An examination into the issues associated with young female (18-24) participation in sport and physical activity: a focus on rural areas.

View/ open
Author
Davies, Cerian
Date
2014Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Research by Sport England has found that female participation rates are still low
compared to males. This research investigates why such a gender gap still exists and
focuses on examining this issue amongst 18-24 year olds living in Ceredigion, a rural area
situated in Mid Wales.
The key barriers identified were the lack of transport, distance to facilities, lack of
appropriate facilities, urban/rural differences and how women often feel discouraged from
viewing themselves as strong, competent individuals and thus will be inclined to withdraw
from partaking in sport and physical activity.
A qualitative approach was used for this study, by undertaking semi structured interviews
with six female participants. The female interviewees lived in three different rural villages
within a 16 mile radius of the closest town of Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, Mid Wales. The
primary objective of the interviews was to explore the barriers that women are faced with
and to see whether their rural geographical location might further hinder their participation.
The key findings highlighted the lack of access, scarcity of facilities, little or no public
transport and travelling a further distance to use facilities were all significant challenges.
Other themes that emerged from the results included the participants feeling at a
disadvantage compared to their urban counterparts, and there were no suitable clubs
available for women in the area. These findings suggest that, in addition to the known
barriers affecting women’s participation, living in a rural part of Wales brings further
challenges which are often overlooked by providers who tend to focus on an ‘urban’ model
of provision
Description
DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS)
SPORT COACHING
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, subject and abstract.
-
The enjoyment of walking outdoors
Turner, James (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2013)Background: A lack of regular physical activity has become the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality today. Several physiological and psychological factors can decrease physical activity levels, such as age, ... -
Health related fitness and physical activity levels of urban and rural boys
Price, Carwyn (University of Wales Institute Cardiff, 2008)The study aimed to investigate the health related fitness level and physical activity behaviour of urban and rural Welsh schoolboys. The sample comprised of 31 urban and 21 rural boys, all aged 11-12 yrs. The health related ... -
How has Monmouthshire, being a rural area successfully developed a competitive destination and how can it lead as an example to destinations of a similar scope?
Phillips, Courtney Paige (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2018)The purpose of this study was to analyse how rural destinations can create a competitive destination, despite their lack of stand-out appeal. With the use of Monmouthshire as a case study. With the county having developed ...