18 Ltd Present some highlights from the SPARC – Stay and Play Research Project

1. 18 Ltd Present some highlights from the SPARC – Stay and Play Research Project “Why is there a trend of teenagers dropping out of sports participation?” and “What can be done to make them stay and play?” Presented by Spencer Willis – General Manager 18 Ltd

2. Focus groups with Youth aged 14 – 17 Online study of Youth aged 14 – 21 (277) • Focus groups with • parents • Interviews with • Coaches • Interviews with • teachers

3. Sport - A Definition • Sport is a formal and organised activity; • Sport is competitive; • Sports are games that have their own traditions, systems and structures (i.e. rules and regulations); • Sport has official referees or judges overseeing the games or competition being played; • Sport can be played by either individuals or teams; • Activities like netball, swimming, cricket, soccer, rugby, golf, and competitive BMX riding are all sports in our definition; • Activities such as skateboarding, “streetball” and surfing are not sports unless they are played under organised and competitive conditions.

4. Teenagers and Physical Activity Defined • “Active”Kids are defined in our research as teenagers who are between 14-17 years of age who engage in 5 or more hours of sport in an average week; • “Relatively Active” Kids are those teenagers who participate in sporting activities for between 2.5 – 5 hours in an average week; • “Relatively Inactive” Kids are defined in our research as those teens who engage in less than 2.5 hours of sporting activity in an average week; • “Sedentary” Kids are those teenagers who have not participated in any sporting activities during the last few weeks.

5. Social and Biological Currency – Motivating Factors The Kids focus groups revealed that sport has a number of key functions for teenagers aged 14 -17 which we have called “Biological” and “Social Currency” Biological currency in sport operates at two essential points: Improved fitness allows teenagers to benefit at the personal and physical level which leads to the second point, the potential to increase their confidence in other important social settings.

6. Social and Biological Currency – Motivating Factors “Social Currency” tells us that sport has a vital social function and should not be viewed as an activity that is only about winning: • Sport is an activity that lets kids hang out with friends and team mates, meet new people, and friends can take part by encouraging even if they aren’t playing in the game itself. • Sport can promote inclusiveness - interest in and enthusiasm for sport can significantly increase if the competitive dimension is taken out and everyone has equal opportunities/access to sports-related activities. • Being part of a team and interacting with others is important. • With the right social ingredients kids can find happiness in sport. These comments demonstrate how there is so much more happening on and off the sports field. Friends and participation in a sporting environment ultimately has the power to enrich teenagers’ social relationships and increase their social abilities.

7. Social Power as Motivator Our teenage focus groups revealed how friends possess various forms of social power that are able to motivate them to play sport. There are two main types of “Social Power” that exist around friends and sport: 1. Social currency 2. Encouragement and support There are those kids who only get involved in sports-based activities if a friend is taking part. Importantly however the social aspect of sport is not just confined to what happens on the field. Games themselves have significant social power which is evident in the way that friends will often turn up at fixtures to cheer mates on or text those playing to wish them luck. Going out in a group after a game can further extend the web of inclusivity that some kids will create around their chosen sports. This activity could be re-defined as the teenage equivalent of the after-match function in the club house or bar.

8. Involved and Influencers – Professional Motivators “Professional” Motivators is a category that recognises how the adults who take part in the organisation, facilitation and supervision of sports can either directly or indirectly encourage teenagers to play sport in a positive way: • Coaches encourage teenagers to get involved. • Coaches and administrators respect kids (e.g. don’t mistreat or hassle, are polite) • Coaches support teenagers when they need help and teach them what they need to know to improve their game/ability. • Good organisation of sports activities. • Sports staff behave in a professional and fair manner. Here coaches emerge as the central professional motivator. Importantly they are able to provide teenagers with confidence and specialist knowledge about sport that no other involved or influencer adults can pass on in quite the same way.

