Men are twice as likely to play competitive sport as women, either as part of a team or in an individual discipline, according to the annual Pembroke Communications' Sports Sentiment Index. The in-depth research also reveals relatively high levels of inactivity amongst the 55 age group.

The Index reveals that over one in four (26 per cent) of all adult males over 18 play competitive sport, but only 13 per cent of women do likewise. Females in the 18-24 and in the 25-34 age group still generally tend to exercise to keep fit rather than play competitively. This remains the case despite the continued growth in popularity of female competitive team sports such as hockey, basketball, soccer and especially ladies football.

Indeed, men aged 18-24 are three times more likely to play a team sport (33 per cent) than women (11 per cent) in the same age group. Interestingly, the gap between participation in individual sports between the sexes is far less in this age category at 21 per cent of males versus 11 per cent of young females but it is still considerable.

One in three
However, almost one in three of all men over 55 claims to not take any exercise at all, with 23 per cent of women in the same age group stating they do no exercise whatsoever.

There are also slightly higher levels of non activity in Connacht/Ulster than in the rest of Ireland. On the other hand the research shows relatively high levels of activity amongst the older age groups with two thirds of women over 55 claiming to exercise to keep fit and healthy and 56 per cent of men in this age category stating they do likewise.

For the third year in a row, the research into Irish sporting participation habits illustrates high levels of participation in recreational sports and an ongoing shift towards leisure and lifestyle sports such as running, swimming, cycling and walking. Almost one in three of us walk regularly, with 17 per cent swimming and 11 per cent of us are active runners. Nine per cent of the population claims to cycle on a regular basis.

Likely to walk
Females are also far more likely to walk (35 per cent v 23 per cent) or swim (20 per cent v 14 per cent) than men who, as already outlined, lean more heavily to field sports such as soccer, GAA and rugby.

The traditionally popular competitive field sports such as Gaelic Games, soccer and rugby are most popular amongst the very active 18-24 males but there is a dip after age 25 and again after age 35 in participation in team sports.
Mick O'Keeffe is managing director of Pembroke Communications.

The Sports Sentiment Index was conducted amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18-65, with quotas imposed on gender, region, age and social class.