More than sport - why we should encourage Masters sport participation

In my mid-40s I played Masters squash for a few years. It was a great experience for me as the games were competitive but social. Teams were internally graded, so each team of 4 players had a ranked 1 (best) through to 4 player. You played against the opposing teams same ranked player. While each 1v1was a 'best of 5 games' (i.e, win 3-2, 4-1, 5-0) the winning team was decided by total games won by the 4 players of the team. When you weren't playing, you umpired or scored for other players on court. After everyone played, you moved to the lounge to socialise with your team and the opposition, with the home team responsible for providing the 'supper'.

Masters sport refers to organised competitive sport for adults, typically aged 35 years and older, who continue to train and compete in sports. 

I stopped playing Masters squash when my coaching commitments increased. Last year, I was drawn back into Masters sport to coach at a carnival occuring between the end of football season and the commencement of pre-season. A few weeks ago I participated in the carnival for the second time, as a coach. Everything that is positive and good about sport is associated with this carnival and the teams I have now been involved with for two years. The enduring fiendships on display with people who have played in this carnival for several years was evident, and the inclusion and encouragement of those new to the sport or new to the carnival for the first time was continually on display. The football was approached seriously with an ambition to win, but the over riding interest was "having fun with friends playing football". 

The carnival brought people from all over the state into the two teams that I coached, and the carnival itself gathered nearly 1500 players in addition to families and "support staff" together in one location for the purpose of creating memories on the field, laughing, parting and exploring off the field, through football.

During the 8 days of the carnival, I was reminded that sport participation across the lifespan is associated with substantial physical, social, emotional, and cognitive health benefits. Importantly, these benefits extend beyond the effects of physical activity alone because sport typically combines exercise, social interaction, skill development, competition, teamwork, and goal achievement.

The research suggests to me that the available evidence is that participating in sport throughout life is one of the most comprehensive health-promoting activities available.

A systematic review of older adult sport participation found that socialisation, social support, community connection, and maintenance of meaningful relationships were among the most commonly reported benefits of sport participation in later life. 

Psychological wellbeing and positive ageing are associated with Masters sport participation. This was certainly evident to me during the past two carnival experiences. 

The available evidence suggests that Masters sport is much more than exercise. It appears to provide a unique combination of physical training, social engagement, psychological challenge, competition, and lifelong personal development that supports healthy ageing across multiple domains. 

Research indicates that Masters athletes often experience:

*better physical functioning and health

*greater social connectedness and belonging

*higher levels of psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction

*maintenance of cognitive functioning and mental sharpness with ageing

A lot of research effort goes into investigating how to keep youth in sport. It is also necessary to investigate how to keep adults in sport throughout their life given the evidence for mental, physical, social, emotion and cognitive benefits from continuing to play sport, and sport in teams in particular.

Thanks for stopping by and reading this post. If you would like to connect with me about a project to do with this blog or any of the other ideas that I have blogged about, you can contact me by the email link available here 

References

Eather, N., Wade, L., Pankowiak, A. et al. (2023). The impact of sports participation on mental health and social outcomes in adults: a systematic review and the ‘Mental Health through Sport’ conceptual model. Systemtic Reviews, 12, 102.

Kim, A. C. H., Park, S. H., Kim, S., & Fontes-Comber, A. (2020). Psychological and social outcomes of sport participation for older adults: A systematic review. Ageing & Society, 40(7), 1529-1549.

Shafizadeh, M., Parvinpour, S., Lowe, A. & Copeland, R. (2026). The effects of sport participation on physical and cognitive function in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. Sport Sciences for Health, 22, 30.

Singh, B., Bennett, H., Miatke, A., Dumuid, D., Curtis, R., Ferguson, T., ... & Maher, C. (2025). Effectiveness of exercise for improving cognition, memory and executive function: a systematic umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 59(12), 866-876.

Teychenne M., Sousa, G. M., Baker, T., et al (2026). Domain-specific physical activity and mental health: an updated systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis in a combined sample of 3.3 million people British Journal of Sports Medicine, 60, 267-285.