Breaking Barriers: Understanding and Evolving Youth Sports Participation in High Wycombe
As society continues to evolve at breakneck speed, so must sport within it. But before evolution, comes understanding. This project sets out to understand youth sports participation in High Wycombe, whilst providing a unifying reference point for sports providers, educators and the community itself, to chart a collaborative path forward…to break barriers.
According to Sport England (2022) over half of the UK’s young population do not take part in the recommended amount of daily physical activity (53%). Public Health (2020) data also suggests that 26% of young people living in deprived areas are obese, compared to just 14% amongst their less deprived counterparts. It is clear, that a variety of socio-economic, cultural, practical and knowledge barriers exist, and powered by the Rothschild Foundation, Wycombe Wanderers Foundation (WWF) will be exploring the reasons behind this, how numbers translate to our local, complex context and what collaborative steps can be taken to increase engagement.
Through a variety of research methods and a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative data, it is hoped that this research project can sit as a fulcrum within both the sports-playing and non-sports-playing communities of High Wycombe to impact positive change, inspire greater collaboration and community cohesion.
Through a community-wide collaboration, we’d be most grateful if parents and their children could complete the attached questionnaires (respective to their age) and have your say in this research:
If you have any further questions regarding this project, or would like to help in any way, please contact Juliet Shayler via juliet.shayler@wwfc.com or 01494 455736
