• There is a rising demand for experiences over products, which is often led by millennials.
• This is displayed through an increased spend on concerts, events, festival-based activities e.g. Colour Run, Tough Mudder​.
• It is a challenge to meet the expectation of personalised services that meet individual needs and wants whilst delivering en masse​.
• The current demand for personalised fitness solutions is in line with broader consumer trends.

• Consider shifting a traditional product offer to be more personal and experience-based.
• Try thinking of your sport as a series of events and focus on maximising participants' enjoyment across the events.
• Personalise communication and channels to connect with participants.

• Deloitte – Made-to-order: The rise of mass personalisation

• Healthy is the new rich, with consumers seeking healthier lifestyles through a holistic attitude toward optimal physical and mental health.
• There is a growing focus on mental health e.g. mindfulness apps; adult colouring books.
• Consumers now measure various health elements, such as sleep, diet, exercise and weight.
• We see the food and beverage industry shifting to healthier products e.g. Pepsi purchased KeVita – a manufacturer of Kombucha and sparkling probiotic drinks.
• People are ageing with a greater emphasis on youth and vitality than previous older generations.

• Consider health messages or promoting the impacts in the products and services offered to participants.
• Seek out commercial partners and brands that are overtly linked to health markets e.g. nutrition brands or those that are aligned to a healthy tone e.g. health insurance.
• Diversify product offerings and find ways to develop the whole person and improve their health status.

• AusPlay – Focus on Australian Health

• Convenience is a key trend across most industries and is unlikely to go away.
• People have come to expect access around-the clock and on-the go, wherever and whenever they want. If they are getting it from one industry or sector, they tend to have the same expectation of other industries or sectors.
• Speed and accessibility are an essential factor to reach consumers. Millennials especially have experienced almost anything a click away.​
• Adults are experiencing greater time fragmentation and this can impact those around them such as their children.
• The rise of dual-income families has reduced leisure time and increased transport barriers for children.
• An example of convenience plays out in the media industry, with on-demand TV viewing services growing sharply in popularity with the convenience of where and for how long, e.g. Netflix.
• Even before COVID lockdowns, top-end restaurant-quality food is now being delivered to consumers’ front door.
• We also see that individualised sport and fitness products are often the preferred mode, so for example people can go or a run when the opportunity arises, follow a challenge set out on an app, track it digitally and share it with friends.

• Consider what changes could be made to products and offerings to suit target markets schedules eg a short sport-fit programs for mums while their children are at training.
• Consider if and how your sport could be ‘individualised’ and made more flexible.
• Consider how children’s sport could be convenient for dual-income families and deliver after school products at the school.

• Consumers are increasingly playing sport to get fit, not getting fit to play sport.
• Gyms have started to diversify fitness experiences and people are seeking personal trainers to meet their unique health and fitness needs.
• Participation rates in non-organised activities such as running, walking, and gyms have all risen over the past decade.
• The growth of the fitness industry is reflected in the sale of fitness equipment and sports fashion.
• Sport Australia research into the delivery of sport indicates that that private providers consider ‘fitness’ in their product offerings, but sport clubs aren’t doing this so much.

• Consider products that provide participants seeking fitness a good ‘workout’.
• Is there an opportunity to create partnerships with commercial/non organised sport providers to diversify your product offer.
• How can sport design products that consider a participants current level of fitness and help them progress at a pace that’s appropriate for them.

• AusPlay – Participation Trends
• Fitness Australia – Profile of the Fitness Industry

• Australia’s population is changing at a macro and micro level.
  • 25% of Australia’s population was born overseas.
  • Almost 50% have one parent born in another country.
  • 260 languages are spoken.
  • one in five has a disability.
  • over 50% are women or girls.

• Australia’s life expectancy is one of the highest in the world and continues to rise (AIHW, 2018).
• One quarter of Australians were born overseas and Australia is likely to become more multicultural in the future, propelled by immigration patterns.

