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The Guardian
19-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Cost of children's sport rises in Australia as voucher programs fail to budge participation
Parents of young cricketers, footballers and basketball players are now paying more than $500 a year on average for their children to play, plus more on equipment, according to a national survey highlighting Australia's most expensive codes, as state governments pledge hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure sport is not just for the wealthy. But new research from the University of Sydney has found subsidising families' sporting costs through the use of government vouchers alone is not enough, after two prominent recent examples – including a high profile New South Wales scheme – failed to increase sport participation at scale. This evidence comes as the Queensland government expands its voucher scheme, now costing taxpayers $62.5m a year, and similar programs have been in place in every state. At the same time, the increasing price of children's sport has been highlighted by cost breakdowns in the government's AusPlay survey, released again in 2025 after a year's break due to a change in methodology. It shows several popular sports including gymnastics, tennis, swimming, cricket, athletics, basketball and football cost parents more than $500 a year on average in registration, membership and venue access, and excluding outlays required for uniforms, bats, rackets, boots and balls. Only gymnastics showed any decrease from the last time AusPlay data was released in 2023, highlighting a trend of escalating costs going back years. Rochelle Eime, professor in sports science at Federation University, said there has been a longstanding association between participation and socioeconomic status, and a voucher worth $100 or $200 a year is insufficient for many families. '$150, $200, it doesn't really cut through does it, when you're trying to pay the rent and keep the lights on, put food on the table – something's got to give,' she said. Eime said sports need to try to offer alternatives, and move from formal, organised and often expensive settings to a more 'person-centred' approach focused on enjoyment and retention. 'We get very busy organising things, and sport prioritises grading and talent development and trying to fit into structures and stuff like that,' she said. 'The majority of kids just want to have fun and play with their friends, and if they're enjoying themselves, they'll come back.' Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion The average cost for a football player was $334 in 2016, rising to $459 in 2022 before the latest figure of $513 covering the survey period across 2023 and 2024. Basketball's average outlay rose from $414 to $551 between the latest two reports. The University of Sydney research revealed the Active Kids voucher program in NSW failed to deliver the kind of broad society-level increases in physical activity and weekly sport participation had aimed for. Between 2018 and 2022, when the program offered $100 vouchers, physical activity fell and weekly sport participation was found to have dropped significantly, from 70.3% to 53.6%. Dr Lindsey Reece, who is one of the study's authors and also the Australian Sport Commission's sport programs director, posted on LinkedIn this month saying: 'Covid-19 certainly played a role – but even outside of pandemic years, the expected boost in activity did not materialise across the population.' The key takeaway she posited was that while financial support matters, vouchers alone 'are not enough to shift the dial on children's physical activity at scale' and future programs 'must incorporate targeted, evidence-based behaviour change strategies and address inequities in access and participation'. The report suggests media campaigns and partnerships with community leaders and organisations should be considered in future to encourage further uptake in targeted children and adolescents. The government's decision to make the Active Kids program means-tested in 2024, 'may contribute to closing the socioeconomic gap in physical activity and this adapted program should be evaluated,' the report said. Those who spoke a primary language other than English at home, were aged 15 to 18 years old, lived in the most disadvantaged areas, and were girls were less likely to sign up for sport. Rising costs are a major concern for officials within the Australian Sports Commission who have commissioned a separate report into the impacts of the high cost of participating in sport, due to be released in coming months.
Sydney Morning Herald
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Gender play gap: Girls lag far behind in sport participation
It's been called 'the gender play gap': girls' participation in sport drops off in their mid to late teens, coinciding with part-time jobs, a burgeoning social life and sport becoming more serious than social. But Girls Sport Victoria, a coalition of 23 private girls' schools, has set itself the challenge of not only stopping the gender play gap but extending female participation beyond the school gates. The most recent data from the Sport Participation in Victoria Survey, released last month, found that 21.8 per cent of 15-19-year-old girls participated in community sport, compared with 41.4 per cent of boys. The gender discrepancy was evident among five to nine-year-olds as well, with just 47.5 per cent of girls playing sport compared with 68.6 per cent of boys. And while almost half (47.5 per cent) of girls aged five to nine participated in community sport in 2023, just 21.8 per cent of 15-19-year-old girls remained involved in sport. 'That's always where we have seen a big drop-off in sport,' said Federation University professor of sport science Professor Rochelle Eime. 'A lot of girls don't necessarily like the competitive nature of sport, and sport can get very serious around 15 to 19, but the majority of girls at that age just want to play with their friendship groups.' Loading Genazzano FCJ College principal Loretta Wholley, who became president of Girls Sport Victoria this week, will focus her efforts on keeping those aged 15 to 18 involved in sport, as well as creating pathways for students into sports at an elite level by working with organisations such as the Australian Women's Golf Network.
The Age
31-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Gender play gap: Girls lag far behind in sport participation
It's been called 'the gender play gap': girls' participation in sport drops off in their mid to late teens, coinciding with part-time jobs, a burgeoning social life and sport becoming more serious than social. But Girls Sport Victoria, a coalition of 23 private girls' schools, has set itself the challenge of not only stopping the gender play gap but extending female participation beyond the school gates. The most recent data from the Sport Participation in Victoria Survey, released last month, found that 21.8 per cent of 15-19-year-old girls participated in community sport, compared with 41.4 per cent of boys. The gender discrepancy was evident among five to nine-year-olds as well, with just 47.5 per cent of girls playing sport compared with 68.6 per cent of boys. And while almost half (47.5 per cent) of girls aged five to nine participated in community sport in 2023, just 21.8 per cent of 15-19-year-old girls remained involved in sport. 'That's always where we have seen a big drop-off in sport,' said Federation University professor of sport science Professor Rochelle Eime. 'A lot of girls don't necessarily like the competitive nature of sport, and sport can get very serious around 15 to 19, but the majority of girls at that age just want to play with their friendship groups.' Loading Genazzano FCJ College principal Loretta Wholley, who became president of Girls Sport Victoria this week, will focus her efforts on keeping those aged 15 to 18 involved in sport, as well as creating pathways for students into sports at an elite level by working with organisations such as the Australian Women's Golf Network.
