The percentage of active adults within England has surpassed pre COVID-19 pandemic levels for the first time.
Statistics from Sport England’s Active Adult Survey has found 63.4% of people over 16 averaging at least 150 minutes per week between November 2022-November 2023, up 0.3% from the previous year and is 0.1% higher than 2018-19, the last full year before the pandemic.
The survey further stated that there were an additional two million active adults than there were in 2015.
Among the sports that saw a major increase in the number of people taking part during the pandemic was cycling that saw an initial surge during the pandemic up to 7.3 million people in England cycling in 2019/20 overtaking running in popularity in the process though that number has seen come down to 6.1 million by 2023 nationwide.
However, cycling has increased in popularity within London with an increase in cycle trips in 2023 by 6.3% from 2022 to 1.26 million trips per day which represents an overall 20% increase from 2019.
Alan from London Clarion Cycling Club put the increase down to people discovering that cycling was a much more effective mode of transport particularly within London.
He said: “The cycle lane network improved with covid and now many people can see that the speeds at which you can get across London by bike are often quicker than other modes of transport.
“London is both a congested city and an expensive city to live in. Being stuck in traffic as a car driver is not much fun so more and more people are seeing cycling as a practical alternative in particular for commuting to work.”
Alan went on to say that the development of cargo bikes have made it easier for Londoners to cover distance that they weren’t able to do meaning that cycling has become not only a way for people to remain active but as a much more effective way of travel.
Other sports that saw an increase in participation included tennis which went up from 3.3 million to 4.7 million in 2022 and cricket which reached participation levels of over 340,000 in 2023, up from just under 292,000 in 2018.
However, other sports have seen a slump in their participation levels particularly gymnastics which saw a 80,000 drop between 2017 and 2020 which was a gradual decline.
Val from Wimbledon Gymnastics Club said that accessibility in order to run gymnastics as a reason for the drop.
“Our club had a reduced number of gymnasts straight after COVID mainly due to the lack of venues where we could continue with our classes as well as the economic situation.
“I understand that some other clubs in London also had the difficulty of being in leisure centres which close for good or for a longer time after the lockdown rules finished.
“We are glad and grateful that at this moment we are better than before Lockdown, opening our permanent centre last June. This could be possible thanks to our amazing gymnasts and parents who supported our club along the Lockdowns believing in our training and returning as soon as they could.”
Featured image with thanks to Gary Butterfield on Unsplash
