Sport England Reveals Participation Boost
Sport England has revealed that the number of people participating in sport has increased by 750,000 in the country this year, having risen sharply in the aftermath of the London 2012 Games, with a significant boost in Olympic sports such as cycling and sailing.
The figures show that more women and disabled people are taking part in sport at least once a week, and that cycling has proved to be the sport that has received biggest rise, with 200,000 more people riding their bikes compared to last year.
Over 500,000 more women are now taking part in sport, with a particular increase in netball as well as cycling and running. However the Sport England survey also shows that 16-25 year olds are not taking up sport in vast numbers.
Sport England chief executive, Jennie Price, commented: ‘We set the bar high in this survey, measuring only the people who play sport once a week, every week. These results show we are on the right track. I’m particularly pleased that many more women are taking up sports.’
Price added: ‘Sport needs to work even harder to attract and keep young people. So the investment in individual sports we will be announcing before Christmas will be strongly focused on getting more 16- to 25-year-olds playing sport.’
