The equality body asked 16 women to record their participation experiences during winter and conducted an extensive online survey.
By Matthew Campelli via Sports Management
The top barrier to participation, according to the insight, was the weather, with 31 per cent of those surveyed put off by the colder conditions. Poor weather was grouped into one of three overarching categories – environmental, cultural and motivational.
Grouped together, cultural barriers such as increased social commitments and shopping during the Christmas period were responsible for the largest proportion of women dropping out (56 per cent), while 45 per cent cited environmental factors such as the lack of daylight. Six per cent of women said they stopped because of safety concerns.
