Mapping Women's Community Sport Participation to Inform Sport Development Initiatives: A Case Study of Row Ontario

Kyle A Rich; Emily Moore; Jeffrey Boggs; Ann Pegoraro

doi:10.3389/fspor.2022.836525

Mapping Women's Community Sport Participation to Inform Sport Development Initiatives: A Case Study of Row Ontario

Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Apr 5:4:836525. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.836525. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Kyle A Rich¹, Emily Moore², Jeffrey Boggs³, Ann Pegoraro⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.
² Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Geography and Tourism Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.
⁴ School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Using a spatial analysis methodology, we analyzed sport participation through membership data of a Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, our analysis brings attention to the participation of women and girls in Row Ontario and the urban and rural nature of the PSO's membership. This research was conducted in partnership with the PSO to provide insights into how contextual factors influence sport participation and how these findings can inform future sport development efforts. Our results demonstrate that women and girls represented the majority of participants within the PSO and highlight an opportunity to use participant centered approaches for sport development to grow women and girls' participation. This is a promising outcome as women and girls are generally underrepresented in sport and may face greater participation barriers in rural contexts.

Keywords: case study; gender; geography; rural; spatial analysis; sport development.