The Australian Sports Commission is developing a strategy which aims to transform the way participation is connected, delivered and supported.
It has run workshops in every State and Territory, consulting with key stakeholders on ideas, opportunities and barriers to participating in sport.
More than 450 members from national sporting organisations, national sporting organisations for people with disability, State sporting organisations, State and Territory Governments, community organisations and Local Government attended the workshops.
Chief Executive of VicSport, Lisa Hasker said the Melbourne workshop was an opportunity to bring Victorian participation leaders together to discuss the issues and opportunities for sport participation.
“The key challenges for the sector are duplication, communication and alignment across the sector, and providing customer-centric products in sport where participants can consume sport to suit their needs,” Ms Hasker said.
Senior Performance and Talent Advisor for Paralympics Australia, Tim Matthews said a national strategy would go a long way to increasing participation for all Australians.
“It will always be a challenge to consider and capture the views of such a wide sector and there will always be challenges when it comes to understanding the unique barriers to participation,” Mr Matthews said.
‘However, this strategy development process gives sport the opportunity to raise these challenges and begin to identify solutions at a system level for the benefit of everyone.”
President of Wrestling ACT, Ben Keaney said a national strategy was integral to the future of sport participation in Australia.
“We want to see sports evolving and changing, taking into account changes in technology, environment and economics. By being dynamic we’ll be able to increase participation and have better outcomes for sports and individuals,” Mr Keaney said.
A workshop session was also held as part of the recent Participation Leaders Network Conference held at the Australian Institute of Sport campus in Canberra.
Altogether, nearly 6,500 people provided feedback on the current state of sport participation by completing an online survey.
The Project Steering Group, which was announced in March to support the strategy, will now identify the key concepts and themes as the strategy is developed.
Further information about the National Sport Participation Strategy can be accessed at this PS News link.
