It is a well-known fact that sports participation declines during adolescence. Globally, 81% of adolescents aged 11-17 years were insufficiently physically active in the latest world-wide study back in 2016. Adolescent girls were less active than adolescent boys, with 85% versus 78% not meeting WHO recommendations of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity per day.

More recent data from countries like Ireland, England and the Netherlands shows that this situation  got worse during the COVID pandemic. In this section we are going to explore why it is important to keep children and adolescents engaged in sport and what are some of the benefits of participation.

The study guides, which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page cover three key areas:

Understanding Youth Sport Participation

Understanding Youth Sport Dropout

Maximising Engagement in Sport