ABSTRACT
Over recent years, research into the factors which determine participation in leisure has begun to recognise the fact that people cannot, rather than will not, use available leisure facilities. This applies particularly to the older age groups, despite the fact that in terms of time, “leisure is one thing the elderly apparently have in abundance” (Long and Wimbush, 1979). However, it is also apparent that for many older people, there is a cumulative system of constraints operating on their leisure lives, and this restricts both the nature and extent of their involvement. This paper sets out to briefly explore the nature of that system, conceptualising it as a series of hurdles which have to be surmounted before participation becomes possible. Following this, it then considers some of the results of a project carried out in early 1984, in which the managers of a number of sports and leisure centres were questioned about their attitudes towards older people and sport (Bernard et al, forthcoming).
