Most popular codes show big jumps among juniors and youth players

Participation in the code has increased dramatically this year: over 30 percent more than last year.

There are just under 2,400 players under the age of 18 in action, compared to 1,800 last year.

The number of girls participating has also increased significantly: this year there are 517, compared to 350 last year. That is an increase of 48 percent.

Canterbury Rugby League Chief Executive Malcolm Humm said the increase was due to a number of factors.

“We started organising a tournament for primary schools, giving children the opportunity to play rugby, which they normally wouldn't have had.

“The other part of course is the Kiwis gave the Kangaroos a boost last year (30-0), the Kiwi Ferns beat the Australian Jillaroos and the Warriors had a good season.

“There's the aspirational aspect in terms of what teams are doing on the national or international stage.”

The most popular sport for juniors and young people has seen a steady increase in participation over the past four years.

This year there are more than 12,000 under-19 players in action, compared to 11,562 in 2023. However, according to Mainland Football chief executive Martin Field-Dodgson, the organisation has got to this point by not worrying about specific numbers.

“Our goal is to provide a truly positive experience for everyone involved in the game, whether that’s a player, coach, referee or manager. The numbers are a secondary outcome.

“A few years ago it was all about numbers, so everyone was doing everything they could to convince someone to come and play the game, but now it’s more about experience and hoping they’ll play for a long period of time and stay in the game longer. That’s the number one priority.

“But it's incredibly pleasant.”

Field-Dodgson said the continued increase also brought problems, notably poorer pitch conditions, meaning more teams were playing and less time was given for pitches to recover.

But he said the council's Long-Term Plan, which pledges to invest $85.6 million over 10 years to improve sports fields, develop floodlit artificial turf fields and improve drainage and irrigation, would be hugely helpful.

“We can't wait for the work to start and then it's up to us to make the best possible use of the facilities.”

While the number of players on the basketball team has seen a small but steady increase, Canterbury Basketball General Manager Clive Beaumont said there is literally “no room for improvement anymore”.

He said they got to the point where they didn't have enough courts for all the kids who wanted to play basketball.

While figures for 2024 won't be collected until late next month, Beaumont said we can expect similar numbers to 2023, with 8,450 registered players, up from 8,209 the year before.

“We know they are quite similar, and perhaps even increasing slightly again.”

He hoped those numbers would skyrocket when the new Metro sports facility opens in 2026, increasing the number of available indoor courts in the city from 17 to 26.

“We are patiently waiting for the amazing Parakiore to come online, and then we can see a huge increase in players,” said Beaumont.

He said the increased interest reflected the increased popularity of the NBL competition, which was won this year by the Canterbury Rams.

“It’s a real showcase and as the quality of the imported players increases, so does the quality of the local players. It’s a rolling stone that seems to be getting more and more popular.

“It means that basketball is much more in the news now and that re-engages young people and gets them interested in the game.”

In netball, only the number of participating teams is recorded, not the number of players. However, the figures have remained stable over the past three years.

The number of teams has fluctuated: in 2017 there were 625 and in 2022 there will be 520. This year it stands at 552, with each team having an average of 10 players.

Janna Hooper, head of delivery at the Christchurch Netball Centre, said it was fantastic to see that the relocation of some classes to the centre, which opened late last year in Ngā Puna Wai, had not resulted in a decline.

“It's really good that we can say that we've achieved a large percentage of our numbers and that we haven't seen the decline that we might have expected.”

Head of engagement Sara Webb said numbers are slowly rising back to pre-Covid levels (in 2019 there were 579 teams).

“While it seems like an eternity ago, the reality is that there have been all sorts of behavioural changes over that period, and given the lockdowns and shutdowns of sports, the numbers reflect that.”

Hockey

Rugby

Canterbury Rugby's 2024 figures could not be included as the data will not be released until late October.

How the numbers compare