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Rob Davies was playing soccer when the captain of the opposing team approached and said that one of his female players, a woman wearing yellow socks, was interested in him.

In June, 2006, Mr. Davies pulled those socks from the pocket of his tuxedo as he told the story at his wedding to Catherine Owen, the woman who first spotted him across a crowded playing field.

"We're still playing in the league, but now we're on the same team," the 32-year-old joked recently.

Every spring, Canadians across the country sign up for sports leagues, intramural teams and other outdoor activities, many with the idea in the back of their minds that they might also make a romantic connection, scoring while they try to score, so to speak.

New research from Laurentian University suggests that women such as Ms. Owen may be drawn to sports by more than just a desire to get some exercise and meet new people.

A paper published in the January edition of Evolutionary Psychology found that heterosexual women prefer sexual partners who play team sports to those who participate in solitary activities or refrain from athletic endeavours altogether.

"It seems that individuals that are engaging in team sports are considered more attractive and desirable," said Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, an evolutionary biologist who performed the study with colleague Mark Eys, a sports psychologist.

The pair decided to explore the link between sports and attraction after reading a French study that found athletes - both male and female - report a higher number of sexual partners than non-athletes.

For their research, Dr. Schulte-Hostedde and Dr. Eys recruited 282 female undergraduate students aged 18 to 29.

The women were shown pictures of attractive and unattractive men (whose desirability had been established by a previous study) along with short descriptions of the men that included references to any athletic involvement.

"This is Brian," reads a sample description. He is a member of (a varsity team sport; a varsity individual sport; or an extracurricular club that does not involve physical activity and does not play sports). He is ranked as one of the (more skilled players within his sport and is regarded highly; or less skilled players within his sport and is not regarded highly by other members).

"He grew up in [location of the study]," it continues, "and has a younger sister and an older brother. He loves to eat out and watches television occasionally. He loves dogs."

The women were asked whether they would go on a date, sleep with or engage in a short- or long-term relationship with each individual. The study found that women were more likely to want to get involved with men who play a team sport than with individual team players or non-athletes. Men who were described as being highly skilled at their team sport were deemed the most attractive.

In a further blow to golfers, tennis players and marathoners, when it came to sexual intercourse, women were also more likely to want to sleep with non-athletes than with men who played individual sports.

It's not the first academic study to explore the link between male athleticism and perceived attractiveness. Previous research has found that women rank men with athletic physiques as more attractive, and that men show bias toward enhancing their upper-body definition because females prefer males with a pronounced V-shaped torso.

Kristi Herold-Miller, founder and director of the Toronto Sport and Social Club, said she has long noticed the connection between sports and romance.

"We've had so many weddings," she said of her members. "I had an e-mail from a guy who said, 'If you ever want a testimonial for your league, here's mine: Thanks to the Toronto Sport and Social Club, I don't sleep alone any more.' "

The league doesn't promote itself as a place to pick up, but Ms. Herold-Miller said that 75 per cent of members are single, so the romance comes naturally.

"How people play team sports speaks volumes about their true nature," she said. "If you're supercompetitive it's going to come out, when you might otherwise be able to hide that. If you're a generous person that's going to show, too."

Dr. Schulte-Hostedde said he and his research partner have several theories about why women seem to be attracted to team players.

One is that women subconsciously believe that men on teams make better parents. "You have to communicate well and be willing to take a particular role on the team," he said.

Sports teams also present a clear hierarchy, allowing women to gauge a man's personality and drive by how he performs in a group.

But there may also be cultural influences, Dr. Schulte-Hostedde said.

In North America, team sports such as hockey and basketball are generally perceived as high-status endeavours. In Australia, where individual sports such as swimming have a higher profile, women's level of attraction may be different.

As for the researchers themselves, Dr. Eys is a former varsity basketball player and Dr. Schulte-Hostedde was once a competitive swimmer, but it doesn't seem to have affected their ability to mate.

"We're both married with kids," Dr. Schulte-Hostedde said. "But he's certainly much taller than I."