Growth in Leisure Activities

The eight factors at a glance

The syllabus names eight factors, and questions on this subtopic are usually 4 marks or more — so the fastest way to secure marks is to learn the eight and be able to explain any one of them.

The underlying idea is opportunity. Each factor has made it easier, cheaper, safer, healthier or more attractive for a larger number of people to take part in leisure activities.

More time and better technology

Increase in leisure time. People work shorter hours than in the past and take more paid holiday, while labour-saving devices at home — washing machines, ready meals, online shopping — reduce the time spent on chores. More free time means more opportunity, so participation rises. Retired people in particular have large amounts of leisure time and now make up a big share of participants in activities such as golf, cycling and hill walking.

Advances in technology. Technology has changed almost every activity. Equipment and clothing are better designed — lighter rackets, waterproof and breathable clothing, protective padding — so activities are safer and more comfortable. Fitness trackers and apps let people monitor training, and video analysis improves technique. Technology also makes participation easier to arrange: online booking for courts, pools and climbs, plus indoor facilities with climate control, mean weather and queues are no longer barriers.

• Shorter working hours, more paid holiday and labour-saving devices give more free time
• Improved equipment and clothing make activities safer, more comfortable and easier to learn
• Online booking and fitness technology remove practical barriers to taking part

Better health and better awareness

Improvements in healthcare. Better medical treatment, surgery, medication and rehabilitation mean fewer people are prevented from being active by illness or injury. Injuries that once ended a participant's involvement are now treated and rehabilitated, and people live longer, so they have more years of active leisure. Improved healthcare also allows people with ongoing conditions to take part in suitable activities.

Better health awareness. People are far more aware of the risks of inactivity — obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes — and of the benefits of activity for physical and mental health. Educational campaigns such as This Girl Can encouraged specific groups to take up activity, and schools and doctors now promote exercise directly. This factor works differently from healthcare: people are not just able to take part, they are motivated to take part on purpose.

• Improvements in healthcare → people are fit to take part, recover faster from injury and stay active for longer
• Better health awareness → people choose activity deliberately because they know what it does for their health
• Health messaging in schools, in the media and from doctors reaches a wider audience than ever

More places to go and cheaper equipment

More leisure facilities. Councils, schools and private companies have built more sports centres, gyms, swimming pools, pitches, courts, cycle paths and climbing walls, and many are open long hours. When a facility is near where people live, the cost and effort of getting to it fall, so more people take part — including beginners who would not join a club. New facilities built for a major event, such as a pool or a track, often stay open to the public afterwards and add to what is available.

Reduced cost of equipment. Mass production and cheaper imports have cut the price of kit: rackets, balls, boots, bikes and gym clothing all cost less in real terms than they used to, and second-hand markets, discount retailers and hire schemes add to this. When equipment is affordable, income stops being the barrier to participation, and activities such as cycling, badminton, tennis and weight training for fitness open up to more people.

• More facilities nearby, open longer hours and catering for beginners, means more opportunity to take part
• Cheaper equipment makes participation possible for people on a lower income
• Hire and second-hand schemes let people try an activity before spending money on it

Getting there and seeing it

Improvements in travel methods. Cheaper and faster travel has widened the area from which people can take part. Motorways and reliable cars make journeys to facilities and competitions straightforward, budget flights make activities abroad realistic — skiing or snowboarding, sailing or windsurfing — and rail and bus networks connect people to city facilities. Accessible transport for people with disabilities has also opened up participation. An activity no longer has to be on your doorstep to be possible.

Wider media coverage. Television, internet and social media, print and radio give far more coverage to a wider range of activities than in the past, including women's sport and activities that were rarely broadcast. This raises awareness of what is available and when, and it gives people role models to copy, which inspires them to take up an activity. Media coverage also attracts sponsorship money into a sport, which funds facilities and grassroots programmes and grows participation further.

• Faster, cheaper travel widens the area people can reach for training, facilities and events
• Media coverage spreads awareness of activities and where to do them
• Visible role models inspire people to try an activity, and coverage brings in sponsorship money

Using these factors in an exam answer

Most questions here ask you to explain or identify factors that have caused growth in leisure activities. Identify questions need the name only; explain questions need the name plus how it has increased participation.

Weak: 'Because equipment is cheaper.' Strong: 'Equipment is cheaper because of mass production, so people on a lower income can now afford to take part in activities such as cycling, which increases participation.'

Watch the wording of the question. If it asks why participation has grown across society, do not answer with one individual's reasons for taking up a sport. Keep the focus on what has changed for everyone — time, technology, healthcare, awareness, facilities, cost, travel and media.