9. Other Motivators In addition to Biological and Social Currency and Professional Motivators there are various other motivators that can inspire kids to participate in sport: • Having the option to play a wide range of sports is seen as extremely desirable. • Not being forced to play traditional sports (e.g. rugby, netball) is another potential way to encourage sports participation. • Teenagers want to be able to play anything regardless of ability level. • The church was a motivator for the Pacific Island focus group who described how their local churches provided the facilities to play sports such as volleyball. These other motivators should not be viewed as random. Instead they illustrate how teenagers are growing up during a time when choice, novelty and in some cases tradition underpin everyday life and consumer behaviour in contemporary NZ.

10. Sport – What de-motivates teenagers? “Real De-Motivators” are key driving forces that either implicitly or directly push kids out of sport at the high school level: • Friends have dropped out. • Too scared to play. • Harassed or laughed at for not being good at sport. • Doesn’t like competition or find that sport is too hard or competitive. When teenagers lack confidence, feel threatened or alone, sport as an activity is undermined and this can subsequently push kids with sporting potential into the relatively inactive or possibly even sedentary categories.

11. Sport – What de-motivates teenagers? “Excuse De-Motivators” are those factors that can be seen as “throwaway” comments by teenagers about sport that are creating a psychological barrier to their participation: • Sport is no longer important any more and could drop it at school. • Has more important things to do – sport is too time-consuming! • Sport “sucks” or is boring. • Shopping or missing out on parties. Although “excuses” like shopping or going to parties can be central to the teenage experience, some of the above comments look more like easy ways to avoid active sports participation.

12. Sport – What de-motivates teenagers? “Professional De-motivators” are those factors in the domain controlled by the adults in charge of running sports and training kids that throw up a barrier to teenagers sports participation: • Coaches being mean and rude to players. • Being pushed or not having personal limitations recognised. • Being forced to play sports they don’t enjoy. Earlier we saw how coaches can be positioned at the centre of the school sports system. Alternatively the above points reveal how coaches can also have the adverse effect of pushing kids away from sports participation via a mix of “old-school” coaching behaviour and disregard for their players.

13. Other De-Motivators • Institutional De-Motivators (Homework, NCEA, studying) • Financial De-Motivators (Part-time employment) • Post-School De-Motivators (lack of adequate knowledge of where to play sport after leaving school) The transition from high school to tertiary education or the workforce is a grey or even risk area that is potentially frustrating for many older teenagers who may want to keep playing or take up a sport for the first time.

14. Sport – Social power as de-motivator We discovered a few different forms of peer pressure or negative opinions from classmates that can act as potential barriers to sports-related participation: • Some sports have negative connotations or stereo types attached to them that generate a stigma that kids who play that sport are too “effeminate”. • Parties and relationships with the opposite sex starts to gain increased social currency around 14 – 17. • Not playing well in front of friends or peers can also undermine teenagers’ social status, not to mention damaging a teenager’s confidence for future sports events. • Peer pressure to get involved in anti-social or deviant activities such as drugs or “gangsta” culture can create barriers to sports participation that are extremely difficult to pull down once they are established. While testing socially acceptable boundaries or embracing positive or negative stereotypes is another dimension of teenage evolution, the above points suggest that the social power that surrounds sport can erode teenagers’ interest in sports activities.

15. “Parental Power” – Positive Facilitation • Parents can drive their children to games or training. • Parents are able to offer support from sidelines (e.g. being there, cheering). • Showing genuine interest in sports their children are playing. • Parents (especially Mothers) often take part in club activities. • Parents can encourage their kids to keep playing and not give up sports. While men are often represented in the media as being more active or interested in sport, some of the teenagers who took part in the kids’ focus groups acknowledged the central role that mothers play in teenage sports.

16. “Parental Power” – Parents as a barrier • Parents may refuse to support their kid’s involvement in a sport due to their own loyalty or support of another sporting code. • Parents sometimes fear dangerous play and injuries that their kids may face on the sports field. • Time management/intervention to put children’s studies first. • Parents sometimes say no to driving their teenagers to sporting fixtures. It should be recognised that some parents are simply not interested in sport. By not experiencing some degree of enthusiasm for sport in the domestic sphere, younger children might miss out on developing an interest in sports.

