Social Geographies at Play

Organized youth sports programs (YSP) provide opportunities for participation in physical activity, and represent an important part of the broader public health agenda in the United States. YSP not only provide physiological health benefits through active participation, but also promote social relationships within communities. In this study, we (1) investigated participants’ travel to access YSP located in neighborhoods historically delineated by an over/under-representation of socio-economic and/or racial homogeneity; and (2) examined the neighborhood demographics for those YSP participants who traveled the most/least to participate. To do this, we analyzed five years of demographic and geographic information system (GIS) visualization data from participants in a publically-provisioned youth sport league network. We found significant differences between the travel distances of participants in different sports, and between the travel distances of participants from neighborhoods with different racial and/or socio-economic composition. This research expands understanding of the potential segregation effects of community-based YSP for various stakeholder groups.
Using five years of demographic and geographic data from a mid-sized city in the southeastern U.S., this study found that access to youth sports programs (YSP) differs by sport and by the socio-economic and racial composition of neighborhoods. The authors also commented on the potential segregation effects of YSP and ways to diminish them.
In this study, five years of demographic and geographic information system (GIS) data from publicly-funded youth sport leagues were used to examined access to youth sports programs (YSP) in neighborhoods of a mid-sized city in the southeastern U.S. that varied in socio-economic and racial diversity. In comparing the characteristics of YSP participants who traveled the most and the least to participate, the authors found differences in travel distance by sport and by the socio-economic and racial composition of neighborhoods. Less than 1% of YSP participants lived within walking distance of their YSP facilities. For sports such as soccer and flag football, parents were willing to travel so their children could participate at facilities with diverse racial and sociology-economic profiles. In sports such as basketball or tackle football, parents were more likely to stay in or near their less diverse, home neighborhoods. More options for girls’ YSP participation may be needed. Potential segregation effects of YSP and ways to ameliorate these effects are discussed.