In 2003/04 additional funding from the Scottish Executive allowed sportscotland to commission a boosted sample in its continuous sports participation survey large enough to identify for the first time patterns of adult participation at local authority level. This report by Professor Fred Coalter of Stirling University and Steve Dowers of Edinburgh University explores the differences in levels of participation across local authority populations. It relates these variations to a range of socio-demographic profiles of the populations and also examines different levels of participation by women.