International comparisons of sport participation in European Countries : an update of the COMPASS Project.

This paper looks back to an international comparative study of sports participation in seven European countries that was carried out in the late 1990s, COMPASS 1999. The original COMPASS study used data from the 1995-1997 period. This paper reviews the COMPASS framework and results, considers what new evidence is available to update the original COMPASS results, and considers what changes would be needed to the COMPASS approach if a new comparative study were undertaken today. Finally, the paper attempts to find explanations for the European pattern of sports participation revealed.