| |
29/10/2020
Stark decline in young men playing squash
Stark decline
in young men playing squash
With the publication of Squash Player magazine today (Thursday 28th Oct)
we publish the first articles in our STATE OF THE GAME series. It’s no
secret that there has been a long-term decline in participation, but our
in-depth scrutiny of Sport England statistics reveals some disturbing
truths.
These impressive and comprehensive surveys – the Active People Survey
and the Active Lives Survey - show a consistent and steady decline of
around 3-4% a year.
We investigate the total numbers playing and make some estimates of the
true figures. The “one million players” figure so often quoted is
largely dismissed as unhelpful hyperbole.
In essence there were (pre-Covid) 280,000 monthly (or more) players and
180,000 weekly players. This is the optimistic view. If the latest
trends are extrapolated the realistic view is 140,000 weekly players.
This is pre-Covid!
Female participation amongst regular players is put at 18%.
The most surprising facts, however, are the position of young men who
did play regularly. Their participation has simply fallen off a cliff in
just the last three years:
In the 25-34 age group the decline was 41%
In the 16-24 age group the decline was 48%
Our
article puts the long-term trends into perspective. Also interviewed as
part of our STATE OF THE GAME investigation is long-time England Squash
Chairman John Treharne.
Rod Gilmour, of Squash Player magazine and the Daily Telegraph,
investigates how the pandemic is affecting aspiring professional players
attempting to make a living out of the sport and the position of clubs
and counties.
Give your views on Facebook: here
Get your print copy: here
Get your digital copy:
here
|
| |