Factors Affecting Participation

This lesson covers the factors that affect participation in sport and physical activity as required by the OCR GCSE PE specification (J587, Section 2.3). Understanding why certain groups participate more or less than others is essential for OCR Paper 2. You must be able to identify, explain, and give examples of each factor, and discuss how they create barriers to participation.

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Why Does Participation Matter?

Participation in physical activity has benefits across all three dimensions of well-being:

Dimension	Benefit
Physical	Reduces risk of coronary heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes; strengthens bones and muscles
Mental	Releases endorphins; reduces stress, anxiety, and depression; improves self-esteem
Social	Builds friendships; develops teamwork and communication; creates a sense of belonging

Despite these benefits, participation in the UK is not equal across all groups. The factors below explain why.

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The Factors Affecting Participation

1. Age

• Young people may have more opportunities through school PE and extra-curricular clubs, but participation often drops when they leave school and lose structured access to sport.
• Older people may be limited by reduced mobility, health conditions, fear of injury, or lack of age-appropriate programmes.
• Some sports are more accessible to certain age groups — for example, bowls attracts older participants, while skateboarding attracts younger ones.

2. Gender

• Historically, females have had lower participation rates than males, although this gap is narrowing.
• Barriers for females: fewer female role models in the media, less media coverage of women's sport, gender stereotyping of certain sports (e.g. rugby as "for men"), lack of female-only sessions, cultural expectations.
• Progress: The success of the Lionesses, the growth of the Women's Super League, and initiatives like This Girl Can have increased female participation.

3. Ethnicity

• Some ethnic groups have lower participation rates due to cultural barriers, lack of role models from their background, or experiences of discrimination.
• Certain sports may be more culturally popular within specific communities (e.g. cricket in South Asian communities).
• Language barriers may make it harder for some individuals to access coaching, clubs, or information about opportunities.

4. Religion and Culture

• Religious dress codes may conflict with standard sportswear requirements — for example, some Muslim women may need to wear a hijab or full-coverage clothing, which was historically not accommodated by sports governing bodies.
• Religious observances (e.g. prayer times, fasting during Ramadan) may limit availability for training and competition.
• Cultural expectations about gender roles may discourage participation, particularly for women and girls.
• Progress: Many sports have adapted their rules and kit regulations to be more inclusive (e.g. FIFA allowing hijabs in football).

5. Family and Friends

• A family that values sport and physical activity is more likely to encourage participation. Parents who play sport often introduce their children to the same sports.
• Conversely, a family that does not value sport may not provide transport to training, pay for memberships, or encourage participation.
• Friends have a significant influence — young people are more likely to participate if their friends are also involved.

6. Education

• Schools play a major role in introducing young people to sport through PE lessons and extra-curricular clubs.
• The quality and breadth of PE provision varies between schools — some offer a wide range of sports, while others have limited facilities and fewer qualified staff.
• Students who have positive PE experiences are more likely to continue participating as adults.

7. Time and Work Commitments

• Work, study, and family responsibilities reduce the time available for sport and exercise.
• People with long working hours or shift patterns may find it difficult to attend training sessions at set times.
• Solutions: Flexible fitness options (e.g. home workouts, 24-hour gyms, lunchtime exercise classes) can help address this barrier.

8. Cost and Income

• Many sports require expensive equipment, facility fees, coaching costs, or travel to venues.
• People on lower incomes may not be able to afford these costs, creating a significant barrier.
• Some sports are more expensive than others — for example, skiing, horse riding, and golf have higher costs than running or football.
• Solutions: Free community programmes, subsidised memberships, equipment loan schemes.

9. Disability

• People with disabilities may face barriers including: inaccessible facilities, lack of adapted equipment, insufficient coaching expertise, negative attitudes, and limited competitive opportunities.
• Progress: The Paralympic movement, disability sport organisations, and the Equality Act 2010 have improved opportunities significantly. However, gaps remain.

graph TD
    F["Factors Affecting<br>Participation"] --> A["Age"]
    F --> G["Gender"]
    F --> E["Ethnicity"]
    F --> R["Religion /<br>Culture"]
    F --> FM["Family /<br>Friends"]
    F --> ED["Education"]
    F --> T["Time / Work"]
    F --> C["Cost / Income"]
    F --> D["Disability"]
    F --> O["Opportunity /<br>Access"]
    F --> DI["Discrimination"]
    F --> EN["Environment /<br>Climate"]
    F --> MC["Media<br>Coverage"]
    F --> RM["Role Models"]

    style F fill:#8e44ad,color:#fff

10. Opportunity and Access

• Opportunity refers to the availability of sports clubs, programmes, and competitions in a person's area.
• Access refers to how easy it is to reach and use facilities — including transport links, opening hours, and physical accessibility.
• Rural areas often have fewer facilities and poorer transport links than urban areas.
• The quality and variety of local provision directly affects participation rates.

