THE RECESSION has hit spending power, confidence in the banks and faith in elected representatives and now it has even taken its toll on involvement in sport, new research suggests.
A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that the number of people actively participating in sport fell from 32.9 per cent in 2007 to 30.8 per cent last year.
The drop, largely attributed to people no longer being in a position to pay gym or golf club membership fees, suggests that one in 16 has given up on sporting pursuits as a result of the State’s economic difficulties.
The findings are included in the second annual Irish Sports Monitorreport, which was commissioned by the Irish Sports Council.
The study found the relationship between income and participation in sport strengthened last year, with involvement in individual sports falling significantly, but participation in less costly team-based games holding firm.
“This report shows a very directly measurable difference in people’s quality of life, which is undoubtedly connected to the recession,” ESRI economist Dr Pete Lunn said. “This is significant as sport is very important for overall physical activity, which is linked to better health and the prevention of serious disease.”
Dr Lunn said he was confident the fall-off was connected to the recession as the study was based on respondents’ household income and employment status.
He said the decline was concentrated among lower-income households and the sharpest fall coincided with a steep drop in consumer spending in early 2008.
The study found volunteering and club membership held firm at 7.8 and 32.4 per cent respectively, but numbers attending sporting events fell significantly from 16.7 to 15 per cent, with Gaelic football down significantly.
Swimming (at 6.1 per cent) overtook going to the gym or exercise classes (5.7 per cent) as the most common individual activity.
Among men, involvement in individual sports and soccer declined significantly, while rugby showed the only increase. Women’s participation in all individual activities declined, but involvement in all team sports increased.
There was an increase in participation rates among the unemployed for playing, volunteering and membership, but not for attendance. The ESRI said this reflected people initially as maintaining their sporting habits and perhaps increasing their participation with additional free time, but that cost ultimately mattered most.
The study found that adults living in the midlands were considerably less likely to be involved in sport than their counterparts in the east, with people from Louth and Dún Laoghaire in particular showing a high level of involvement in individual pursuits.
Dr Lunn said the midlands figure was surprising as the region had the highest proportion of people involved in team sports.
“It seems that as they get older, people don’t make the transition from team to individual sports in the midlands,” he said. “It seems that when they reach their mid- 20s and 30s, they completely drop off.”
The Stats
* Active participation in sport fell significantly from 32.9 per cent to 30.8 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
* 32 per cent of people were classed as highly active last year (30 minutes of exercise five times in the previous seven days), 27 per cent were fairly active (30 minutes exercise twice in the previous seven days), 32 per cent were just active (sport or exercise once during the previous seven days) and 17 per cent were sedentary (did not participate in 20 minutes recreational activity during the previous seven days).
* The number of men playing soccer fell from 11.4 per cent to 9.6 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
* The number of women who attended a gym or exercise classes fell from 9.4 per cent to 6.5 per cent.
* Lower gym membership and a rise in female GAA members made GAA membership the most common form of club membership again, as it was in 2003.
* Approximately 15 per cent of adults have a long-term health problem and the majority of them says it prevents them from taking part in sport.
