View submission details
Submission by Australian Flying Disc Association on 27 March 2009.
2. Better place sport and physical activity as a key component of the Government's preventative health approach
- Examine Government frameworks to ensure an on-going focus on grassroots and community sport and physical activity.
In our experience, the majority of people who play Ultimate Frisbee are looking for a social activity that also gives them a bit of exercise. Of our membership base, less than 20% compete at national championships or travel to interstate or regional tournaments. However, as the majority of administrators within the sport come from that 20%, the focus on grass-roots development and participation can be overlooked in favour of running leagues and events for players competing at a higher level. The AFDA believes that the main way that we can continue to ensure an on-going focus on grassroots level Ultimate Frisbee is by providing incentives to coaches and administrators who assist at local leagues and events, tying State and Federal Government grants to the running of grassroots events and providing adequate training and support for the coaches and administrators who manage local leagues and events. The AFDA believes that by providing benefits that encourage members to be involved in grassroots Ultimate, an on-going focus will ensue.
- Examine Government programs to increase participation rates in sport and physical activity, including analysis of existing programs.
The AFDA considers that the primary issues are field availability, volunteer numbers and community awareness. Field availability is a major issue for larger Ultimate Frisbee leagues and any tournament scheduled for cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. For example: Leagues in Sydney and Melbourne have turned away teams in past seasons because of insufficient field space to accommodate further teams; and the past two Eastern Region Ultimate Championships, which primarily features Sydney teams, have been forced to be held in regional cities such as Orange and Newcastle because of the inability to source fields in Sydney for an entire weekend. Of note, when players are turned away, it is often newer players or teams who have not participated in leagues or tournaments in the past, that miss out. Further, as tournaments are forced to be played in Regional centres, participation numbers are affected as newer players are less likely to travel. It should be noted that Councils and other field providers are often more willing to give priority to sports that have an existing relationship with the provider, such as soccer or cricket. AFDA believes that increasing access to fields is the most important single thing that the Australian Government could do to increase participation in community sport. Over the past five years, there has been a steady decline in the number of AFDA members who are volunteer to administer associations (club, state or national), run leagues, host tournaments, coach teams etc. In the absence of Government funding, the lack of volunteer resources has been a major restriction on increasing participation levels in disc sports. With additional volunteers, more leagues, tournaments and coaching sessions could be organised. While the AFDA is currently developing a Volunteer Management Program, it is suggested that the Government investigate incentives to encourage more people to volunteer with community sporting organisations. The AFDA believes that one of the restrictions on people trying a new team sport is the lack of awareness of playing opportunities that exist within the community. While the low profile of our sport does mean that sections of the community are unaware of our sport, the nature of local leagues enables players new to the sport to come and try on a weekly basis. We believe that greater promotion in the media of local sporting opportunities available would lead to increase in participation in physical activity.
- Identify and recommend opportunities to break down barriers to participation at junior, adult and senior ages with a view to making it simpler and easier for Australians to participate in the sport or physical activity of their choice, including for women, the disabled and Indigenous people.
As a sport, Ultimate Frisbee is in a unique position in that it is very easy and cheap to get into. Our experience is that many other sports, which require umpires/referees and extensive equipment, are much harder for new people to try. Playing fees are low, with an average 12 week league costing $40-50 (including insurance). The AFDA believes that in order to break down barriers to participation, we need to continue to provide a range of opportunities for people in a wide variety of locations, where people new to a sport, or others with less experience/ability, are able to participate as equals. Ultimate does this by running “learn to play days”, school gala days, beginner and social leagues and “hat” tournaments. All of these events or leagues allow players new to the sport to come down and try Ultimate Frisbee on a one-off or weekly basis. All of these events are supported by experienced players, such as in ""hat tournaments"" where teams are formed by selecting players names from a hat such that each team has a relatively equal mix of experienced, intermediate and beginner players. As the majority of Ultimate Frisbee competitions are mixed gender, the AFDA is looking to further development opportunities for women (such as weekend camps with top coaches) at national and state levels. The success of these camps has been evidenced by a growth in female participation in centres where development camps have been held. In the wake of the February 2009 camp in Perth, a record number of women's teams have formed to compete at the 2009 Australian Ultimate Championships. At junior levels, development opportunities such as coaching in schools, national and state development camps are provided.
