels in sport

More information about the participation in sport inquiry.