Research into sports activity in Australian children suggests that non-elite participants are losing interest in sport more rapidly and disengaging, not just from sport, but all physical activity. While the leading sports keep growing, their supporting communities are struggling.
It once seemed the sporting fields of suburban and rural Australia churned out world champions at will. The clubs that developed the children into champions also fostered a culture of amateur competition that kept communities connected and healthy.
But the world is now a more complex and demanding place for children and research by Griffith, in partnership with some of the major sporting codes, is trying to turn this trend around.
Dr Wayne Usher is an education researcher at Menzies Health Institute Qld and in 2016 he formed a commercial research partnership with the National Rugby League (NRL) to look into some of the social issues affecting sporting clubs and communities around Australia.
At the
Skip to content
News and other stories about real people, places, and events in Mount Gravatt and nearby suburbs.