Sport and recreation spatial: Development of a national geographical information system for the sport and recreation sector

Abstract

Introduction: The Sport and Recreation Spatial project is a collaborative partnership between national and state sport, recreation, health, government and university organisations. It involves the development of a geographical information system (GIS) for presenting spatial data relevant to all levels of the sport and recreation sector. Methods: The project was established to provide the sport and recreation sector with increased capacity for research, strategic planning, and development of participation programs and facilities. The integration of multiple large datasets provides a strong evidence base for the sport and recreation sector. The key research areas are: participation levels and trends; influences on participation; value of sport - the health benefits of participation; and places to play - the nexus between facilities and participation. The integrated, dynamic database system incorporates data about sport and recreation participation and facilities in conjunction with population demographic data. The initial tranche of participation data includes around 200,000 data records from the national Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (2001-2010) and over 1.8 million player, coach and umpire records from eight Victorian State Sporting Associations (2008-2012). Results: A live presentation of the GIS interface will demonstrate the wide range of interactive user-specified options and queries and the resulting "on-the-fly" generation of maps and associated tables illustrating participation trends across time and geographical locations. Discussion: This project is providing increased capacity for strategic planning and development of participation programs and facilities. Whilst we may know broad trends in participation across time, this project allows dynamic investigations across multiple datasets, of questions relating to specific geographical locations, which may pertain to population demographics, participation (player, coach and umpire) trends, and/or infrastructure development. National implementation of this system will provide social, health and economic benefits.