Why do teenage girls turn their back on playing sport?

In an age obsessed with fitness and body image, why do teenage girls turn their back on playing sport? Any if sport contributes to a well-rounded man, why do so many boys lose interest in the games of their youth?

Using a five-year, $460,000 Australian Research Council grant, four researchers from humanities and social sciences will survey university students to investigate these questions and suggest strategies to encourage long-term participation in sport.

“We want to look at how to overcome the negatives associated with sport that seem to stop so many young people from continuing to play,” says Associate Professor Catharine Lumby, head of the research team and chair of Media and Communications at The University of Sydney.

The project will include intensive research with groups of 20 university students, 10 male and 10 female, who will be interviewed over three years.

“There are definite benefits associated with sport and we know what these benefits are, including better health, higher self-esteem and a lower risk of obesity,” Professor Lumby says. “But we’re also aware of growing community concern about the allegedly negative aspects of playing sport.”

These include side-line aggression from parents and coaches, overly pushy parents or coaches, and concerns that the competitive aspects of sport override the benefits of teamwork, causing less competitive boys and girls to drop out because they feel excluded.

“There are also issues of homophobia for boys, gender stereo-typing for girls, and whether sporting ability becomes a dividing line as they grow older,” says Professor Lumby, who became directly involved in sporting culture after her appointment to the National Rugby League's Education and Welfare Committee in the wake of the Coffs Harbour scandal involving Canterbury Bulldogs players.

“We want to examine how to change the culture of sport to encourage greater participation, not only in mainstream sports but less common sports as well.”

The project will also include sessions with 12 focus groups of six male and six female Year 5 primary students, who will be tracked for five years. Questionnaires on athletic competence, close friendships, social acceptance, romantic appeal, academic performance, physical appearance, behaviour and general self-esteem as well as attitudes towards the general beliefs of sport and physical activity will also be distributed to about 500 students at schools in NSW and Queensland.

Working with Professor Elspeth Probyn, Dr Jennifer O'Dea and Ms Katherine Albury, Professor Lumby says the project will investigate the real impact playing sport has on young Australians' physical, emotional and social development.