The purpose of this study is to understand the actual sports life of university students, and to examine the issues revealed by these characteristics and then propose management measures for university sports in order to promote lifelong participation.
A survey was conducted at 41 universities across Japan. The results were categorized by athletic environment into “Members of an athletic club”, “Members of a circle”, “Other exercisers” and “Non-exercisers.”
As a result, more than 50% of the athletic club members exercised more than 6 days a week, which is much higher than the guideline standard for junior high and high schools. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a support system for the academic and career activities that university students should engage in.
Secondly, when participating as a circle member, there was less money involved. Additionally, it is easy for people with little exercise experience to participate. On the other hand, it was found that not even half of the students could use the facilities on campus. Therefore, it is necessary to provide support for the use of facilities other than those belonging to the athletic club.
Third, the percentage of “Non-exercisers” was found to be over 20 percent. The most popular reason they do not exercise is “lack of opportunity.” Therefore, it is necessary to provide them with opportunities to exercise and to improve exercise environment of students before university.
