LO2-Sports Development: A report on the barriers

to participation in sport.

“Not everyone can take up a sport or get involved when an activity

is taking place. There are many reasons for this, which are called
barriers to participation.”
(Btec level 3, Mark Adams et al)

There are many barriers to participation in sport, and they depend

on the type of person you are, your lifestyle and background. The
barriers are based on 5 categories;

• Economic
• Social
• Cultural
• Historical
• Educational

“Sports Development deals with the opportunities available

for people to progress to their potential in sport, from
taking part for fun and health through to competition level
and also encompasses the provision of opportunities for
addressing the social issues of the day through participation
in sport.” (www.cheshireeast.gov.uk)

Barrier: Economic

“These are usually created by an inability to meet the costs

of participation, such as bus fares, entry fees or club
membership. Economic barriers could apply to a whole
community if an area is run down and has had little
investments to create facilities or many people are
unemployed or on low incomes.”
(BTEC sport level 3, Mark Adams et al)

Women
At most levels, women’s sport attracts less funding than men’s. “In
2006/07 women made up 41% of all athletes funded through
various sports council programmes and while the five sports
councils funded 832 men in 2005/06, they funded only 571 women.”
This target groups of people in the elite stage of the performance
pyramid. This is also relevant in the lower stages of the pyramid as
well, for example, “at the community sport level, girls’ teams tend
to attract less sponsorship from local businesses because of old-
fashioned ideas about sport not being suitable for girls.” An example
of this would be the funding of kits, equipment and facilities for girls
activities. “These inequalities in funding result in poorer facilities,
equipment and kit, as well as less sponsorship for female athletes.”
(www.go.microsoft.com)

“More women than men say that lack of money prevents them from
taking part in sport and physical activity. Women earn on average
almost £5,000 a year less men do.”
(www.ytouring.org.uk)

Young people

There are many young people who participate in sport, and some
will try everything that’s on offer. If sport is quite a big part of their
lives, it will come with its costs too, obviously provided by their
parents which could potentially introduce them to many varieties of
sport. However, some parents do not introduce their children to any
sports/ activities which means that there is no prior encouragement
or enthusiasm to take part. For example, a sport like snowboarding
requires expensive equipment essential to participate safely, and
some families might not be willing to pay out for their children even
if it’s just a one off payment, this could potentially affect young
people continuing to be involved with sport even if they wish to
proceed and make it regular. Compared to another sport, like
swimming which doesn’t require a lot of kit, or expensive
equipment, so it’s likely that the young person in that family will
continue on with this sport and progress.

Over 50’s

“Around 70 % of people aged 50-64 in the UK are overweight or

obese with rates of obesity in older adults in England accelerating
almost as quickly as the rate for children over the last ten
years.”(www.sportessex.com) however, weight issues are not the
only barrier within the issue if Over 50’s. For example, many people
aged 50 and over simply aren’t participating in sport or physical
activity due to lack of money, especially the cost of a gym
membership. They may feel their spending too much on keeping fit
by attending the gym regularly but the memberships are just a little
too expensive. Also, some sports that the over 50’s might want to
participate are extra expensive due to the equipment and facilities
needed. “There are no national guidelines in the UK for physical
activity to older people, like there is for youngsters (5x60
programme), however they are advised to take part in 30 minutes of
moderate physical activity at least five times a week, so a 5x30
scheme is advised.”

“Amoung the Over 50’s 40% of men and women are sedentary.
20% of all over 50’s climb no stairs in a week.”

