Australian Parliament Sports Club Community Sport Award Winners
Find out more about the awards here
Sport For All Award: The Big Issue - Community Street Soccer Program
The Big Issue Australia's Community Street Soccer Program uses sport as a mechanism to engage homeless and marginalised people and promote social inclusion.
It involves males and females, 16 years and above and varying ability and fitness levels, getting together once a week, training and playing matches
The heart of the Community Street Soccer Program is weekly training sessions at permanent pitches located in underprivileged communities across Australia, where playing equipment and a dedicated soccer coach are provided.
Participants get fit, make new friends and seek support and advice. Support staff also work closely with players, linking them to services that address their homelessness, substance abuse, family breakdown, grief and loss and mental illness.
Street Soccer values participation over football skills and competition, engaging people who in many cases have given up on counselling and traditional support systems and services.
It puts the person at the centre of the solution and provides them with the support and tools necessary to help themselves make positive changes.
More information can be found on the Big Issue Website
Sustainable Sport Award: Australian Drug Foundation Good Sports Program
The Australian Drug Foundation run a number of successful programs that are helping to raise awareness of the issues around drug and alcohol problems, and reduce harm in our communities.
Good Sports aims to reduce alcohol and other drug problems, increase the viability of sporting clubs and improve the range and quality of sport options available within the community.
Good Sports, Good Mental Health – Build Your Game is a joint initiative of the Australian Drug Foundation and beyondblue: the national depression initiative. The program aims to encourage and support sporting clubs to identify and help their members deal with depression/anxiety and related drug and alcohol use.
Community Action mobilises communities to take action against alcohol related harm.
The alcohol accreditation is consistent with the national Good Sports program, while canteen managers are supported to provide healthy options and learn about food handling and nutrition. Clubs commit to progressively implementing healthy changes in the canteen as they move through the accreditation program.
The majority of clubs (340) either have junior teams or are junior sports clubs who have participated in the Good for Kids, Good for Life program. An Australian Research Council funded research partnership including Hunter New England Population Health, University of Newcastle, The Turning Point and the ADF is currently measuring the impact of Good Sports in a sample of clubs in both the Hunter New England region and Sydney
More information can be found on the ADF website
