Abstract
Study 1 examined tracking of participation in club sport from childhood to adulthood (7, 9, 15, 18 and 21 years). Correlation coefficients revealed low tracking (r = 0.07-0.28) of club sport participation. Summary statistics, which utilised all the longitudinal data and controlled for the influence of covariates, differed slightly with random effect models finding low tracking (Intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.23) and generalized estimating equations suggesting moderate tracking (Stability coefficient: 0.59). These findings suggest that benefits accrue from early physical activity participation for later participation. However, as tracking is only at low to moderate levels, childhood participation in physical activity should not be considered an 'inoculation' against adult inactivity.