(www.isrm.co.uk/regions)

Disabled People

“In a 1999 survey of all young people the following was shown;

• In nearly all contexts and for all sports participation by young

disabled people was lower than for the overall population of
young people.
• Young disabled people were more likely to participate in sport
on a frequent basis in school than they were out of school.
• However, this pattern was reversed for the population of
all young people.
• Young people in special schools were more likely to
participate
in sport than those in mainstream schools.” (www.york.ac.uk)

“Those with a hearing disability are most likely to take part in sport.
Those with a mobility disability and those with self-care related
disability are least likely to participate in sport.”
(www.york.ac.uk)

Barrier: Social

‘Social barriers might be based on what your peers think

and do, and taking part in sport might not be considered
‘cool’. There might also be social barriers created by
circumstances such as age differences, family influence or
pressure, or maybe an over-competitive coach.’
(BTEC sport level 3, Mark Adams et al, Essex 2010)

Women
“Women and girls can’t play sport if they can’t get access to the
necessary facilities. Too often, sports halls prioritise male sport
when it comes to pitch time so that men/boys get facilities at their
preferred
times, while women/girls have to make do with less convenient
times. Given that women have less leisure time than men, this is a
double
whammy of inequality.” (www.ytouring.org.uk)

“The barriers to women participating in sports are well documented

even in the developed countries. In the field of Social Attitudes,
many women, in particular working class women with children do
not consider that they are entitled to organize leisure or sports
activities outside home. Social constraints remain strong barriers to
women’s involvement in sports and particularly in the performing
sports (previous findings in the home country point out that 82% of
examined subjects were never actively involved in Competitive
Sport).” (http://cev.org.br/biblioteca)

“Women and girls’ access is sometimes restricted by sexist

practices and, even, legislation. For example, private members
clubs (which are not covered by all current equality laws) have
denied women full
membership, prevented them having voting power,
restricted their access to club facilities, given them much less
playing time than men and barred them from weekend play and
local tournaments.” (www.ytouring.org.uk)

Young people

(www.youthsporttrust.org)

Obesity is a growing problem in the UK, and more of a concern

starting from younger generations, so getting youngsters involved
in sport is essential. If a child becomes interested in a sport in their
earlier days, rather than becoming involved in their teens, they are
more likely to follow that sport through and develop in to a fairly fit
athlete. The risks however, are the factors affecting youngsters
actually taking part in sport and physical exercise. At a younger
age, they may be prevented from attending all the sports they wish
to, therefore narrowing their opportunities to develop their sporting
interests. Social barriers such as a person’s peer group could heavily
effect that individual’s participation. If they are involved in a group
that all generally lead a lazy sedentary lifestyle, with no real care to
their diet and little exercise, that individual might find themselves
caught up in this particular lifestyle too, or worse, change to this
lifestyle after previously being healthy and rather fit. You could see
this performer decreasing down the categories in the pyramid,
possibly from performance right down to foundation as it is
compulsory they participate in school physical education to 16 years
of age.

Over 50’s

For people the age of 50 or over, it’s most common that they
participate in sport, every now and then just to keep fit and healthy,
and not make it a main priority in their life. However, due to
confidence or self esteem issues, social barriers like mixed exercises
or swimming classes with men or younger generations might be a
bit intimidating to them, therefore they’ll chose to not participate.
However, in most leisure centres and sports facilities, which hold
exercise classes efforts have been made so that theirs an over 50’s
yoga, or aqua aerobics for women. This will encourage the older
generation, particularly women in this category to take part in
exercise and lead a healthier lifestyle.

Disabled People

On an individual level, people with a disability may face a number of

additional barriers to participation in sport compared with people
without a disability.

“In summary, disability sport may simply provide the opportunity for
acceptance and normalisation, maintain society’s equilibrium by
providing positive opportunities and rehabilitative benefits for those
whose impairment has disrupted society’s balance. ”
(‘Sport and Society’ B.Houlihan, 2008.)

Some common barriers include:

• Lack of early experiences in sport (this varies between

individuals and whether a disability is from birth or acquired
later in life)
• Lack of understanding and awareness of how to include
people with a disability in sport
• Limited opportunities and programmes for participation,
training and competition
• Lack of accessible facilities, such as gymnasiums and
buildings
• Limited accessible transportation
• Limiting psychological and sociological factors including
attitudes towards disability of parents, coaches, teachers and
even people with disabilities themselves
• Limited access to information and resources

(www.sportanddev.org)

