24 Jun 2009

The Australian Football League (AFL) is working to build a sports culture more inclusive of young people and people with disability and has found that purposeful and patient communication with participants, stakeholders and communities is crucial to make sport more accessible for everyone.

Manager of the ASC’s Disability Sport unit, Peter Downs, said the AFL has gone ahead in ‘leaps and bounds’ over the past 12 months, using its specially developed Disability Action Plan to roll out strategies for inclusion across Australia.

The AFL celebrated its progress at a recent Collingwood–Geelong match with a half-time competition between two teams of players with intellectual disabilities who are part of the Football Integration Development Association.

‘Of course, it’s not just about the players on the field,’ Downs said. ‘Inclusion is about having a spectrum of opportunity for people to be involved in every aspect of the sport, from coaching and officiating to volunteering.’ Volunteer AFL Project Coordinator Andrew Hughes believes a slow, strategic and sustainable approach built on two-way communication is the best way for organisations to increase inclusiveness in any sport. Not including everyone when developing an action plan can be disastrous.

‘You can have the best intentions in the world, but until you have ownership and buy-in ... until people understand the benefits, and you have the resources and strategies in place, then it is in danger of falling over,’ says Hughes.

AFL is just one of 25 sports working with the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) as part of the ASC’s national Sports CONNECT initiative, to address barriers that prevent people with disability from fully participating in sport.

The AFL has also been strengthening its junior sport policy and programs, basing its modifications on the ASC’s national Junior Sport framework, which guides sporting organisations in building safe, fun, quality and inclusive environments for delivering junior sport.

The ASC collaborated closely with the AFL to encourage consultation with its stakeholders, development of modified games consistent with contemporary research on junior sport, and distribution of appropriate equipment. It was through the process of consulting with grassroots stakeholders that the AFL discovered a gap in its delivery pathway.

Stakeholders highlighted that there was a drop off when children reached the age limit for the AFL’s modified junior Auskick program.

There was nowhere for these kids to go,’ says Junior Sport unit manager Lara Hayes. ‘Based on this feedback the AFL decided to split their junior sport programs into two: one catering to kids between five and 12 years and the other for youth between 13 and 18 years.

What really drove this was the AFL seeking feedback from its clubs and state bodies. It’s being driven from the bottom up,’ says Hayes.