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11/06/2015
SQUASH DECLINE CRISIS
The latest figures on squash participation in England show that the
dramatic decline is continuing.
In the last three years the sport has lost over 100,000 participants or
a decline of 25%.
Regular participation has halved in the last 10 years. There are now
under 200,000 players who play weekly, whereas in 2005 the figure was
300,000.
The figures were part of the latest research by Sport England through
its regular Active People survey.
While the headline story was of a decline in swimming participation, a
quick perusal of the statistics also revealed a continued decline in
squash.
The Active People Survey continuously measures the number of people
taking part in sport across the nation and in local communities.
It has the largest sample size ever established for a survey of its kind
of 165,000 people aged 14 and over.
The survey began in 2005/6, has run continuously since 2007/08 and the
findings are published every six months.
Sport England uses the survey to provide estimates of the number of
people taking part in sport across England.
The statistics can be broken down into regions, allow sophisticated
analysis - by, for example, gender and ethnicity - and can track
behaviour, such as involvement in competition and club membership.
In the original survey in 2006/7 there were some 500,600 squash players.
The current figure is 325,000. These figures are based on participation
in the sport once a month.
However, the decline in the last three years has been dramatic. The
figures also show that squash participation for the 16-25 age group has
halved in the last 10 years from 66,000 to 33,500.
MONTHLY PARTICIPATION
2011/12 ……..… 428,400
2012/13 ………… 408,400
2013/14 ………… 352,200
2014/15 ……..…. 325,000 |
ATTACHMENTS & Links
Research Data Courtesy of Sport England.
1.
Monthly Participation Rates by Individual Sports
2.
Weekly Participation Rates by Individual Sports
3.
What can be done? |
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