The bar chart above illustrates boys’ and girls’ participation rates across various sports in Australia in 2003. Overall, boys participated more than girls in sports. Soccer and Cricket were the most popular activities among boys, whereas Swimming and Netball had higher participation among girls. On the other hand, some sports, such as Basketball and Tennis showed relatively similar participation for both groups.
In 2003, boys were far more active in sports, most notably soccer and cricket. About a quarter of boys played soccer, compared with only about 5% of girls. A similar gap is evident in cricket, where roughly 10% of boys took part, while the figure of girls was the minimal. Boys also recorded higher figures in Basketball and Martial Arts, at approximately 9% and 10%, above the level seen among girls.
By contrast, girls showed the greater involvement in Swimming and Netball. Swimming attracted just 20% of girls. compared with 15% of boys. Tennis, however, presented a more balanced pattern, with similar proportions of boys and girls participating. Taken together, these activities highlight areas where female participation was either higher or broadly comparable.