• Consider modifications and safety in product design early, not just as an afterthought in delivery.
• Take time to talk to and understand older adults’ fitness, social and recreational needs, behaviours and preferences.
• Design quality products that can be modified at a local level to support the needs of the community population.
• Use imagery and visuals that reflect the changing population and be aware of channels you can use to promote and connect with target populations.

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Older Australia at a Glance 2018
• Australian Bureau of Statistics – Population Projections
• Australian Government – Intergenerational Report 2015

• There has been considerable progress around diversity and inclusion and now more than ever there is support for a sport sector that better reflects our population.
• Sport continues to find ways to be more inclusive to reflect Australia’s diverse communities. This includes older adults, people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, people with disability, people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people identifying as LGBTIQ+.
• A growing sector-wide focus on increasing female participants, administrators, attendees and viewers is apparent, often accompanied with the philosophy of ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’.
• Women are being empowered to participate in sport through recent campaigns such as ‘This Girl Can’​.
• Recognition, attendance and coverage of elite women’s sport is sharply in focus shown through record-breaking attendance at the final of the ICC Women’s T20 WC in Melbourne in 2020, and the Matilda’s voted as Australia’s favourite team (True North Research 2020). This has a correlation to community sport participation.
• The recent announcement of Australia and New Zealand hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 is likely to result in an even more sharpened focus on women’s sport.

• Embrace the ‘be what you can see’ philosophy and change practices to ensure you have a diverse board, management team, coaching staff and participant base.
• Make inclusive policies, approaches and actions the norm, with genuine buy-in and engagement throughout your sport.
• Develop inclusive and appropriate marketing material and messages that back-up your focus and actions.
• Review your participation objectives and product suite to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Engage with participants and stakeholders to shape products and offers that meet needs and better reflect the type of sport and organisation you want to be.

• Inclusive Sport Framework
• Clearinghouse for Sport – Indigenous Australians and Sport
• Clearinghouse for Sport – Persons with Disability and Sport
• Clearinghouse for Sport – Women in Sport
• Team Girls (suncorp.com.au)
• Nielsen – Girl Power: Measuring the Rise of Women’s Sport in Australia
• Pride in Sport
• Welcoming Australia – Welcoming Clubs

• People are increasingly moving online to connect, deliver and access services, obtain information, perform transactions, work and deliver order to cluttered lifes. A possible impact of COVID-19 could be an acceleration of this trend.
• People share more online with their social networks and digital media is being used to access information through multiple channels.
• People are increasingly using wearable tracking devices such as Fitbits and the fitness sector use social media to build and foster sporting communities, such as the ‘UrbanRec’ Facebook group or the ‘RunKeeper’ app.
• New technologies are a major influence on spectators, participants, and home-viewers​, for example:
  • Spectators: wi-fi, media streaming; food ordering; stadium apps, tickets statistics
  • Participants: online registration, fixtures, communities; ‘gamification’ e.g. Zwift, Strava; ​
  • Home-viewer: digital; user-generated content, match analysis, fan stories.
• Technology advances have allowed physical movement to be incorporated into electronic games.
• eSports is booming in playing, watching and attending​ and professional sports clubs are now signing leading eSports players and investing in eSports teams.

• Opportunities for sports offer a connective experience for participants to share, monitor and track progress or participation.
• Consider ways to bridge the divide between tech-savy participants and traditional sport delivery.
• Investment in mobile and digital is valuable to reach significant numbers of the population.
• Leverage social media to provide efficient and effective promotion and communication channels.
• Find ways to use technologies to overcome identified barriers to sport participation.