11. Discrimination

Definition: Unfair treatment of a person based on a characteristic such as gender, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, or sexual orientation.

• Discrimination creates barriers by making people feel unwelcome, excluded, or unsafe in sporting environments.
• It can be direct (e.g. being told they cannot play because of their gender) or indirect (e.g. scheduling all sessions at times that exclude certain groups).
• Anti-discrimination legislation (e.g. the Equality Act 2010) and campaigns (e.g. Kick It Out in football) aim to address this.

12. Environment and Climate

• Weather affects participation — cold, wet, or extremely hot conditions discourage outdoor activity.
• Geography matters — coastal areas offer water sports, mountainous areas offer skiing and climbing, but flat urban areas may lack natural environments for outdoor sport.
• Climate affects which sports are popular in different countries — for example, ice hockey in Canada versus cricket in the West Indies.

13. Media Coverage

• Sports that receive extensive media coverage attract more participants because of the inspiration effect.
• The Olympic and Paralympic Games, Wimbledon, and the FIFA World Cup all generate spikes in participation.
• Sports with little coverage struggle to attract new participants — people cannot be inspired by sports they never see.
• Social media has expanded access to sport, but traditional TV coverage still has the greatest impact on mass participation.

14. Role Models

• A role model is someone a person admires and aspires to emulate.
• Sporting role models can inspire people to take up a sport, especially when the role model shares characteristics with the individual (e.g. same gender, ethnicity, or background).
• The absence of role models from a particular group can discourage participation within that group.

Exam Tip: OCR questions on factors affecting participation often present a scenario (e.g. "Explain why female participation in rugby is lower than male participation") and ask you to identify and explain relevant factors. Always use at least two or three factors and explain how each one creates a barrier, using specific examples.

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Common Exam Mistakes

• Listing factors without explaining them. Simply writing "age" or "gender" without explaining how that factor affects participation will score minimal marks.
• Not giving examples. Always support your explanation with a specific sporting example.
• Treating all factors as equally important in every scenario. Read the question carefully — if it asks about female participation, focus on gender, stereotyping, role models, and media coverage rather than discussing every factor.
• Ignoring positive progress. Where relevant, mention initiatives and changes that have improved participation (e.g. This Girl Can, adapted sport provisions).
• Confusing access and opportunity. Opportunity is about whether activities exist; access is about whether people can reach and use them.

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Summary

There are fourteen key factors affecting participation in sport:

Factor	Key Barrier
Age	Reduced mobility in older adults; loss of school sport for young adults
Gender	Stereotyping, less coverage, fewer role models for females
Ethnicity	Cultural barriers, discrimination, lack of representation
Religion/Culture	Dress codes, observances, gender expectations
Family/Friends	Lack of encouragement, transport, or financial support
Education	Quality and breadth of school PE provision
Time/Work	Long hours reduce available time for sport
Cost/Income	Equipment, fees, and travel costs
Disability	Inaccessible facilities, lack of adapted provision
Opportunity/Access	Availability of local clubs and facilities
Discrimination	Unfair treatment based on personal characteristics
Environment/Climate	Weather, geography, and local natural environment
Media Coverage	Low coverage reduces awareness and inspiration
Role Models	Absence of relatable role models discourages participation

• These factors interact — a person may face multiple barriers simultaneously.
• Strategies to improve participation must address these factors directly.

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UK Case Study: Applying the Participation Factors to Female Football in England

The gap between male and female participation in football in England is the most useful UK case study for OCR candidates because it illustrates how multiple factors combine to create a single barrier. OCR examiners reward candidates who can show this combinatorial thinking rather than listing factors in isolation.

The gap. Sport England's Active Lives Survey has consistently shown lower football participation among girls and women than among boys and men, although the gap has narrowed sharply since the 2019 Women's World Cup and the 2022 UEFA Women's Euros. Before 2019, under half of English state secondary schools offered football to girls on equal terms with boys — a clear education factor.

Overlapping factors.

