OCR Sport

AO 6
List the specific needs
of four different user
groups which may
affect their
participation in sport
Josh Williams
Some of the main concerns of groups of that people are affected by due to the
lack of participation in sport would be:

Sex - Some sports are still considered male sports and so it is sometimes harder
for women to get involved in these sports (e.g. Rugby and football)

1|Page Josh Williams

Politics - Politics have an effect on the availability of facilities for training and
competitions. Governments also decide what sports are taught in schools

Age - Certain age groups tend to play certain sports. Younger people will

usually pick the more physically demanding sports such as hockey or rugby,
whereas older people are often limited physically and pick less strenuous sports
like bowls and swimming

Money - Some sports are expensive because they require membership fee or
lots of expensive equipment or clothing. For example skiing

Fashion - Sports and other activities go in and out of fashion. Media

coverage and success of British athletes often has an influence on a sports
popularity

Disabilities – A lot of sports are unavailable to the certain needs of disabilities,

and require specialist equipment which is expensive and at a low availability to
the general public

Challenge / Danger - A lot of people like sports which they can get a mental
pleasure of and have an element of danger. Extreme sports are becoming more
popular

Environment / climate / access to facilities - Where you live will affect the
sports you get involved in. The landscape in the lake district for example is
perfect for hiking. You need to live near the sea to take part in surfing etc

Technology - Technology affects the availability, cost and safety of some sports
It can also improve teaching and coaching aids which increases participation

The four areas of groups that can affect the participation in sport activity that I
am going to explain are:

Disability

Age

Gender

Culture/facilities/environment

2|Page Josh Williams

 Disability

The one of the barriers facing individuals with disabilities will be particular to
their specific disability. People who may have some type of ‘disability’ if it is
say a physical such as a loss of limb or mental condition that limits a person's
movements, senses, or activities. Of which people may have a difficulty to
participate in a sporting activity in a result

This could be a result of unable in using a specific limb or not understanding

due to a mental disability which could change the participation in several
different ways in such as physical, mental or socially. An example of this could
be physically the person may not be able to meet the demands of the activity
which would restrict the choice of physical activity. A social aspect that could
affect people with disabilities participation in physical activity such as being in
a type of disability must be very hard and they may feel that they are not
meeting the demands of they’re peers. An example of a mental factor that could
result in a lack of participation in sport could be the disability itself must be a
very challenging life to live which could drop confidence and make feel
different to others which may not be a chosen activity to participate in.

People with disabilities are treated and trained if participation is normally

trained with specialist equipment and coaches that meet the demands of they’re
ability. This would normally come as a huge cost due to all of the specialist
necessities.

But not just the specialist equipment is all that is required for people with
disabilities need to participate in physical activity because they need different
facilities which meet the demands of their ability and also the chosen sport. This
could also lead to a lack of participation in sport due to specific facilities which
are not always local to all areas, and also which a chosen sport there will be
limitations to certain sport such as activities as wheelchair basketball,

3|Page Josh Williams

swimming or athletics which can offer a wide range of events for all types of
abilities but as earlier noted that there is a high cost for specialist equipment and
coaches which poorer families with a disability may not be able to afford.

Other factors of the individual their self or the families of which a disability
may have, may be protective such as not wanting to participate in sport due to a
fear of being different which comes back to the mental and social aspect of a
lack of participation in sport such a fear of being bullied or unwanted which
could occur as having more attention towards them. Or there could just be the
feel of a feel of causing too much hassle due to needing to be treated with more
care.

Age

The one of the barriers facing individuals with age segregation in participation
sport are some activities are regarded as young people’s sports and some are
regarded as old people’s sports, which could prove to be unfair to some due to
some people may want to participate in a certain sport which could result in
rejection due to not being able to meet the demands of certain activities such as

4|Page Josh Williams

an older individual wanting to play rugby may not be able to being too old and
not be able to participate due to safety reasons.

There is a big relationship between young people and old people in the factors
that can result in a lack of participation in sport.

Some of the factors that could affect the demands as physical such as:

A competitor’s age will affect their performance in the following ways:

Strength

 Children are not as strong as adults. We do not reach our

maximum strength until we are fully grown at around 20
 In your 20's and 30's it is easy to build up strength and muscle mass
 In your 40's and onwards strength decreases as protein levels and muscle
mass falls

Flexibility

 We are most flexible as adolescents

 As we get older we tend to lose this suppleness

Oxygen capacity

 Our capacity to transport and use oxygen so effectively falls as we age

Injury and disease 

 As we age, weakness and inflexibility make us more prone to injury

 It also takes us longer to heal
 Diseases such as cancer and heart disease are more prominent in the older
population

Reaction times

 As we age, we get slower to react to a stimulus

Experience 

 Older athletes are often called experienced, and this experience can be an
important tool

5|Page Josh Williams

  Experience helps us to know how best to deal with a situation

For all forms of competitive sport there are age divisions, usually junior, youth
and then senior. If an activity requires a great deal of physical exertion, it is
going to be more difficult to compete at a high level, as you get older. Which is
why there is often either age restrictions or age barriers to either group ages
with each other or hold restrictions

Another factor that could affect the participation in sports could be people take
part is closely related to their age and local tradition. As people get older the
time spent taking part in sport becomes less and the nature of the sport changes.

