Above: It was a tall order when Marysville and Buxton students teamed up in defence on the basketball court against Play For Life ambassador Johanna Griggs.
By Kath Gannaway
STUDENTS from Marysville and Buxton primary schools helped set the ball rolling last week on a campaign aimed at getting kids involved in club sports.
“Play for life … Join a Sporting Club,” a national initiative of the Australian Sports Commission, was launched in Marysville on Wednesday by campaign ambassador, television personality and former Olympic swimmer, Johanna Griggs, with the help of Hawthorn Football Club players.
The campaign will see up to 150 hands-on events held around Australia as well as an on-line club finder to help people easily identify sporting clubs in their area.
Introducing Play for Life, ASC CEO Matt Miller said an estimated one million children – 37 per cent of children aged between five and 14 – do not participate in any organised sport.
He said the key to getting children involved was to find a sport the child enjoys.
“You may not find the perfect fit first time, but persevere,” he said.
“There are so many options available today – bowls, archery, golf, handball, to the more traditional sports we associate with children such as cricket, tennis and netball.”
Ms Griggs spoke of her love of sport and the role sporting clubs played in her life as she was growing up.
“Playing club sports while growing up gave me a strong grounding in skills which are important to me today,” she said.
“Discipline, time management, teamwork, goal setting, motivation, respect and good sportsmanship are the qualities we value in our peers, work colleagues and friends.
“In my case, sport has also been a platform into my present career in the media,” she said.
Ms Griggs said it was also a huge part of her family life.
“Joining a sport club is not just for children, you can become as involved as much or as little as you like,” she said, adding parents who volunteer are the lifeblood of sporting clubs.
“What you put in, you get back in spades,” she said.
Attracting volunteers, and finding ways to keep them involved, was one of the challenges identified by Mr Miller when asked what are the impediments to children participating in team sports.
He said the same issues of getting kids to commit to a team sport, with so many competing activities – not all outdoors – available to them, were applicable to adult volunteers with increased social and work commitments.
Cost was also relevant, he said.
“There are a number of barriers in terms of cost of participation and we are encouraging sports bodies working with state and national units to look at how do we make participation more affordable,” Mr Miller said. He cited insurance costs as one impediment.
Marysville Primary School principal Peri Dix said for young people and families in the region, distance and cost were factors which influenced participation in sport.
“Our junior cricket team travels to Heathcote and sometimes to Powelltown and it can be very difficult for parents to make that commitment,” she said.
“In some clubs, the cost of enrolling one child, let alone two or three, can be prohibitive,” she added.
Mr Miller said with the proven health, social and academic benefits associated with playing sport increasingly being recognised, the Play For Life – Join a Sporting Club was one way of raising awareness and providing opportunities for increased participation.
