The bar chart illustrates changes in the number of adult participants, measured in thousands, across seven major sports in a single region between 1997 and 2017.
Overall
, participation in most sports increased over the 20-year period, with tennis consistently remaining the most popular activity. Linking Words
In contrast
, cricket faced a significant decline. Linking Words
In addition
, swimming stayed virtually unchanged.
Regarding the upward trends, tennis, football, rugby, basketball, and golf all grew between 1997 and 2017. Tennis recorded the highest participation rate, rising slightly from 50,000 to 55,000 adults in 2017. Linking Words
While
football participation rose from approximately 32,000 to nearly 48,000, rugby surged from around 33,000 to 49,000. Linking Words
Furthermore
, basketball marked the most dramatic proportional rise, climbing from roughly 8,000 participants in 1997 to over 22,000 in 2017. Golf Linking Words
also
experienced growth, increasing marginally from 31,000 to around 33,000 participants.
Linking Words
Conversely
, cricket was the only sport to drop significantly, falling from about 26,000 players in 1997 to under 10,000 two decades later. Linking Words
However
, swimming remained stable at approximately 35,000 adults in both years.Linking Words