Introduction:<\/em> the purpose of this research was to establish the characteristics of young people in Caldas in the area of sports, recreation and leisure. Subjects and methods:<\/em> we took a mixed approach using young people in the Department of Caldas and selected a sample of 4,479 young people according to the sampling design (simple random). Results:<\/em> 60% of young people are unaware of the organisations that promote sport in the region. The lowest participation rates for sports programmes were found among those aged between 14 and 18. 7.2% have had sports as a work option. Leisure activities, recreation and the proper use of free time are the pretext for the expression of beliefs, staging situations that are designed to be thought-provoking and generating mechanisms that lead and encourage young people to ask questions about their role in society. Conclusions:<\/em> the young people in the study view sport as an activity that provides them with the chance to use their free time and makes it possible to achieve a better quality of life. It is commonly the case that the vast majority who play sport require greater knowledge and ownership in their various practices.<\/p>\n\n