The Sports Participation: From Research to Sports Policy

The aims of this paper are the following: 1. To provide an overview of the fundamental aspects to be taken into account when carrying out and interpreting sports participation surveys; 2. To put forward an explanation of sports behavior; and 3. To suggest how these results may be used in intervention programs. Having gone over the literature in this field, I shall go on to address the following points: the definition of sports; trend analysis or the illusion of transparency; analysis of inequalities; identifying difference and individualization; and examining typologies to better understand each social group. I shall conclude with suggestions for sports policies.