• We are Social - Digital 2020 Australia
• Deloitte – Mobile Consumer Survey 2019

• The positive contribution that sport can make to society is well recognised. The World Health Organisation acknowledges sport as an enabler to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs outline how sport and physical activity has multiple health, social and economic benefits. A set of measures have been developed by The Commonwealth to help sports monitor and evaluate the contribution of sport to the SDGs.
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have led the development of the Kazan Action Plan. The Plan highlights the important role sport plays in achieving inclusive access for all through sport, contribution to the SDGs and protecting the integrity in sport.
• Worldwide, governments are using sport diplomacy to improve international relations and promote peace and prosperity.
• Sport is increasingly being used as a means for governments and companies to achieve additional policy objectives, i.e. governments incorporating sport into policies to tackle adult and childhood obesity and improve community wellbeing, or using sport to address school attendance.
• Sport is being used as a means of building social capital in marginalised communities and as a contributor to improving mental health particularly given the associated personal, economic and social burden.

• Be clear about the difference between a primary role of delivering quality sport and building on other areas of impact.
• Understand your sport's role in a broader community setting and recognise the broader societal benefits you can offer.
• If addressing additional outcomes, look for opportunities to access funding, create partnerships and tap into other resources, e.g. addressing crime, education outcomes.
• Opportunities to increase your community profile through social responsibility programs e.g. Play for Lives.
• Identify new partners and open new avenues for participants, volunteers etc.

• Clearinghouse for Sport – Value and Benefits of Sport
• World Health Organisation - Sustainable Development Goals
• The Commonwealth – Measuring the contribution of sport to the SDGs
• UNESCO – Kazan Action Plan
• World Health Organisation – Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030
• Play for Lives
• Laureus Sport for Good Annual Review 2019

• Asset owners are more frequently using digital clearinghouses to capitalise on underutilised assets e.g. Parkhound, Uber, Airbnb.
• Consumers are increasingly renting from their peers rather than renting or buying from a company e.g. Uber, Air BNB.
• Consumers are generally becoming less wedded to the ownership of consumer goods, and are more comfortable renting or sharing them.

• Consider platforms to share underutilised facilities, grounds, equipment etc.
• Look for ways you can better share expertise and skills with other sporting organisations.
• Consider offering shared memberships e.g. less commitment to a team if it is shared with another person.
• Explore partnerships to help participants rent sports equipment to potentially reduce the cost barrier.

• Brands are focusing on creating a lifestyle, not just promoting product features alone.
• Consumers are increasingly attracted to an authentic community-driven brand.
• There is a rise in lifestyle sports such as adventure, extreme and alternative sports. These are proving to be popular with younger generations.
• Consumers want to be a part of something. They are seeking a product that defines them, or understands them, e.g. Apple, CrossFit, F45, parkrun.

• Build an understanding the elements of your product or sport that people identify with and want to promote as an extension of their persona.
• Consider how sport offerings connect to a broader community or lifestyle.
• Find ways to create a welcoming environment for participants so they feel connected to the club and identify with it as a community.

COVID-19 has had significant impacts on our lives and we are seeing changes in the way people are keeping active and participating in sporting activities. Some of the emerging trends follow:

• The first action is to always follow government and public health authorities advice regarding the resumption and delivery of sporting activities in each jurisdiction.
• Check in with members and see if their views about how they want to participate in sport have changed and what their barriers to joining or returning to sport might be.
• Consider if your product offerings are still fit for purpose and re-align the offer based on new insights into what current and target participants want.
• Review the latest AusPlay Focus: Early impact of COVID-19 on sport and physical activity participation to understand some of the concerns and impacts sport participants are reporting.
• Find ways to instil member, participant and volunteer trust and engagement.
• Improve safety practices and protocols to align with heightened hygiene expectations and concerns of participants.
• Develop contingency plans for a changing environment, your planning may need to be more agile and responsive.
• Consider how and if digital products could complement your sport offering.
• Rationalise costs to reduce fees wherever possible given financial strain people may be facing.

• Return to Sport Toolkit
• Clearinghouse for Sport: COVID 19 Resource
• AusPlay Results: Focus on the early impact of COVID-19 on sport and physical activity participation