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Submission by Strongarm Boxing Pty Ltd 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.
There may be value in identifying specific sectors of the Australian community where there is a high incidence of health problems that could be at least partially addressed through specially designed sport and physical activity programs. The indigenous population is one such sector. Information collated by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare from diverse surveys and databases shows an enormous disparity between indigenous and other Australians in regard to overall health and well-being. Compared to Australians in general, the indigenous population has: ● An expected life span that is almost 20 years shorter. ● A higher incidence of excessive alcohol consumption. ● A substantially higher rate of drug and substance abuse. ● A much greater incidence of circulatory disorders. ● Higher levels of respiratory disease. ● Extraordinarily high levels of Type 2 diabetes, with death rates from diabetes for indigenous males and females being 21 and 37 times the overall population rates. ● A higher incidence of mental and behavioural disorders, with twice as many hospitalisations as could be expected based on data for the entire Australian population. ● A very high number of hospitalisations stemming from assaults. ● A 100% greater hospitalisation rate as a result of self-harm. ● Much higher suicide rates, particularly amongst young people. ● Substantially higher levels of incarceration, with data collected in 2004 revealing that indigenous people were imprisoned at a rate of 1,417 per 100,000 while the figure for non-indigenous people was 129 per 100,000. As many as 32% of all juvenile detainees in Australia were Aboriginals or Torres Strait Islanders. Most of the problems can be attributed to the fundamental disruption of indigenous cultures, practices and identity that has taken place since European settlement of Australia, and to the enormous social and economic disadvantage that has resulted from that disruption. The issues are complex and many will be resolved only through deep societal change that will take time to accomplish, but sport and physical activity do have a role to play.
- Examine Government programs to increase participation rates in sport and physical activity, including analysis of existing programs.
Sport is an attractive vehicle for stimulating physical activity within indigenous populations, and it has the added benefit of providing a situation in which nutritional education is more likely to be successful. It can therefore help to reduce the risk not only of diabetes, but also of circulatory disorders. Sport and physical activity can assist the development of self-image and feelings of inclusion in a community. This can have a favourable influence on mental health. Achieving increased rates of indigenous participation in sport and exercise is likely to require innovative approaches built around activities that have known appeal to indigenous people. Boxing is a sport that has this appeal, perhaps due partly to the fact that in the past 100 years there have been many indigenous champions. However, by its very nature, conventional boxing is not generally conducive to longevity of participation, and in Australia the number of registered competitors is quite small. In NSW, competition is prohibited for children under 14 years of age. While amateur boxing has recently been opened up to women, there are presently very few female participants. By contrast, Box’Tag – the modified form of boxing developed by Strongarm Boxing & Fitness over the past 3 years – favours long-term involvement and allows frequent participation in competition since there is minimal risk of injury. To date, almost 40% of contestants have been women, and the sport is also highly suitable for children as young as 8 years. The latter point is important since in some indigenous communities children are already caught up in cycles of alcohol, drug and substance abuse well before reaching the age at which conventional boxing is allowed. Like conventional boxing, Box’Tag requires high levels of fitness, skill and self-discipline, and it cultivates respect for opponents and officials. It evokes strong camaraderie.
- 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.
During the past year, there has been consistent involvement of indigenous young people from Redfern in Box’Tag events. More than 20 Redfern residents have completed a Box’Tag Entry Level Training Course that is a prerequisite to participation in competition, with the NSW Department of Sport & Recreation having provided funds to enable running of the course in the Redfern area. There has also been some participation of indigenous girls from Bourke (north-western NSW) in the Box’Tag initiative, and expressions of interest from other communities. Consequently, on the evidence available so far, Box’Tag seems to have potential for gaining considerable indigenous participation. In view of the above, Strongarm Boxing & Fitness is currently seeking to progressively build a national Indigenous Box’Tag Initiative, and as a first step the company recently applied to the Indigenous Sport & Recreation Program of the Commonwealth Department of Health & Ageing for a grant that would enable the establishment of a Box’Tag club at Redfern. In keeping with the philosophy expressed in the original Strongarm submission to the Independent Sport Panel, it is envisaged that a combination of small business involvement and Government support could enable the initiative to achieve success.