(www.sportand
dev.org)
“Disabled girls and women are less likely than others
to participate in sport at all levels. However, this is not because they
don’t want to be physically active; 65% of disabled adults would like
to participate in more sport and physical activity.
People with disabilities have lower participation
rates for a variety of reasons:

• physically inaccessible facilities, venues

and equipment
• coaching staff who don’t know how to
adapt their teaching to help individuals
take part in enjoyable, fulfilling activities
• unwelcoming attitudes amongst other
sports participants and staff
• a lack of role models to inspire, motivate
and encourage.” (www.ytouring.org.uk)

Barrier:Educational

‘Through sport, young people often encounter their own

weaknesses in performance and become less confident and
more self-conscious about their body shape and size.’
(BTEC sport level 3, Mark Adams et al, Essex 2010)

Young people
(www.teachernet.gov.uk)

To ensure that youngsters are getting some form of physical

activity, it is compulsory that from the ages of 11-16 that they
participate in P.E lessons in school, which are usually two practical
hours a week. However, if they chose to proceed with the subject at
GCSE level (years 10 & 11) the regularity of it could increase and
theory is also introduced, and there is a one hour a week
compulsory games lesson for those who did not opt for physical
education to keep them a little bit active. In the compulsory lessons
in the lower school, years 7-9 a variety of sport is covered according
to the season, for example netball and hockey, rugby and football in
the autumn/winter months. Tennis, rounders, baseball and cricket
are then focussed on in the summer. After school sessions are also
on offer in most schools for all these sports, run by different staff to
get the youngsters more involved. Its very important that these
variety of sports are on offer to the young people in school, as its
where their most likely to want to participate with their peers
around them and this is the age where they start to show a real
interest in particular sports or in another case decide that sports not
for them, but either way its gets them involved and keeps them
relatively active. The youngsters who are then interested in
improving and progressing in their certain chosen sport, developing
to the participation level. They might be advised to attend an out of
school session with a club, or if their good enough attend county or
school boy trials. This shows progression from the foundation level
in the pyramid to performance if they succeed further which could
potentially lead to elite athletes.
Disabled People

“Every Paralympian has an inspirational story to tell. Most people

would be impressed and inspired by the sight of an athlete with
missing limbs sprinting faster than most able-bodied
people.”(www.nhs.uk)

Disabled people participating in sport can highly depend on their

first experience in an activity. If they participate in a sport for the
first time, and don’t enjoy this encounter it’s very likely that they
will chose to not participate any further. However, P.E staff in
schools will try their best to make sure the less able bodied pupils
get involved as much as they can. On the other hand, their first
encounter with sport could be positive therefore they’ll want to
continue and progress up the levels of the pyramid. The disability
discrimination act of 1996, now replaced by the Equality Act 2010
states that it has been “unlawful for sports clubs to treat disabled
people less favourably for a reason related to their disability.”
(www.rushmoor.gov.uk) Also, since October 1999 sports clubs have
had to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, like
providing extra help or altering equipment so it’s left difficult for
them, and physical features have also been adjusted like ramps, so
access for the disabled is easier, if they are in a wheelchair for
example or unable to walk stairs. Disabled sport is growing in its
popularity as its part of the Olympics and people watch these events
worldwide. However, more can still be done locally, not on a
national or international level. More funding to clubs or facilities to
offer disabled sports would see an increase in participation of the
less abled as they are likely to participate if it’s local and suitable for
their needs. More media coverage of these disabled sports and
advertisements would get more involved as successful role models
will show them that despite their disability, they are still able to
participate in sport.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

(BTEC sport level 3, Mark Adams, Ray Barker, Adam Gledhill, Chris
Lydon, Chris Mulligan, Pam Phillippo, Louise Sutton, Essex 2010)

www.cheshireeast.gov.uk

www.go.microsoft.com

www.ytouring.org.uk

www.sportessex.com

www.isrm.co.uk/regions

www.york.ac.uk

http://cev.org.br/biblioteca

www.youthsporttrust.org

‘Sport and Society’ B.Houlihan, 2008.

www.sportanddev.org

www.teachernet.gov.uk