Participation rates for competition in Running vs. Swimming
Former Member
How do these compare?
It seems to me that the number of competitors in Masters swim meets is so small compared to the number of "fitness" swimmers (including swimmers in Masters groups).
Then again there are a lot of joggers that likely never do so much as a 5k.
I was going to answer this yesterday, but I was just too exhausted to.
Before answering your questions, I think we'd need to first define what a, "Swimmer," or, "Runner," is. Do you mean a person who does their activity 3 or more times a week? Do they do their activity solo, with a group, do they subscribe to magazines about their activity, do they participate in online forums about their activity? Do you want to qualify it with amount of money spent on their sport, their performance levels, or in some other ways?
At first blush, I'd venture to say that swimming probably gets a higher percentage of active participants at meets. The primary reason I can see is that 90% of swimming is done in a pool. The people have to go past a place to pay, deal with a coach, see a locker room bulletin board, or something, and they usually would have contact with someone to prompt them about an event (swim meet, open water, whatever). In my limited contacts with swimmers over the years, I'd say 50% or more know about swimming events (meets, open water, etc), and about half those compete.
Running can be done most anywhere. I'd venture to say it is one of the most visible sports, since in many cases runners are on the side of the road. But it is tough to get a message to someone who runs solo all the time on roads or trails near their home. This doesn't even include the countless numbers of people who use treadmills at gyms...some may just run/jog for a warm-up, while others may do an hour run then leave. In my limited contacts with runners, most do this just to keep in shape, and I'd say less than 5% ever compete in anything.
I was going to answer this yesterday, but I was just too exhausted to.
Before answering your questions, I think we'd need to first define what a, "Swimmer," or, "Runner," is. Do you mean a person who does their activity 3 or more times a week? Do they do their activity solo, with a group, do they subscribe to magazines about their activity, do they participate in online forums about their activity? Do you want to qualify it with amount of money spent on their sport, their performance levels, or in some other ways?
At first blush, I'd venture to say that swimming probably gets a higher percentage of active participants at meets. The primary reason I can see is that 90% of swimming is done in a pool. The people have to go past a place to pay, deal with a coach, see a locker room bulletin board, or something, and they usually would have contact with someone to prompt them about an event (swim meet, open water, whatever). In my limited contacts with swimmers over the years, I'd say 50% or more know about swimming events (meets, open water, etc), and about half those compete.
Running can be done most anywhere. I'd venture to say it is one of the most visible sports, since in many cases runners are on the side of the road. But it is tough to get a message to someone who runs solo all the time on roads or trails near their home. This doesn't even include the countless numbers of people who use treadmills at gyms...some may just run/jog for a warm-up, while others may do an hour run then leave. In my limited contacts with runners, most do this just to keep in shape, and I'd say less than 5% ever compete in anything.
