ABSTRACT
Sports participation leads to important health, social, and economic benefits for Canadians. The link between sports participation and health benefits has been consistently drawn in the literature. For example, sport and physical activity’s overall contribution to healthy living, decreased incidences of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease have been underscored in the literature (Bloom et al. 2005; Donnelly and Kidd 2003; Katzmarzyk et al. 2000; Plotnikoff et al. 2004). Sport has also been considered an important tool for social and cultural development. For example, sport’s role in national identity, national pride, and national unity has clearly been established in the Canadian context (Bloom et al. 2006; Macintosh 1996; Mills 1998; Sport Matters Group 2006). Sport has also been linked to social cohesion and sound character development (Bloom et al. 2008; Siegenthaler and Leticia Gonzalez 1997; Weiss 2008). Regarding sport’s contribution to the economy, studies have demonstrated the level of
spending by Canadians in sport and sport-related endeavours totalling almost $16 billion1
annually. This spending represented approximately 2.2 per cent of consumer spending and 1.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2004. Furthermore, sports accounted for 2 per cent of the jobs in Canada in 2004. According to a Conference Board of Canada report authored by Bloom et al. (2005), consumer spending in sport and sport-related goods and services has increased since 1990. Given the health, social, cultural, and economic importance of sport in the lives of Canadians, one can easily understand why all levels of government (federal, provincial/ territorial, and local) remain involved in various aspects (e.g. leadership, funding, programming, and facilities) of sports participation and sports development. The following chapter focuses on adults’ involvement and participation in sport in Canada.
Participation in sport for adult Canadians has been addressed in relation to three distinct roles: active participants, sport volunteers/leaders/administrators, and attendees/spectators (Bloom et al. 2005; Ifedi 2008). Therefore, in this chapter, adult involvement in sports participation is addressed in relation to these three roles. Research about sports participation has focused predominantly on youth involvement (Côté et al.
2008; Fraser-Thomas and Côté 2009; Ulrich-French and Smith 2009). This research has targeted increased understanding of youth’s participation patterns, motives, and interests in sport. The role of adults in assuming leadership and organisational positions for youth sport has also been addressed (Bloom et al. 2005; Clark 2008; Donnelly and Kidd 2003; Ifedi 2008);
however, studies on sports participation rates among adults have been essentially overlooked in the literature (Casper et al. 2007; Davey et al. 2009). As explained by Casper et al. (2007: 253), ‘although sport commitment has received widespread theoretical and empirical attention over the past 15 years, its application to adult sport participants has gone largely ignored’. This chapter covers Canadian adult participation in sport and the various roles undertaken in sport by these individuals. In the next section, the focus is on adult active participation in sport.
