A3 Barriers to participation for different types of participant GapFill

Data from the Active Lives survey from November 2020-21 shows that only 61.4% of all adults (aged 16+) meet the government's recommended guidelines of 150+ mins of physical activity per week. Many people who are heavily involved in sport may wonder how the percentage of people meeting these guidelines isn't higher, but what may not be obvious is the large number and diverse range of barriers that different types of people face regarding participation in sport and physical activity.

Here we will cover the time, cultural and personal barriers to participation.

Time

Many people have other  commitmentsintentionspreferencesgoals which limit the time they have available to participate in sport and physical activity. Examples of these include:

•  FriendsSchoolResponsibilityFamily - For example, parents must be around to look after young children
•  WorkFriendsFamilySchool - For example, many pupils have to spend their evenings revising for exams
•  SportWorkFamilyLeisure - For example, some people are required to do overtime to cover missing staff or may have unsociable shift patterns so miss early morning or late evening training

Cultural barriers

Some fitness centres may run  combined sexunisexsingle sexmixed sex sessions which could exclude males or females from participation.  MixedSingleSoloIndividual sex sessions can also be intimidating to some males and females, who would be more comfortable participating in male/female-only sports sessions.

Many sports are associated with a certain image when it comes to the clothing worn to participate. For example,  gymnasticsskiinglacrossenetball is synonymous with the use of the leotard to participate, but such clothing is considered inappropriate to some participants, such as  singleChristianfeministMuslim women. The availability of unitards (which extend to the ankle) for such women is very limited compared to the 'conventional' leotard.

There also tends to be a lack of coverage of   traditionseventsfestivalsrole models from different cultural backgrounds. This may be in adverts promoting sports products and events, or news stories covering the good work that sportspeople from different cultures are doing. This can limit participation, as many people can relate to such people from their own cultural background and use them for inspiration to take up a sport and follow in their footsteps.

Personal barriers

Participants often face many unique personal barriers to participation:

• A negative sense of body image can diminish an individual's self-  respectconfidencedoubtobsession to participate in front of others
• Influence from parents or guardians may sway a child away from participation in sport. For example, if they were wanting them to spend more time on their studies and academic career
• Limited previous participation in physical activity may lead to someone being unaware of the activities they might enjoy. It can also result in the individual having low levels of  energyknowledgepessimismfitness, which can be a barrier itself to participation if they find the physical demands of an activity too tough.
• Having an extended period off from participation may leave someone unaware of the current opportunities available to them. It might also serve to  inspiregalvanisedemotivatedrive the participant if their skill or fitness levels are no longer what they once were.
• Many people have concerns that their participation in physical activity can make existing health conditions worse. However, it is never too late to obtain the benefits from physical activity!