Sport Wales survey highlights gender gap in late-teen participation
The gender gap in sports participation in Wales increases as students move on to further education, Sport Wales research has found.
The survey, which questioned just under 5,000 students between April and July 2015, found a 19 percentage point gap between males and females that participate in sport at least three times a week.
According to the report, 59 per cent of male students aged 16+ regularly participated in sporting activity, in college or externally, compared to 40 per cent of females.
Although the combined figure for males and females (49 per cent) is comparable to the 48 per cent of school children taking part in sport at least three times per week, the gender statistics are more even in primary and secondary schools.
Males in years 3-11 playing sport three times per week outside the curriculum hit the 52 per cent mark in 2015, compared to 44 per cent of females.
The study found that as adolescents get older, their sporting activity drops off. 54 per cent of 16-year-olds surveyed played sport three times per week or more, compared with 37 per cent of 20+ students.
Gender differences were also highlighted in the types of sports students would like to do more of.
More than 40 per cent of male respondents revealed that they would like to participate in more team sports and competitive sports respectively, while female subjects highlighted an appetite for doing more outdoor sports.
The survey follows the publication of Sport Wales’ 2015 School Sport Survey in October, which found the number of Welsh children playing sport at least three times a week has leapt 20 per cent since 2013.
It surveyed 115,000 pupils in years 3-11 over the same four-month period and revealed that the number of children who took part in organised sport, outside of curriculum time, grew from 40 per cent to 48 per cent over the two-year period.
The study found that participation rates had been partly boosted by the increasing number of minority ethnic children taking part in sport at least three times per week.
The number of Black/Black British children regularly playing sport in Wales surged by 41 per cent, from 37 per cent in 2013 to 52 per cent in 2015.
There were similar boosts in activity from the nation’s other minority ethnic groups.
Asian/Asian British pupils who played sport at least three times per week increase by 24 per cent, while Arab/Other children rose by 34 per cent.
Regular participation from Mixed Race children also grew, from 41 per cent to 52 per cent over the period.
Meanwhile, the number of white children taking part in sporting activity three-times-a-week or more also increased by 20 per cent.
Wales to create an army of young sports volunteers
Sport Wales to tackle inequalities in sport with £3m investment
Connection, creativity and nature inspire Arizona’s upcoming desert wellness sanctuary Align
Wellness real estate market booming – forecast to reach $913bn by 2028, reports GWI
UAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
How Portugal’s biggest brewer enlisted the help of one of the country’s best known architects to turn two historic nature parks into thermal spa and nature destinations