A qualitative exploration of the role of sports experiences in the engagement and retention of Australian adults

Australian adults of typical working age (25–64 years) are particularly vulnerable to inactivity due to the occurrence of significant life events and behavioural trajectories, and concerningly, sport participation rates decline throughout this demographic. This study explored the role of sport experiences in shaping working age adults’ participation from a social-ecological and life course perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with sport-active (n = 10) and sport-inactive adults (n = 6) and analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: (1) Collective effervescence; (2) Family matters; (3) The centrality of sport; and (4) Multifaceted sport identities. Overall, this study found that organised sport participation elicited rich and meaningful experiences for adults that were interlinked with individual, interpersonal, and organisational social-ecological factors that dynamically shaped sport participation across the life course. Adopting social-ecological and life course perspectives to understand the contribution of sport experiences to (re)engagement and (dis)continuation can help inform sports organisations about ways to better support adults and address the critical issue of declining sport participation in this demographic.