Canberrans may love cricket, AFL and rugby league, but it's soccer that gets people most active on ACT ovals.
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A breakdown of the hourly usage of the territory's sports fields shows that more than 31,000 hours of soccer were played on grounds across the capital last financial year. That is three times more than the next most popular sport, cricket.
In total, Canberrans spent more than 82,000 hours playing organised sport in dedicated parks during the period and about a quarter of the field usage was at night. The figures did not include tennis or netball courts.
Oval ball sports in the form of rugby league was played for 6031 hours, with AFL a close second at 5241 hours. Touch football and rugby union were played for 5143 and 3629 hours respectively.
Softball and hockey were also popular and, bucking the trend, gridiron was played more often by adults than children.
With a few exceptions, the figures mapped a sharp decline in participation at senior level.
At the junior level more than 22,000 hours of soccer were played, with adults taking part in 8500 hours.
It's a trend that is repeated across the nation. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics reports show sports participation rates were highest for the 15 to 17 age group last year with 79 per cent taking part in sport. The rate for persons aged 65 years and over was just 48 per cent.
But the same report found that Canberrans are the most active population across the country with 77 per cent taking part in sporting activities followed by the Northern Territory 71 per cent.
The chief executive officer of Heart Foundation ACT, Tony Stubbs, said ACT children and adults needed to be more active.
''There is a drop-off with kids continuing on with their physical activity and while the ACT is a lot more active than other part of Australia the rates of physical activity are declining,'' Mr Stubbs said.
There needs to be more social instead of competitive ways people can be engaged.''