[Sports for the elderly in a sports active aging society]

The number of elderly people is growing. The next generation will grow older taking a more active part in sport than the present one. The halving of the number of younger members of the population, and thus the declining number of people participating in sport is furthering the interest of sports clubs in the elderly. At present the programmes of sport for the elderly run by sports associations are still at an initial stage. Sports clubs and the planning of the development of sports facilities in towns and villages are confronted by a new situation-that of the growing number of elderly people taking an active part in sport. In 1988/89 the Institute for Development Planning and Structural Research at the University of Hanover carried out five regional case studies into the sports behaviour of the elderly and into their motives and expectations with regard to sport. More than 10,000 people participated in the representative surveys. They came from towns and villages with a rural character in the Federal Republic of Germany. Structures and development perspectives on the subject of "Sport by Elderly" are outlined from a social science aspect.