The economic impact on families of children's participation in junior sport

Abstract

The study investigated the socio-economic consequences for families of participation in junior sport. Two hundred and twenty families in Queensland and Victoria were surveyed from the sports of cricket, Australian football, gymnastics, hockey, netball and tennis and twenty seven of these interviewed. The study showed that parents make a substantial contribution in terms of financial support to their children's participation in junior sport. Each of the sports mode different financial demands on families depending on the yearly cycle of training and competition, distance from facilities and coaching, costs associated with coaching, equipment and uniforms, and representative level. It is concluded that family income and structure are the key factors in determining the likelihood of a child's involvement in junior sport, and that for many Australian children, financial factors may be barriers to their participation in junior sport.