Something That I Used to Do: Why teenage girls fall out of love with sport
With record ticket sales, the FIFA Women’s World Cup will mark another quantum leap in the growth of female sport that has been occurring over the last decade. At Kinlab, we have been ecstatic to witness the remarkable steps forward, and to have played our own small part through our work with the likes of Cricket Australia, Surfing Australia and Golf Australia to make their sports better for women and girls.
The women of GenZ have been at the forefront of the revolution, demanding that the sport system evolve to meet their needs. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the surge in participation by women and girls in what were previously perceived to be male team sports, like football (soccer) and basketball, and AFL in Australia – both at the professional and grassroots levels.
Research shows that while major community sports still see higher participation rates among boys (by around 20 per cent in children aged 5-14), the numbers for girls are on the rise. In Australia, sports like football are leading the way, with female participation commonly increasing by more than 10 per cent year-on-year, and up to 21 per cent for football in 2021. Moreover, Fox Sports research shows that two thirds of Aussies have tuned in to watch women's sport on TV, while 69 per cent have watched more women’s sport since pre-pandemic.
There is little doubt that women’s sport is on a tremendous upwards trajectory, and not before time. However, as is our nature at Kinlab, dive a little deeper and you’ll find a concerning issue and important opportunity that deserves our attention: the disengagement of teenage girls.
Sport is still failing our teen girls
There is a well-established trend of participation in team sports decreasing during the teenage years across the population, with a 30 per cent drop-out rate among children aged nine to nineteen. Unfortunately, this decline is even more pronounced among teen girls compared to boys.
43%
of teenage girls say they ‘used to be sporty’
Data from AusPlay indicates that approximately one-third of females stop participating in club sport by the age of 15, and within five years, another third follow. Astonishingly, Sport England research found that 43 per cent of teenage girls report that they ‘used to be sporty,’ despite a vast majority understanding the benefits of being active and expressing a desire to be more active.
At Kinlab, we believe that sport has never been more important in people’s lives, on and off the field. It is key to our physical and mental well-being, particularly during the challenging teenage years. Shockingly, the rate of depression in Australian teen girls has doubled over the past 14 years, and factors like decreased physical activity, poor sleep, loneliness, and lack of social supportive networks have been identified as potential contributors.
2x
increase in depression in Australian teenage girls in the past 14 years
The Women's Sports Foundation underscores the positive impact of team sports on teenage girls' mental health and overall well-being. Girls who play sports experience higher levels of confidence, self-esteem, and psychological well-being. Additionally, they are less likely to be involved in unintended pregnancies, and more likely to achieve better grades and to graduate school compared to their non-sporting counterparts.
While sport has the demonstrated potential to help young women navigate the complexities of their teenage years, for many the current construct and packaging of team sport falls short – with high rates of disengagement, and a cohort of girls that ‘used to be sporty’.
Outstanding research conducted by Women In Sport and Sport England delves into the complex causes behind this disengagement, which includes stigmatised and hard-to-talk-about topics, such as body image, puberty and menstruation. The omnipresence of smart phones and social media has only exacerbated some of these challenges.
Barriers to sport and exercise – Teenage girls that ‘used to be sporty’:
Avoid when on period (78%)
Don’t like when others watching (73%)
Feel judged by others (68%)
Not confident (61%)
Don’t feel good enough (56%)
Don’t like getting hot & sweaty (56%)
Don’t have the right body shape (52%)
Too busy with school (47%)
Don’t belong (47%)
Nothing available I want to do (38%)
The trailblazing women of GenZ have done a remarkable job of reinventing the system. While it has been no mean feat, carving out girls-only early learning programs and junior leagues, establishing professional competitions and fighting for adequate pay and broadcast coverage may prove to be the easy wins.
Without revolutionising the product offered to teenage girls to address the real and complex issues that drive disengagement, we fear that for many, sport will be something they love as children and drop out of as teens. Ultimately ending up as spectators of those lucky few – the Sam Kerrs and Ash Bartys – who play professionally, rather than active participants.
As designers advocating for positive change in sport, we initiate creative problem-solving with ‘How might we…?’ statements. These are small but mighty questions that allow us to reframe insights into opportunity areas. For this challenge we landed on ‘how might we redesign sport to make it more inclusive, engaging, and appealing for teenage girls?’
The potential impact of solving this ‘wicked problem’ cannot be overstated. By tackling disengagement we can equip girls to lead happier, more confident and connected lives, navigating the complexities of their formative years with resilience and strength. Now, let’s get started.