- 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.
The development of a Box’Tag program specially tailored to encourage the participation of indigenous young people is obviously just an example of an approach that could be more widely adopted. There is considerable scope to pinpoint other segments of the Australian population for which sport and physical activity could be particularly effective in preventing health problems, and to design programs suited to their needs.
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.
Strongarm made extensive comment on this matter in its original submission. However, our group now wishes to add the point that, in the end, the establishment of solid, durable pathways linking the various levels of a sport depends on the desire of individuals to tread those pathways. That desire often stems from the quality of early experience with the sport. The quality of the early experience is not solely related to competitive success. It has much to do with the way that an individual is received and treated in the sporting environment. A major feature of Box’Tag is the philosophy that surrounds it. The focus is not so much on the attainment of elite performance as on using the sport as a means to assist the personal development of each and every participant, particularly through the building of confidence and self-image. An attempt is made to foster a community spirit and a feeling of being involved in something special. To date, this has been facilitated by the regular attendance at Box’Tag events of personnel from the Australian Institute of Sport (which has coordinated the development of the scoring technology used in Box’Tag) and of some well-known boxing identities. Also, Strongarm Boxing & Fitness has a well-established relationship with the Kingsway Community Church, which runs a mentoring program for troubled teenagers.
- Recommend the most effective support and recognition for the coaches, officials, umpires, administrators and volunteers who keep our community clubs alive.
The Strongarm team has found it possible to provide virtually all Box’Tag participants with some form of positive feedback, whether in relation to performance at a competition, improvement in fitness, advances in technique, regular training attendance, assistance provided to peers, or even such factors as enhanced performance at school. This appears to have a significant influence on participant retention, and is perhaps especially important in the case of younger people and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. The regular provision of positive feedback is certainly a vital element of the Indigenous Box’Tag Initiative currently being planned. Intuitively, people who find acceptance and affirmation in a specific sports setting would seem more likely to develop a love of the sport and to eventually move from one level to another, if not as competitors then as a coaches, referees or organisers. Those who attain high performance may be more predisposed to eventually want to move back to the grassroots level that nurtured them. The strengthening of pathways within the sport is then a natural outcome.
- 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.
Almost a quarter of a century ago, Benjamin Bloom, in summarising a series of studies concerning the development of exceptional talent in various fields, noted the crucial impact of encouragement, recognition and personal rewards during the early years (BS Bloom, Developing Talent in Young People, Ballantine Books, New York, 1985). It is logical to think that these factors have a powerful effect on many people apart from just the prodigiously talented, and play a role in producing long-term commitment to specific endeavours. There is perhaps a case for setting up more programs aimed directly at use of positive experience and feedback to develop and sustain personal identity with a sport among people who may never become champion performers. At present, programs of this type are scarce beyond childhood, but they could prove quite valuable in providing sports with a ‘critical mass’ of interest and skill that facilitates the establishment of effective of pathways for athletes, coaches and administrators. The success of programs emphasising personal development through sport requires the involvement of people with special attributes and skill sets. Engagement of small companies might provided a good means of addressing the task as their survival depends on their recruitment and retention of staff who are able to meet client needs.
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
In its original submission, Strongarm noted the potential to increase the funding base for sport through commercialisation of novel sports products, possibly including Box’Tag. It was pointed out, however, that a substantial budget would need to be set aside (perhaps through the Australian Institute of Sport) to enable Australian companies to carry out the necessary product development. With the Federal Government now wanting to stimulate company activities to maintain employment levels and protect the national economy, this concept seems worth reiterating. Developing special sport initiatives to address pressing national health issues may enable the sport industry to access budgets that in the past have been largely outside its domain. The initiatives could be planned with a view to ensuring that they also could be valuable in building base participation for the sports concerned. Strongarm is seeking to achieve the dual benefits of community health improvement and increased Box’Tag participation through its Indigenous Box’Tag Initiative.
Page last updated: 27 March, 2009