• Gender and stereotyping. Historical cultural framing of football as "for boys" discouraged girls from starting, reinforced by family expectations and peer pressure. This is the gender factor combined with family and friends influence.
• Role models and media coverage. Women's football received minimal television coverage before 2019 — Sport England research estimated women's sport received around 4–10% of total sports broadcast time. Without visible role models, the role model and media coverage factors both operate negatively.
• Opportunity and access. Many girls had no school football team and no local girls' club. The FA's Wildcats programme was launched to provide girls-only entry-level football sessions across England, directly addressing the opportunity and access factor.
• Cost. Girls' football clubs were often fewer and further from home, increasing transport cost for families. This compounds the cost and income factor.
• Religion and culture. Some Muslim girls faced additional barriers around kit and single-sex provision, addressed by initiatives such as female-only sessions and kit modifications approved by FIFA.

The result. After the Lionesses' Euro 2022 victory, the FA reported that over 500,000 women and girls took up football within 12 months. By 2023, the FA had reached its target of making football available to every girl in English state schools through a combination of teacher training, kit provision, and curriculum support. This shows that addressing multiple factors simultaneously — gender, education, role models, opportunity, and access — can accelerate change.

Misconception callout. Students frequently write that "gender is the main reason fewer girls play football." OCR mark schemes penalise this single-factor thinking. The correct answer recognises that gender interacts with education, role models, media coverage, opportunity, and cost simultaneously. A girl with supportive parents, accessible provision, and visible role models faces fewer barriers than one who lacks any of these. The strongest exam answers describe factors as combining rather than operating independently, and link each factor to a specific intervention (Wildcats, Lionesses role models, school provision).

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Answering at different grade levels

Question: "Evaluate the factors that affect participation among girls in football." (6 marks)

Grade 3–4 answer: "Girls don't play football as much as boys because football is seen as a boys' sport. Also they don't have role models. Now there are more women footballers like the Lionesses so more girls play. Schools don't always offer football to girls."

Examiner comment: Identifies three factors (gender stereotyping, role models, education) but no evaluation, no specific figures. Likely scores 2 marks.

Grade 5–6 answer: "Several factors affect participation among girls in football. Gender stereotyping presented football as a boys' sport, and family or peer influence reinforced this. Lack of role models was a significant factor before 2019 because women's football received under 10% of total sports coverage. Education also mattered — before 2022, many state schools did not offer football to girls equally. The FA addressed these factors through the Wildcats programme and the post-Euro 2022 schools commitment, which reached every state school by 2023. These interventions show that addressing multiple factors together is more effective than addressing just one."

Examiner comment: Four factors identified with linked interventions, specific figures, some evaluation. Would score 4–5 marks.

Grade 7–9 answer: "Female football participation in England is shaped by interacting factors rather than any single cause, and the strongest answers trace how these factors combine. Gender stereotyping historically framed football as a boys' sport, reinforced by family and friends and cultural expectations. This was sustained by weak media coverage — women's sport received under 10% of total sports broadcast time before 2019 — which limited the role models available to young girls. The education factor was critical: until 2022, many state secondary schools did not offer girls football on equal terms, so girls lacked both exposure and the habit-forming curriculum experience that promotes lifelong participation. Opportunity and access was constrained by fewer girls' clubs and longer travel, which interacted with the cost and income factor to create a compounded barrier for lower-income families. Evaluating, no single factor was dominant — stereotyping, media, education, provision, and cost operated together. The FA's post-Lionesses response demonstrates the value of a multi-factor strategy: the Wildcats programme (opportunity), the schools equal-access commitment (education), the Euro 2022 media coverage (role models, media), and Sport England's This Girl Can (promotion and gender stereotyping) targeted different factors simultaneously. Post-Euro 2022, over 500,000 women and girls took up football within 12 months, showing that simultaneous multi-factor interventions can accelerate change faster than any single initiative. A balanced judgement is that structural change requires coordinated action across governing bodies (the FA), national agencies (Sport England), government (DCMS), and schools. OCR mark schemes reward exactly this combinatorial, multi-factor reasoning."

Examiner comment: Five factors integrated, specific interventions linked to each, evaluative judgement, coordinated multi-agency conclusion. Would score 6/6.

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This content is aligned with the OCR GCSE Physical Education (J587) specification, Paper 2: Socio-cultural issues and sports psychology — Socio-cultural influences. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please refer to the official OCR specification document.