Age and Gender Demographics of Amateur Badminton Participation in Chongqing, China: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 5,502 Tournament Participants
Background: Badminton ranks among the most widely practiced sports in China, yet systematic demographic investigations of amateur tournament participants remain scarce. This cross-sectional study analyzes 5,502 unique participants across 40 amateur badminton tournaments held in Chongqing, Chinas largest municipality, between 2023 and 2025.Methods: Participant data were extracted from official tournament registration records with rigorous deduplication using national ID numbers. Variables included age, sex, event type, team affiliation, tournament category, and ranking.Results: Mean age was 17.16 years (SD = 8.73, median = 15, mode = 14). Minors (≤18 years) comprised 65.82% (n = 3,621). Males outnumbered females 3,508 vs. 1,994 (ratio 1.76:1). Children (5-12) accounted for 23.34%, adolescents (13-18) 42.48%, and young adults (19-25) 21.45%. The gender gap peaked in the 13-18 group (M:F = 2.10:1), narrowed to parity at 46-55 (1.00:1), and reversed at 56-65 (0.69:1). Only 23 participants (0.42%) were aged 56+. School-level tournaments contributed 45.9% of all participants. Conclusions: This first large-scale demographic profile of amateur badminton in Southwest China reveals a youth-dominated structure with significant female underrepresentation and steep participation decline after age 25.
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