From their solitary habits during the pandemic, Australians have returned to organized sport and group fitness.
Key points:
- The growth of the main football codes since the beginning of the pandemic is constant and the number of parkrun participants each week has yet to recover to the levels of 2019
- Individual sports activities, such as cycling and golf, have grown significantly
- Experts fear the loss of community as sports habits change
But in some cases, it has not been in the same number as before.
People have had to adjust their exercise habits during the pandemic after the confinements left a trail of postponements and sports cancellations.
But even as the country re-emerges, sports officials realize that the changes felt in the last two years will not be reversed quickly.
Glen Turner, head of health and wellness at parkrun Australia and New Zealand, said people have changed their approach to exercise over the past two years.
“People are very much in tune with what is happening in their community and are much more cautious than they would have been before.”
Prior to the pandemic, some 60,000 Australians attended parkrun every Saturday morning. Today, that number is approaching 40,000.
“Our numbers every week are gradually increasing and I think people’s confidence to re-enter the community as they would have done before, is increasing,” Turner said.
“But it will be a long, long process.”
Parkrun usually attracts about 40,000 participants to its events in Australia every weekend. (Supplied)
A new era in sports
The trend has been felt in much of the sports landscape, according to Victorian University sports participation professor Rochelle Eime.
“There are still much lower numbers across the board, and especially in winter sports, even locally, my boys football, there are a lot of clubs that don’t have teams that they’ve had in the past.” .
According to Professor Eime, Australians find it difficult, or unwilling, to break the more individual habits developed during the blockades.
“People have switched to ‘OK, why can’t I do yoga at home or online?'”
Yoga can be an individual, inexpensive and flexible form of exercise. (Unsplash: Jonathan Borba)
The government-funded Ausplay survey provides a snapshot of the sporting passions of Australians.
It has been found that national sports participation increased during the pandemic, but that it was driven by a growing interest in solo efforts such as walking, cycling and swimming that were part of the blocking routines of many Australians.
Ausplay figures for 2022, COVID’s first smooth winter season, have not yet been released.
According to preliminary turnout figures provided to the ABC, Football Australia and the AFL experienced virtually no overall growth in participants between 2019 and 2022, despite the AFL boom in women’s play.
“The participation of women and girls seems especially strong when comparing the figures for the year to date with pre-COVID levels,” an AFL spokesman said.
“We are not without our challenges and we are working hard to get young guys back on track after so many disruptions during crucial years of development.”
However, golf and tennis, more flexible and socially distant sports, but also more individual, recorded significant growth in the same period of time.
20 years of Ausplay
The national sports survey details Australia’s top ten sports by population.
Sport
2001
2021
Change
Australian football
2.3%
2.9%
0.6 p
Basketball
3.5%
4.6%
1.1 p
Cricket
3.6%
2.8%
-0.8 pp
Cycling
8.1%
14.5%
6.4 p
Soccer / football
4.3%
5.8%
1.5 p
Golf
8.2%
5.7%
-2.5 pp
Netball
4.1%
2.7%
-1.4 p
Running / athletics
8.3%
19.4%
11.1 p
swimming
15.9%
17.2%
1.3 p
Tennis
9.2%
5.9%
-3.3 pages
“I think there are massive implications for individual health and well-being, but also for the health and well-being of the community,” said Professor Eime.
“COVID has given sport the opportunity to step back and consider its core values and what it is for, and it should be about getting people to connect with others through competition. and have fun because that’s what they play for. “
The pandemic may have created a change of pace, but a review of Ausplay data from the previous two decades shows little growth in team sports as individual efforts such as running and cycling grow.
The recent rise of golf and tennis is reversing a decline for decades.
Tennis Australia tennis director Tom Larner said his sport has benefited during the pandemic of playing outdoors with natural physical distancing.
Her organization focuses on making more court bookings available online and growing children’s programs to ensure that growth continues.
“We recognize that it is a constant challenge to involve children and keep them engaged and enjoying the sport.”
Golf Australia is also working to maintain its growth.
Nearly half of golf participants, according to an internal survey, do not even step on a course, instead of getting used to mini golf or the driving range.
This group is also younger and tends to be more feminine than its gaming population.
Presence of Parkrun
While the number of finalists at parkrun events may be declining this year compared to 2019, the organization has found that volunteers have returned faster.
Safe practices against COVID make more people on hand and scan barcodes.
But Turner believes the increase in volunteers also shows the strong ties of those who regularly participate in parkrun.
“If we think about the research we did during the pandemic, seven out of 10 people said ‘the reason I go back to parkrun’ was because I felt disconnected from society because of social restrictions.”
Compared to other sports organizations, parkrun has no sports infrastructure to maintain, and its volunteer-run events have little cost.
The number of parkrun volunteers has recovered rapidly since the start of the pandemic. (Provided by: Merrilyn McMillan)
Turner argues that this allows his organization to maintain a more patient and longer-term perspective.
“If we have 15 people coming to a parkrun, and they’re all happier and healthier than without parkrun, that’s a massive impact on that community,” he said.
“It’s really about parkrun as an event that’s there for everyone when they need it, and if that takes time, it’s absolutely fine.”