Despite its size and significance, many sectors of the industry are not highly commercialised,
although some, such as the businesses supplying goods and services which support sporting
activities, are very commercially focussed.
There is a large “not-for-profit” segment of the
sports sector, exemplified by the number of volunteers working within it. In 1994/95 there were
112,877 volunteers working in the sports industries which was almost double the formal
employment in sports industries at that time.
The majority of these volunteers (89 per cent)
worked within the sports, or in the provision of services to sports, sectors.