Seniors and Sport in England Presented by: Ryan Adams Research Manager Sport England 27 May 2004

Outline About Sport England A Vision for 2020 Framework for Sport The Ageing Population Lifestyle of Seniors Tackling the Issue Conclusions

About Sport England Sport England is the strategic lead for delivering the Government's sporting objectives in England, and we distribute both Lottery and Exchequer funds to sport. Our objectives involve getting people to: Start – to improve the health of the nation, particularly for disadvantaged groups Stay – through a thriving network of clubs, coaches and volunteers, and a commitment to equity Succeed in sport – via an infrastructure capable of developing world class performers

About Sport England Our vision is to make England an active and successful sporting nation. We share best practice, set standards, build partnerships and promote the benefits of sport, which include healthier living, social inclusion and crime prevention – making focused investments through partners. We also continuously monitor the impact of our investment programmes and conduct ongoing research into participation levels.

A Vision for 2020 The UK Government published Game Plan in Dec 2002, setting the agenda to increase and widen the participation base in sport An ambitious objective was set to increase levels of physical activity to 70% of the population taking part at moderate levels for 30 minutes, five days a week Currently, 30.4% of English population meet the recommended levels of physical activity intensity and duration

Framework for Sport In June 2003, Sport England consulted with over 350 partners from health, education, community development and other sectors, to identify the key drivers for increasing participation. These are: The Ageing Population Time Pressures Well-being and Obesity Variations in Access Utilising Education Volunteers and Professionals Levels of Investment in Sport

The Ageing Population Almost half of all adults in the UK will be over 50 by 2020 More people over 65 than under 16 by 2020 Consistent trend, the older you are, the less you participate

Lifestyle of Seniors Many seniors have better health prospects than previous generations – able to stay active Greater affluence, but this does not apply to all – more concern with taking care of yourself Interest in acting young – keeping active is an important way to maintain youth More time to take part in activities that you enjoy and those that will help keep you fit Challenge is to encourage people to stay in sport, creating a culture of lifelong participation

Tackling the Issue Big challenge in increasing participation amongst those that traditionally participate less We are commissioning qualitative work to understand barriers to participation and investigate interventions We are building a database of all public sports facilities in England – Active Places website We are launching an advertising campaign in the North East region – Everyday Sport We are going to conduct an annual survey of participation – robust data to focus investment The Value of Sport Monitor – website database

Conclusions We have identified the Ageing Population as a key area that must be addressed to increase participation We are aiming to increase physical activity levels across the whole population, and focussing on seniors will be fundamental if we are to achieve our goals We are keen to share information and learn from experts in other countries as to strategies that address seniors in sport Improve health and well-being of seniors in England

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