17. Kids’ Qualitative summary chart • Sport is boring • Sport too time consuming • Sport no longer important • Competitive nature • Social dimension • Lack of friends • Parents / Coaches • Post-school experiences Can Influence • Going to parties • Shopping • Peer pressure • Part time work • Biological issues • Homework/Study Can’t Influence Excuses Real Issues

18. Quantitative study of 14 – 21 year olds – Key Stats • 55% of kids are sedentary • 15% of kids are relatively inactive • 15% of kids are relatively active • 15% of kids are active • 70% of kids who participate in sport drop out between 13 and 17 • 50% of kids don’t do any sport • 62% of kids who play sport indicate they highly likely to drop out of sport • 72% play one hour of non competitive sport during summer - 65% in winter • 39% play one hour of sport during summer - 45% in winter The trend here suggests high activity of non competitive sports throughout the year but especially in summer and sport activity peaks during the winter months.

19. What do they do with their time; Looking at the main activities that are undertaken by at least 50% of the respondents in the space of a week; Five hours + Downloading / Listening to Music Five hours + Hanging out with friends Five hours + Part time work Five hours + Using the internet Three hours + Doing homework Three hours + Family time Two hours + Playing Computer Games

20. Sport, what’s popular. • 50% of kids do no sport • 50% of kids partake in team sport • 33% of kids participate in an individual sport • The four most popular sports were (in order) • The sports that suffered the highest drop out rate.. This tells us that of the kids who do take part in a sport around 2 thirds are involved in more than one sport – thus the drop out rate is not necessarily about a particular sport but from multiple sports and the sport category itself.

21. Sport – What motivates them? 1. Social / Biological currency (Being fit / looking good) 2. Fun and Interaction Things like competition, winning and achievement accounted for nearly 50% of the responses when asked about motivators in general but when it came to asking for THE key motivator, these attributes were only mentioned by 12% Does being competitive and winning sit comfortably with the two key motivators of fun and looking good? Probably, but there is a high risk that the opposite can occur when losing or making mistakes.

22. Sport – What de-motivates them; • De-Motivators; • Competition • Unfair play • Fitness • Ability • Motivators; • Social / Biological currency • Fun / Interaction The issues that de-motivate people are at complete odds with the motivators, fitness and ability effect social / biological currency where as the competitive nature and unfair play can take the fun out of sport at this age.

23. Why do they give up? Here we asked for reasons why people gave up sport and we’ve grouped them together to simplify the responses; PHYSICAL TIME / $ 18 3 Motivator 1 48% Numbers represent how many times as a percentage of the total responses this was mentioned. 5 18 29 7 5 14 39 12 SOCIAL FUN Motivator 2 - 65% Other significant reasons given for dropping out that do not fit into these categories are coach (7% of mentions) Parents (2%) and most importantly – leaving High School (20%)

24. Distractions – Reasons or Excuses? • 62% of kids are shallow or convertible from sport – in other words, 62% of kids indicate they are in a position where they will stop playing sport. • But… • 45% are ready to be converted from using the internet so much • 49% are ready to be converted from shopping • 52% are ready to be converted from doing nothing • 64% are ready to be converted from play computer games This suggests that activities such as playing computer games, using the internet, shopping and being idle are all excuses that we use to justify lack of activity, the kids suggest they are more than happy to drop the extent of these activities for something else!

25. Is sport cool? Hanging out with friends and listening to music ranks as the coolest activities. (86% say these activities are becoming cool / pinnacle of cool) Non-competitive sports come next with 69% However, sport is ranked as being just as cool as going shopping, using the internet and going to pubs and bars. Interestingly, going shopping (24%) and Internet (17%) carry the highest losing / lost it perceptions amongst the top activities. The idea of sport is cool or at least, appealing. Other activities that we deem as reasons seem to be no more than things I can do instead of but not overly enthused about.