Activities with high-energy requirements and output such as rugby are generally

associated with younger players while activities that rely on skill rather than
physical fitness such as lawn bowls are associated with older people. Sprains
and other minor injuries become more frequent and recovery time becomes
longer.

Another factor could be routines which are hard to then allocate physical
activity into. Such as older people have lower energy levels and may not be able
to do much exercise due to fatigue. And also middle age people may not be able
to find the time such as stress levels due to work and other factors, but which
could make sport not important to them, younger people such a children and
teenagers may not be able to participate in sport due to parents and just
explained who can participate in sport may have the same affect on their
children such as not having time to show their children a variety of sports. This
could cause a lack of opportunities.

6|Page Josh Williams

 Gender

The one of the barriers facing individuals with gender segregation such as
women were discouraged from participating in physical activity, especially
sports.

Some factors of that are seen upon towards that result in a lower participation in
sport are:

7|Page Josh Williams

  Some sports are still thought to be men's sports, although female rugby
and football teams are improving in participation
 Women are usually not allowed to compete with or against their male
athletes. In physical sports there is good reason for this - men are bigger
and stronger. So these are dedicated as a safety issue
 Women's sports have a much lower profile in the media. Such as not
much coverage of female sports, due to a lack of interest, this could be
because of this lower profile, many companies would
rather sponsor men’s teams as they get more attention
 Women's competitions tend to have less prize money than men's. Even in
sports where coverage is good
 There aren't as many female sporting role models, this is largely due
again to the lack of media attention

Women may feel that their gender can affect in their participation which could
be a result of as women are not as dominant in sporting activity which could
change the participation in several different ways in such as physical, mental or
socially. An example of this could be physically women are not as physically
strong as men which could be made them to be looked down on by them not be
able to meet the demands of the activity such as rugby, which would restrict the
choice of physical activity. A social aspect that could affect women and
participation in physical activity such as being stereotyped as weaker and less
attention showed to which could lower participation. An example of a mental
factor that could result in a lack of participation in sport could be the fact that
women feel left out from some sports which could just make some women feel
that there is no point due to segregation from their chosen sport.

8|Page Josh Williams

 Culture/facilities/environment

The one of the barriers facing individuals with the location that they are living
in or the economical state they are in can be a big barrier towards the
participation in sport. Some of the disadvantages could be:

Culture

Wrong environment

No facilities

Expensive equipment start up cost

These disadvantages can be seen upon to affect the participation with some
people in sport due to, in certain cultures children are leaded towards certain
sports such as Britain is typically forwarded towards rugby and football whereas
other countries such as India are towards cricket, due to it being as a part as
their culture, but not all cases are like this even cities have the same affect on
people participating in sport, an example of this would be if you live near the
sea or lake you are more likely to do water sports rather than if you live in the
country you would be likely to play sports more local to your area or suit your
culture

9|Page Josh Williams

Weather and climate affect sport badly. Each sport has suitable weather
condition. Like soccer and cricket is played in sunny weather. Most of the time,
the cricket game is stopped because of rainy weather. Soccer players feel hard
to play in slippery ground. Usually, outdoor games are affected by weather.
Indoor games like badminton, table tennis, snooker, basketball, etc are not very
much influenced.
It depends on which game you want to participate in.

Adults are also play a big role upon the outcome in participation in sport, an
example of this would be, children are more likely to play sport if their parents
do and if their parents do they are more likely to participate in that sport, due to
being introduced to the sport of the environment. The picture below is of Barry
and Shane McGuigan. Barry McGuigan, 49, was crowned world featherweight
champion in 1985(right) and his son Shane is trying to continue where his dad
left off

Other factors of which can affect the participation in sport can be the
economical state of some families, this can be for example people not being
able to afford to participate in sport, an example of this could be a gym
membership or joining teams and the equipment for the specific sporting
activity chosen which could be too expensive for some people to afford so this
could just leave them in not doing physical activity. Children can also be
affected by this because their parents might not be able to pay for the same fees

10 | P a g e Josh Williams
as show above. This would not give them the same opportunities as others will
have.

So depending on the environment you live in and the economic state you are in
can have a huge affect in your participation in physical activity.

11 | P a g e Josh Williams