Sport Participation by gender

According to Leger Opinion’s 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey, in collaboration with the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, 27% of adults have participated in sport in the year preceding the survey. Sport reflects physical activities that involve competition, rules, and developing specific skills.

In addition to participation rates, “participation” reflects an understanding of the regularity of participation (months per year) and the frequency of participation (times per week) in order to distinguish regular participators and those who do not participate very often. Nationally, almost two out of ten adults (19%) who participated in sport did so every month of the year, whereas an additional 42% participated between six and eleven months of the year. Roughly four in ten (39%) participated in sport for less than six months out of the year.

Sport participants were also asked how frequently they participated in sport on a weekly basis during the months that they participated. Almost two out of ten adults reported that they participated very frequently at four or more times a week, and 34% reported two to three times a week. Just over one-quarter of adults (28%) reported that they participated once a week. Two out of ten (20%) adults indicated that they participated less often or variably depending on the month or the season.

More men than women participate in sport and this difference exists irrespective of age group.

Overall, considerably more men than women (17% difference between the genders) participated in sport in the previous twelve months. This gender difference is also apparent for all age groups (18% difference between the genders among 18- to 24-year-olds compared to a 9% difference among adults 65 years and older). When exploring this relationship by age group instead, participating in sport in the past year declined considerably with each increasing age group among men, and a similar relationship appeared for women.

In terms of the number of months participating in sport nationally, a greater percentage of men overall (21%) reported participation during each month of the year compared to women (16%), whereas relatively more women (43%) said that they participated for less than six months out of the year compared to 37% of men. These gender differences were not significant when examining them within each of the four age groups.

Regarding the frequency of participation, there were no overall gender differences in terms of how often individuals participated in sport in a typical week or by age. Among women, there were no differences in frequency by age, however, among men, a slightly higher percentage of older men (65 years and older) indicated that they participate in sport two to three times a week compared to those younger than 45 years.

Almost half of adults participated in a structured sport environment.

Almost half of adults (47%) indicated that when they participated in sport, they did so primarily in a structured environment, whereas 30% reported a primarily unstructured environment, and 22% reported both types of environments. A slightly higher percentage of men (33%) stated that they primarily participate in an unstructured sport environment compared to women (26%). There were no overall significant gender differences among adults participating primarily in a structured environment or in both a structured and unstructured environment. Any gender differences that appeared overall, however, were not significant when examined by four age groups. From a different perspective, a slightly higher percentage of older women indicated that they participated in a primarily structured environment compared to women aged 25 to 64 years, whereas these younger women (25 to 64 years) were slightly more likely to indicate that they participated in an unstructured environment compared to older women. This relationship also appeared for men.

Half of sport participants indicated that they competed in their sport.  Relatively more men (57%) than women (39%) competed in sport.  These gender differences appeared at every age group. Among women and men, there were no significant declines in competing by age.

Roughly half or less who participated in sport made use of supports, like using a coach or training.

The survey also asked about the use of a coach for sport and whether or not the individual trains. Almost one-third of adults (32% overall) reported the use of a coach for sport. There were no overall differences in the use of a coach by gender of the participant, overall and within age groups. Among women, the youngest age group (18 to 24 years) were most likely to report the use of a coach (51% of 18- to 24-year-old women compared to 23% of women 65 years and older). This same pattern also appeared among men.

Half of adult sport participants said that they trained for their sport. In general, a higher percentage of men (54%) stated that they trained for their sport compared to 44% of women. This relationship, however, was only significant among adults aged 25 to 64 years. Among women, there was a general decrease in training with increasing age (62% of 18- to 24-year-old women compared to 28% of women 65 years and older). For men, a somewhat similar pattern emerged.