In Australia, sports play a crucial role in the nation’s identity. However, outdated facilities and sports programs are hindering youth participation. Collaborating with the Cooks River Sporting Alliance, Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club, and 12 Sydney inner west schools, we’re developing an innovative, youth-driven program to boost youth sports involvement. Our initiative, Designing in Youth, will introduce new sports, promotional materials, and updated facilities. Research indicates that considering multiple factors is key to effective environment design.
Therefore, our project’s initial step involves a survey to determine psychological and social barriers, as well as environmental factors affecting youth sports participation. Australia’s sports scene presents more obstacles than incentives for youth, evident in low physical activity levels. The World Health Organisation advises 60 minutes of daily physical activity, but only 10 percent of young Australians meet this recommendation. Despite various programs aimed at enhancing youth physical activity, the outcomes have been uneven.
These programs likely haven’t had a lasting influence due to their structured nature and lack of youth direction. Young people value sports for fun, skill development, self-esteem, and peer interaction. We propose that more effective programs should highlight fun and encourage peer-led, informal play, fostering enduring positive attitudes towards physical activity. Many organized sports focus on coaching and winning rather than play and do not foster physical or motor skill development, which limits youth participation.
Moreover, facilities often fail to support social and competitive participation, overlook peer leadership, and lack diverse sporting opportunities. In New South Wales, there’s a significant gap between elite and grassroots sports, with most youth participating in grassroots sports, yet the bulk of funding favors elite clubs. Grassroots sports fields are often placed as an afterthought, typically on marginal land. In NSW’s Hurlstone Park and Canterbury suburbs along Cooks River, flooding frequently cancels sporting events and practices.
Additionally, many fields are unsuitable for sports, poorly maintained, with bumpy surfaces. Bathrooms are scarce, unhygienic, and often in disrepair. Changing rooms and showers are mostly nonexistent, along with seating and amenities like food or drink vendors. Facilities also tend to accommodate only one sport, leaving little for parents or siblings to do during events. In countries like the Netherlands, local sports facilities serve as community centers, offering fields for multiple sports, playgrounds, and hospitality areas. Diminished sports participation may relate to an increase in mental health issues.
Although substance use like smoking and binge drinking has decreased, self-harm, depression, anxiety, and suicide rates have increased among Australian youth. Numerous studies show that regular sports can boost mental health and offer other benefits, such as reduced obesity and blood pressure. The 2010 report “Australian Sport: Pathway to Success” stressed the importance of increasing youth sports participation and supporting grassroots clubs for better national health and sports success. Despite clear benefits, global studies reveal a consistent decline in sports participation, especially between ages 11 and 16 and among older girls. Research has identified barriers such as decreased parental influence, a lack of interest in available sports, and time constraints due to academic demands.
However, the impact of poorly designed public parks remains underexplored, though it likely discourages sports participation. To boost youth involvement, their voices must shape the redesign process, attracting them to sports. While most global programs focus on increasing physical activity in general, sustained and intense sports participation yields greater long-term benefits, including enhanced learning in children. We anticipate that Designing in Youth will transform the sports environment in Sydney’s inner west, positively impacting communities and public outdoor space usage.