It’s Not Just a Registration: Building for Lifelong Participation In Sport

AusPlay’s participation data – particularly its focus on lifelong involvement in sport – offers a useful lens for anyone thinking about the future of community sport.

Outside of the often-reported drop-off in youth sport participation, there are two insights that consistently stand out. On the surface they seem obvious, but we don’t always leverage them as well as we could in a bigger-picture strategy for engagement – especially if we’re serious about keeping people connected to sport over the long term, not just for the next season.

1. Identity sticks around longer than participation

A junior who has a great experience doesn’t just complete a season. They build a story about themselves:

“I’m a netball person.” “I’m a hockey person.”

Those experiences often create a lifelong emotional connection to the sport.

Even if they stop playing for a while, that identity doesn’t vanish – it just goes quiet.

Strategically, that shifts the question from:

“How do we keep them playing every year?”

to:

“How do we keep them connected to our sport, even when life pulls them away?”

That connection might show up years later as a social player, a masters participant, a parent on the sideline, a committee member, or a coach. The original “I’m a ___ person” moment is still doing work in the background.

2. Families carry the story

The second layer is the family.

AusPlay data shows that whether a parent is an active participant, involved in a non-playing role, or not involved at all has a significant influence on children’s participation levels.

A few headline numbers:

• When a parent is inactive, around 43% of their children play organised sport outside school.

• When a parent is active in non-sport physical activity only (e.g. gym, walking), this rises to about 60%.

• When a parent is active in a sport-related activity, it jumps to roughly 72%.

It doesn’t stop there. The data also looks at the impact of non-playing roles on children’s participation. When a parent both plays and takes on a non-playing role, around 82% of their children participate – compared with just 39% when parents neither play nor volunteer.

Identity and family involvement are doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Designing for the long game and lifelong participation in sport

If we look at how emotional connection and family involvement work together, it should nudge sports to think more intentionally about designing for the long game.

If identity and family are this influential, then what we offer needs to reflect the different ways people engage over time:

• Easy re-entry products for people who still identify with a sport but haven’t played in years.

• Alumni / social member pathways so past players stay part of the community.

• Clear role pathways into coaching, officiating, mentoring and governance for those whose main involvement is no longer on the field.

• A deliberate focus on family engagement – not just individual registrations – as a core asset.

  
  

AusPlay’s work on lifelong involvement is a reminder that every time someone decides to connect with your sport, it’s not just a registration for the next season. It's the creation of a long-term asset – a relationship that can span decades and, often, generations.