Over 735,000 play sport regularly in the East - News - LIVING SPORT

Over 735,000 play sport regularly in the East

The number of adults in the East region who play sport at least three times a week now stands at 735,100.

New research, from Sport England’s Active People Survey 3 (APS3), shows that across England 6.93 million adults are participating regularly in sport, taking the increase to 635,000 since the Olympic and Paralympic bid was won in 2005.

Key findings from the survey for the East include; 219,200 adults contribute at least one hour a week to volunteering in sport, 851,300 adults have received tuition to improve their sporting performance in the past 12 months and individual sports are growing at a faster rate than team sports.

This research shows that nationally Sport England are now 115,000 closer to its legacy target to get one million people playing more sport by 2012/13, despite a reduction in the overall spend on sport and recreation during this challenging economic period.

The figures cover the first six months of a four-year funding period in which Sport England will invest up to £880 million of Exchequer and National Lottery funding in community sport, with almost half a billion pounds going to 46 sports’ national governing bodies.

One of the areas of concern for Sport England is participation among women and disabled people. Sport England’s £10 million National Lottery funding round to encourage ‘Active Women’ shows their commitment to increasing sporting opportunities for women.

Sport England’s regional lead, Chris Perks, said, ‘We need to continue the drive both to get the right sporting opportunities in place. Six months into a four-year funding period, we’re delighted that sports such as athletics and cycling are already delivering substantial growth. However, the figures clearly show we face challenges on participation among women and disabled people, and Sport England is committed to tackling these, as demonstrated by our allocation of £10m to projects specifically focused on women's sport.’

To read the full press release from the APS3 survey for the East, follow this link, or visit the Sport England website here to view a national breakdown of the research from the survey.

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