Sailing clubs around Ireland looking to grow participation may find valuable lessons in a major new UK watersports survey. While the research focuses on Britain, its findings on recruitment, affordability, safety and social participation are likely to resonate with clubs across the island.
More people across the UK are taking part in watersports than two years ago, according to a major new participation survey that also identifies significant opportunities for sailing clubs and marine organisations to attract new participants.
The 2025 Watersports Participation Survey, commissioned by a consortium of leading maritime organisations, found participation has increased across most watersport activities since 2023, with open-water swimming and paddlesports recording the strongest growth. Sailing participation stands at 13% of UK adults surveyed.
Researchers interviewed more than 12,000 UK adults during autumn 2025 to examine participation, motivations, safety awareness and barriers to taking part.
The report suggests the greatest opportunity for future growth lies not in convincing people that watersports are enjoyable, but in making them easier to access.
Four in five respondents said they would like to take part in more watersport activities. Enjoyment, spending time with friends and family, connecting with nature and improving wellbeing were identified as the strongest motivations.
However, researchers found a persistent gap between interest and participation.
Among the biggest barriers were lack of knowledge, limited local access, equipment costs, uncertainty about how to get started and fear of the water. Women, disabled people and some socio-economic groups were more likely to identify these obstacles.
The report concludes that greater availability of affordable entry-level opportunities, more social participation and targeted swimming education could help convert interest into long-term participation.
Safety formed another major part of the survey.
Researchers found organised activities such as sailing generally demonstrated stronger safety awareness than many other watersports, although almost half of participants had received no formal training. Paddlesports were highlighted as presenting one of the greatest safety communication challenges among organised activities.
The survey has been conducted for more than 20 years, although researchers caution that methodological changes mean comparisons with previous surveys should be interpreted carefully.
The survey is here
