We’re a nation that’s obsessed with sport; surely somewhere within The Constitution it mentions the importance of kids playing sport. Today 63% (shouldn’t it be more?) of kids aged 5 to 14 have a crack at sport (and most will take on several codes during their youth). Swimming is the most popular kids sport for children with a participation rate of 17% followed by outdoor soccer with 13%.

Most popular boy’s sports: outdoor soccer, swimming, Australian Rules football, tennis, outdoor cricket and basketball.

Most popular girl’s sports: swimming, netball, tennis and outdoor soccer.

Most popular unorganised activities after school hours for children: bike riding (68%) and rollerblading or skateboarding (24%).

Benefits of sport
Sport not only keeps our little dears physically active, it has been proven to assist them with psychological outcomes: increased self-esteem, better development of life skills (such as living with rules, the concept of winning and losing), increased academic performance and a reduction in risky behaviour such as crime and drugs taking.

Unless you’ve enjoyed a career with the Australian Institute Sport or are a sports reporter you’ll appreciate the knowledge we serve up here that will position you as the authority kids expect us all to be.

Data sourced from Australian Bureau of Statistics