Sporting Lives: A Case Study of Leisure Careers

Abstract

Abstract This article analyses the sport biographies, and current levels and patterns of participation among a sample of 1679 adults from six United Kingdom cities, of whom 1387 were initially contacted through user surveys at sports facilities, plus a more representative sample of 606 residents in inner-Belfast. The authors argue that lifetime patterns of sport participation and non-participation are shaped by much the same influences, and exhibit similar features to careers in other leisure activities. Moreover, the processes that lock-in long-term sport participants and exclude others are similar to those that operate in occupational careers. The findings show that sport participation declines with age, but so does the give-up rate, so loyalty among those who continue to be sports active actually increases. There is evidence in the United Kingdom of an increase in sport activity in the 50-plus age group among individuals who remain sports-active into this life-phase. Social class inequalities in sport ...