26. Attributes / Association For sport the two major attributes were ‘Competitive’ (97%) and ‘Something you do while at school’ (79%) Attributes least associated with sports are ‘Can do even if not talented’(19%) and ‘Can do whenever I want’(16%) Non-competitive sports had a ‘Can do at any age’ and ‘Cool’ attributes associated with them. If sport was a brand, it would be totally exclusive – this image attribute is our biggest challenge - Making sport appear inclusive.

27. Influences and dropping out • We asked our respondents to provide the things that influence their • participation in sport, in order of influence; • 1. Friends and social life • 2. Success • 3. Talent • The drop factors were ranked as; • Social life becoming more important • Losing interest / No fun • Only the serious / best players play As we have seen before, the story keeps coming back to the motivators and de-motivators we’ve isolated. I want to have fun, I want to be social and I want to feel comfortable with my physical self – anything that puts that at risk, I’m out.

28. Quantitative summary chart • Doing nothing • PlayStation • Internet • Competitive nature • Perception • Lack of fun • Social Can Influence • Hanging out • Music • Part-time work • Biological issues • Homework Can’t Influence Excuses Real Issues

29. Parents Some parents referred to the past where there was total family involvement and not just a taxi service, they talked about their parents being involved in sport and it being more of a family activity. Interestingly, parents talked about how kids don’t play anymore in terms of playing outside and inventing games like Bullrush etc because things like computer games, the internet and TV are a distraction. Is there a paradox at work here? Parents reflecting to the good old days of Bullrush and hanging out in the neighbourhood yet kids hanging out playing in the street is socially seen as negative and didn’t we (adults) ban Bullrush!

30. Parents • There seemed to be a sense of abdication of responsibility when parents talked about the level of sport in the context of the groups we ran. • Parents looked to schools to provide the incentive and facilities for sport • Parents blamed the schools for not supporting kids who are not in the top teams • Parents referred to schools not supplying equipment during break time • Parents believe coaches are the most influential when talking about participation • Parents blame TV / PlayStation / Text culture etc for distracting kids. Parents themselves refer to a time when sport was a family activity and there was a healthy mix of competitive sport and other physical activity – which suggests that parental influence is key yet the shift today is towards blaming the ‘system’ and abdicating their own influence.

31. The journey through academic studies The coaches we spoke to alluded to a feeling that they felt teachers did not encourage sport participation. Coaches and parents also mentioned how the visibility and accessibility to sport participation became less the older the kids got. The fact that sport is not compulsory in some schools after intermediate combined with the pressure that is placed on both the teacher and the student to achieve successful grades at NCEA level, means that both parents and teachers are influencing kids to focus on their studies over sport. This pressure occurs at the same time we see huge drop out rates – 45% of kids that do drop out, drop out between 15 and 17. The time to bridge the gap between school and club is before 14.

32. Adults summary chart • Competitive nature • Perception / Cool • Lack of fun • Social aspect for kids • Social aspect for adults Can Influence • Parental buy in • Hanging out • Internet • TV • Computer games • Lazy • Part time work • Biological issues • Exams / Academia • Time poor parents • $ commitments Can’t Influence Excuses Real Issues

33. What is the common story from the kids? • Hanging out with mates and listening to music are important factors that are both cool and they spend lots of time doing them • Sport loses a lot of its appeal when it becomes too competitive (apart from active kids) • Part time work is part of the later teen’s life, it’s necessary • Anything that puts the social / biological currency rating at risk results in non- • participation • Homework and studies are not cool but take up a lot of time and are compulsory • Sport is mostly done by people that are good at it • The lack of compulsory sport as you get older is not necessarily a good thing • Awareness of what and where they can participate in sport is lacking • Kids are active in summer with non-competitive sports

