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Submission by Simone Gray, Dubbo West Public School on 26 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.
At Dubbo West Public School we have accessed the Australian Sports Commission's Active After Schools Communities program for the last four years and it has been rated highly successful for a number of reasons. It encourages attendance and retention as well as allowing students from a large Aboriginal population and low socio-economic demographic to access a range of sports activites that some may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience. Acitivites have included cucyling around the Taronga Western Plains Zoo; performing circus tricks; visiting the local aquatic centre; acessing the local Police & Citizens' Youth Club and enjoying a wide range of other activities. Some students have been motivated to access local clubs to further their skills but the majority are dedicated students who need after school activities to prevent them from engaging in unhealthy and unsupervised behaviours.
- Examine Government programs to increase participation rates in sport and physical activity, including analysis of existing programs.
Please see box above.
- 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 mentioned earlier, our school has a large Aboriginal population and 80% of students accessing the AASC program are Aboriginal. In many cases if the school did not participate in the program, these students would not have access (financial or physical) to a range of sporting activites.
- 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 benefits of the Active After School program is the promotion of healthy eating. The students have been supplied fruit only for the duration of the program and at the end of each term on the last session they are allowed to ""cook"" or prepare healthy snacks such as mini pizzas or fruit kebabs. The majority of the students have learnt about fruit that they have not tasted before. The healthy eating message is heavily tied to the school's canteens which also promote the healthy eating message.
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.
No response
- 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
No response
Page last updated: 26 March, 2009