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Submission by Queensland Athletics 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.
Queensland Athletics would support the submission of Athletics Australia in that the opportunity does exist for AA to build Australia’s greatest development program to deliver health and fitness, mobility and skill acquisition. The program would be able to be linked to existing popular programs.The delivery of the program will be crucial and state associations will require the support of AA.By integrating an athletics grass roots program across Australia with specific focuses on each State, significant gains in participation numbers and thus health and wellbeing would be evident.
- Examine Government programs to increase participation rates in sport and physical activity, including analysis of existing programs.
No response
- 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.
The present delineation between Athletics and Little Athletics is, in our view, a barrier to continued participation. By developing a program as suggested above, complementary with others, this barrier could be significantly reduced.
- 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.
No response
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.
Queensland Athletics endorses the comments of Athletics Australia regarding leakage. The ability to put in place strategies to stem that leakage is crucial. The suggestion by AA to have them coordinate an athletics pathway including coaching, junior development, development of an ideal Club Model and a volunteer rewards program is endorsed.Further, increased linkages with school athletics and recreational athletics (such as fun runs) are essential
- Recommend the most effective support and recognition for the coaches, officials, umpires, administrators and volunteers who keep our community clubs alive.
No response
- 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.
No response
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 positioning of athletics in Australia regarding a diversified funding base needs to be improved. Presently, the greatest interest in athletics is through the greatest sporting event – the Olympics. Yet there is no ability to financially capitalise on that. As such, it is necessary to ensure that what AA promotes as its “saleable” commodities are exactly what the market wants. Queensland Athletics endorses the three main opportunities listed by AA as commercial opportunities. AA needs to properly develop its competition framework to appeal. Junior programs also need to be implemented and obviously significantly increased membership is also important. The concluding comments of AA are relevant and appropriate. Athletics can (and should) make a significant contribution to the health and well being of Australian children in schools and the community, but we must be well resourced and organized nationally (with locally based implementation and delivery systems) to achieve this.
Page last updated: 27 March, 2009