34. What the adults and kids agree on • Spending time with friends takes up time (hanging with friends) • Sport can be too competitive • Part-time work is part of the later teen’s life and part of growing up • Biological or physical issues are a big problem • Homework and studies are very important • There is not enough focus on kids who are outside the top 15% (active) • Awareness of what and where they can participate in sport is lacking • Kids are active in summer with non-competitive sports

35. What the adults and kids disagreed on (or at least didn’t say the same as) • Adults blame TV / Internet / Computer Games etc, Kids say it’s lack of fun and too competitive • Parents look at the schools and coaches for support, kids look to the parents for support • The actual definition of sport • Kids realise their own limits in terms of skill, some grown ups don’t • Kids see sport as potentially cool, adults don’t • Adults associate sport with $, kids less so

36. Summarising the summary: • Real reasons we can’t change or control • Part-time work: Kids and parents alike see this as an important part of growing up and learning to be self-sufficient and it gives the kids more freedom. • Exams and studies: Even for those that hate it, they have to spend huge amounts of time doing it. Going to Varsity is the norm not the exception and even sport stars need an education. • Biological issues: The body is changing, bones grow quicker than muscle thus coordination is affected. Guys and girls also grow differently and weight issues affect girls more than boys during the teenage years. • Parents (1): Society today is very time poor and in a lot of cases, financial leveraging means money is a serious issue for most below the upper-class bracket – sport costs money. To play kids’ soccer for a club in Auckland can cost $120 per child in subs, plus the additional costs per week in travel and ‘accessories’ – never mind what a sport like hockey or rowing costs! If we agree that we can’t change these issues, lets park them and move on…

37. Summarising the summary: • Excuses we can’t change or control • Hanging out with friends: This is an integral part of becoming an adult. Building and maintaining friendships during the teenage years can be defined as good or bad depending on how successful you are at maintaining a good social environment. • Music: Ever since the end of the Second World War teenagers have been defined by the music they listen to. Today is no different except that music is more available, there are more genres and in a lot of instances can be obtained for free. If these activities make up a huge part of a teenager’s life and are too cool or important to sacrifice for sport, we should then be embracing them in our efforts to attract participation.

38. Summarising the summary: • Excuses we can influence • Internet, Computer Games, TV, PlayStation etc: Kids use these devices to some great extent, adults use these devices as an excuse for why kids don’t take part in sport. There are two major reasons why these excuses work so well: they don’t put the kid in an environment where he or she can look silly and they can be both sociable and fun – the two key motivators. • Sport can be fun, it doesn’t HAVE to be competitive, sell that message. • Parents (2): Some parents are negative towards sport if they are not active themselves, parents are the biggest influencer on the kids lives – let’s get parents active and involved and shift the culture of ‘its someone else’s job’ to a culture of ‘it’s my job’. Two key challenges come from this – not accepting the excuses and providing an alternative message that triggers the motivators AND also gets parents involved and active in their children’s lives.

39. Summarising the summary: • Real reasons we can influence • Sport is too competitive: Overall this message has to be one of the biggest out takes of this study from both the kids and the adults. If we are to shift the % of sedentary kids down and the relatively inactive / relatively active kids’ % up then we need to demonstrate the fun and social aspect of sport and not just the winning and competing aspect of sport. • Everyone knows that sport is good for you but the perception that sport is only for those that are good at it will mean our pool of 15% active kids won’t get bigger – providing resources and policy around the development of ‘youth social’ leagues with a supporting ABL campaign maybe a possible strategy. • Social aspects: Social power is a central force in teenager's lives. If a kid is still playing but has no friends involved, there is an increased chance that they may drop out. • Recognising the significance of social currency and the underlying need of teenagers to feel included is necessary. • Just as important is the social or community aspect for parents: the more they are involved in the sport or team the stronger the bond and influence with the sport and their kids participation. These two ‘reasons that we can influence’ prove to be the most important in terms of making a difference of bucking the trend. Spend time on these two issues!