Graded unit : Impact of Zumba on womens participation levels in sport.

by _moolissax (student)

The impact of ZUMBA ον ωομεν’σ παρτιχιπατιον ιν πηψσιχαλ αχτιϖιτψ

Case study: Doon Valley Leisure Centre

Evaluation Stage

By Melissa Napier

Graded Unit

I believe my investigation was very successful with regards to achieving the aims and objectives originally set out. The aim of the study was to investigate if and how, Zumba fitness has impacted women’s participation within my chosen centre Doon Valley Leisure Centre. The objectives were to source out the reasons and factors that were impacting female participation levels within physical activity.

The centre is situated within the small village of Dalmellington. The village is sparsely populated with little over 3,500 people living there. The centre offers services including a: swimming pool, fitness studio and gymnasium. It is open for public use out with school hours when it is occupied by pupils of Doon Academy using it for Physical Education purposes. There are few classes that run for the female population of Dalmellington, these include: Zumba, Aqua Zumba and Ab-Aerobic Blasts. After negotiating access with centre manager, Greig Russell it was agreed that I, the investigator, would be visiting the centre on the 27th & 28th March to issue out my questionnaires. The questionnaires were to be distributed to both Zumba and Non-Zumba participants to find out what patterns occurred between them both on participation levels in exercise and fitness (solely within the centre). Zumba classes run weekly within the centre however due to high demand there are a few classes that run within the village. All women attending the Zumba and Aerobic classes were more than happy to complete my questionnaires. All 30 questionnaires originally gave out were completed within the centre and collected 2 weeks later by the investigator. Overall 15/15 of the questionnaires issued to Zumba participants were female and 14/15 of the questionnaires issued to non-Zumba participants (Aerobic's only participants) were female. This imbalance in gender was one of the problems encountered during the study however it did not affect the results too much. This issue could have been resolved had I personally distributed the questionnaires, however as it was for Non-Zumba participants, these questionnaires were left in the reception of the centre and randomly filled out by the visiting public who has never attended a Zumba class.

How could my study have been improved?

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How could my study have been improved?

Although results were collated and projected effectively with little problems arising, one thing that could have been considered or done next time around is ensuring that time is better managed and more controlled. I left it slightly late to distribute questionnaires to the centre. If done earlier there is a chance more questionnaires could have been issued and completed for more accurate results. Also the fact I left responsibility with staff at centre to issue questionnaires to general public, led to another small issue. Had they gave out questionnaires to female visitors just using the facility for the pool or gym services and not classes, results may have shown how they prefer exercise out with the class and instructing atmosphere. However as results were required quickly they asked non-zumba participants within the Ab-Aerobics class to fill out this questionnaire. As previously stated, Doon Valley Leisure Centre is not the only centre in the area offering Zumba classes and other fitness classes. If I wished to base my study on the participation levels of women in Dalmellington as a whole, I could have carried out research in a more general way, by using a range of classes on offered in the village and used interviews to question the public randomly on their fitness.

Main conclusions from investigation

The research carried out found that within D.V.L.C the majority of Zumba participants were aged between 40-59 years. However these results were obtained from both Zumba and Aqua Zumba participants which supports evidence in the secondary research that Aqua fitness is popular and recommended to the elderly population.

Of all 30 questionnaires completed it was mainly non Zumba participants who had memberships with D.V.L.C or another centre. This suggests that many people enjoy Zumba is they find it enjoyable and are not attending to receive the many benefits of the workout. The investigators research justifies this statement as 8/15 non Zumba participants admitted they attend classes because they think Zumba is an enjoyable exercise. Section 2 of the questionnaire asks the Zumba participants what they think makes Zumba different and more appealing than other forms of exercise, 44% answered 'Fun'.

When asked what they liked most about the centre, none of the Zumba participants choose 'Pricing' this may be the reason why only 2/15 have a membership at the centre. Nevertheless, 8/15 Zumba participants are impressed with the activities and services offered at D.V.L.C which supports the fact 6/15 questioned said they use the centre 2-3 times a week. Other activities that the Zumba participants have said they enjoy include: Aqua Zumba and swimming. For the non Zumba participants they said they preferred gym, swim and fitness classes other than Zumba. This is not surprising as 80% of non Zumba participants are members and all these services are accessible to them as they are included in the membership prices.

Evidence in Secondary research shows that interest in sport declines with age however the investigators primary research shows that 53% of Zumba/Aqua Zumba participants are 40-59 years old with only 7% aged 16-24 years old. Although Zumba may not appeal to all, it is 16-24yrs with latent demand for more sport and physical activity options according to the Active People Survey carried out by the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation.

It would seem that most women attending Zumba are getting the recommended 30mins of moderate activity at least 5 times a week as 73% of them are attending the centre 2-3 times a week and 87% of non Zumba participants deemed themselves 'moderately active' which suggests they are also meeting recommendations set by the Chief Medical Officer.

Main recommendation to organisation?

Many recommendations for Doon Valley Leisure Centre can be drawn from the results gained from the investigation carried out. There were various factors women selected regarding what they liked best and worst about the centre. From the questionnaires it is evident that women like that the centre offers classes as well as the gymnasium and swimming services. However one recommendation to the centre could be to offer more classes. Not necessarily Zumba but other fitness based classes that the female users of the centre may deem popular. This could be done by asking the regular users what classes they would like the centre to offer and doing a trial run. It would also be a good idea to ask non members and people not using the centre, what would entice them into the centre. This could bring many financial benefits to Doon Valley Leisure Centre if this recommendation stimulated the use of the centre. Offering a discount scheme may be another recommendation suited to attracting local females into the centre. This could be achieved by offering a discounted monthly deal i.e £35 for unlimited use for the land based activities within the centre (Gym and all fitness based classes – excluding Aqua Zumba) or £25 for unlimited use for the water based activities within the centre (Swimming pool and Aqua Zumba). Doon Valley Leisure Centre is owned by the local authority and its gym is one of many 'Body Stations' located in East Ayrshire. Offering a discount that could be used at any of the 'Body Stations' could be effective in increasing female participation levels in the whole district. Another obvious issue deemed by those that filled out my questionnaires was the pricing within the centre. None of those questioned selected pricing as the reason they use the centre. As mentioned above the discount idea may resolve this issue and encourage more non members to use centre and members to use it more often.

Overall, my investigation into how Zumba has impacted women's participation levels within my chosen case study: Doon Valley Leisure Centre has been very successful and no major issues preventing me from obtaining results. Many recommendations can be drawn from investigation including ones for my own performance. The main point that can be obtained is that more services need to be offered to attract the female population into the centre particularly the younger generation (16-35 years old).