- Recommend strategies to increase the effectiveness of the promotion of sport by the Federal Government to better communicate positive health and activity messages to the broader community.
One of the key messages that should be promoted is physical activity should be that sport is a fun part of everyday life. Ultimate has at its core the notion of Spirit of the Game. As the sport is played without referees, participants must ensure a fair (yet competitive) on field experience. This translates off the field as well, as the social element of the sport is promoted within our community. The AFDA believes that this is the way sport was meant to be – bringing people of different ages, genders, levels of ability etc together with the common goal of having fun, meeting people and getting some exercise. We think that good sportsmanship, fair play, teamwork and inclusiveness should be communicated as one of the key messages regarding promotion of all sports.
3. Strengthen pathways from junior sport to grassroots community sport right through to elite and professional sport.
- Examine the capacity of the system to ensure optimal and efficient delivery of the athlete and coach pathway for any given sport.
As a growing sport, the optimal athlete and coach pathway is still under development. However, because of our continual growth (approximately 400% in the past ten years), the AFDA must constantly re-evaluate the pathways for various types of athletes, as well as support personnel such as coaches, managers and volunteers. Once these pathways are identified, it is easier to prioritise those areas that require the most attention and to evaluate the gaps in the current process for a particular sport. Prior to 2009, a number of pathways had been floated for players, coaches and administrations at a national level. As a goal in 2009, the AFDA will look to determine these pathways in consultation with player groups, in particular women and juniors. As part of this discussion, the AFDA will have firmly in mind the needs of grass-roots players. For many sports, including Ultimate, there needs to be a recognition that many people do not want to play at an elite level and the system must ensure that there is support and pathways for everyday people to develop skills and fitness.
- Recommend the most effective support and recognition for the coaches, officials, umpires, administrators and volunteers who keep our community clubs alive.
The AFDA, together with the Western Australian Flying Disc Association, has developed a volunteer recognition program for our community. Called REAP, it aims to Recurit, Educate, Acknowledge and Preserve our volunteers. We feel that it is best to provide a structured framework to encourage people to volunteer or work in our organisation. There are many ways that we can support these staff and volunteers. One of the best ways is through ongoing training and education. We do this by providing our staff and volunteers with the opportunity to attend courses relevant to their area (such as paying for travel, accommodation and other expenses for senior coaches to attend a coaching conference). There are many ways that we can recognise the efforts of our staff and volunteers. A simple way is through our national annual awards, where we publicly present awards to the best coach, club, administrator, party, tournament and recruiter of the year. State associations have similar awards.
- Examine how relationships between the Commonwealth Government and National Sporting Organisations, State Sporting Organisations and Australia’s peak representative bodies at key multi-sports competitions may be strengthened to deliver better performance outcomes.
The AFDA believes that there are opportunities at multi-sport events for more sports, such as Ultimate, to be included in competition. At university level, such as the Australian University Games, Ultimate is very well represented, however at many other multi-sport events it is not. There needs to be increased communication opportunities between the major sporting organisations and government, so that we can share ideas and lessons learned, as well as to increase the awareness within the Australian sporting community of some of the lesser-known sports. This could be achieved through state and national conferences, or many other means.
5. Identify opportunities to increase and diversify the funding base for sport through corporate sponsorship, media and any recommended reforms, such as enhancing the effectiveness of the Australian Sports Foundation
The AFDA believes that it would be beneficial for a system to be set up to match potential sponsors with sporting organisations. Currently, much of the sponsorship of lesser-known sports is ad hoc and achieved through existing relationships. If there was some way of better matching sports and sponsors, through identifying key areas of collaboration or similar values.
Page last updated: 27 March, 2009