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State of Play Camden was released May 25, 2021, as Project Play’s 10th community report. The report offers a snapshot of how well adults in the city of Camden, New Jersey are serving youth through sports, recreation and other physical activities. Camden County, home to the City of Camden, ranks 20th in overall health outcomes and 15th in health factors among New Jersey’s 21 counties (RWJF, County Health Rankings 2018). With the support of the Sixers Youth Foundation and other local leaders, the Aspen Institute analyzed the landscape of youth sports in Camden from November 2019 to October 2020.

Findings for this report were developed through multiple methods: input from project advisory group members; individual interviews with a broad collection of stakeholders and community members; focus-group discussions with youth; surveys conducted of youth; media accounts; and existing reports, policy analyses and publicly available data collected by the Aspen Institute with support from Ellen Staurowsky, former Drexel University sport management professor.

State of Play Camden announcement at 2019 Project Play Summit

key FINDINGS:

  • Local programs are challenged by a lack of resources, collaboration, and now, the pandemic.

  • Middle school sports often leave Camden youth unprepared for high school sports.

  • Girls in Camden have fewer opportunities to play sports than boys.

  • Basketball is the most played sport among youth, by far.

  • Camden has relatively few parks and recreation spaces.

  • Lack of transportation options is a major barrier that limits access to local programs.

  • Building trust within the community for sustainable solutions is essential.

As part of the data collection process for this report, the Aspen Institute partnered with Resonant Education to administer the State of Play Youth Survey via Resonant Education’s online survey collection platform. The survey was administered between March and December 2020 to youth in grades 3–12 living in Camden, aligning with Project Play’s Play #1, Ask Kids What They Want. When asked what they liked most about sports, 73% listed playing with friends; schoolwork was the most common response when students were asked about barriers to sports participation. Learn more about the youth survey here, and explore the full report and executive summary using the buttons below.

Since the release of the report:

 

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