Factors of participation.
By Kyle Mantle
Disability,
Sport for people with disabilities has changed considerably, with governing bodies devising rules and activities suitable for all disabilities.The then Sports Council now Sport England, published an action plan in 1993 to help the disabled take part in sport.The seven main objectives were:To raise the profile of disability in sport.To ensure that plans for sport included people with disabilitiesTo provide sporting opportunities for people with disabilities.To improve access to sport.To encourage people with disabilities in international sports.To ensure the best use of resources and increase finance.To make sure that the sporting needs of people with disabilities are met.Over time more and more sport is being made available to people with disabilities.The profile of sport for the disabled is rising with the televised wheelchair basketball and the media coverage of the Paralympics.More sports centres now make provision for people with disabilities.
Age,
The sport and leisure pursuits that people take part are closely related to their age and local tradition.As people get older the time spent taking part in sport becomes less and the nature of the sport changes.Activities with high-energy requirements and output such as rugby are generally associated with younger players while activities that rely on skill rather than physical fitness such as lawn bowls are associated with older people.As the body ages it becomes less flexible, strength is lost as are speed and stamina.Sprains and other minor injuries become more frequent and recovery time becomes longer.There are activities where age does not affect participation such as swimming, walking and playing golf.There is therefore no reason why sport and related activities should not be participated in at any age.Age only limits the type of activity.
Gender,
At the ancient Olympic Games, women were not allowed to watch the activities let alone participate in them. But Men seem more likely to play sport, heres some reasons Genders might not. Reasons for Low Participation:All the profile of women's sport has continued to grow over the past two or three decades, there are still obvious reasons why sport participation by women still falls short of that of men.Physique:Women are still viewed as the fairer, weaker sex and some sports are deemed too dangerous for them.The 1928 Olympics cast doubt over women's ability to run the 800 metre race when several of them collapsed during that race.This race was not re-instated as a women's race until the 1960 Olympics in Rome.Four athletic events have remained closed to women until quite recently. They are the 3,000 metres, pole-vault, the hammer and the triple-jump.Only triple-jump appeared at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
Physique,
A person's size, weight and shape can be a contributing factor as to which sports they participate in.In the1950s an American, W.H.Sheldon classified people into three different types. This form of classification is known as somatotyping.The three types are:EndomorphMesomorphEctomorph.Endomorph: Narrow shoulders, wide hips, large head, fat on arms and legs, lots of body fat.Mesomorph: Broad shoulders, narrow hips, square head, muscular arms and legs, small amounts of body fat.Ectomorph: Narrow shoulders and hips thin face, high forehead, thin arms and legs little muscle, small amounts of body fat.Rarely are people classified in one particular group but are usually a mixture of the three.Measurements can be taken which classify people on a score from 1 - 7 in how much they are endomorphic, mesomorphic and ectomorphic.