Aussie kids still love swimming

Following positive data from the Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) covered in the previous issue of SPLASH!, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in a report titled Children’s Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities (CPCLA) has confirmed not only that Australians love sport, but that kids love swimming.

In fact, in the 12 months to April 2009, swimming was the most popular activity among children aged five to 12; being enjoyed by nearly 20 per cent of the overall 2.7 million kids of both sexes partaking in sport outside school hours.

That’s half a million kids in that age group – more than for soccer (360,000) and Aussie Rules (235,000). However, if you break the group by gender, boys slightly preferred soccer to swimming (20 per cent compared with 17 per cent) while girls preferred swimming to netball (20 per cent compared with 17 per cent).

For the full version of the report, click here.