As the days warm up, many of us start to feel more energised and enjoy getting out in the spring sunshine. It’s the perfect time of year to recognise efforts to keep our communities active and healthy.

The Active After-school Communities (AASC) program – a free Australian Government initiative delivered nationally to over 3200 sites by the Australian Sports Commission – provides primary school children with the opportunity to experience more than 70 different sports and up to 20 other structured physical activities.

In Term 4, the AASC is celebrating the successes of our community coaches, local schools and after-school care centres involved in the AASC program, through a national 5 Star Community Coach Award and a Super Site Award in each state and territory.

This year, the national 5 Star Community Coach Award goes to Mark Beovich of Victoria. Mark began working as a community coach in Term 1, 2009. His passion for triathlon has been the driving force behind the delivery of a series of kids’ triathlon programs as a pilot in Victoria. He has also developed a seven-week triathlon program using Play for life games.

AASC regional coordinator Damian Hecker said, ‘Mark has been a pleasure to work with and his passion for triathlon and exposing the sport to children is infectious’.

The AASC sites, including schools and after-school care centres, play an important role in the successful delivery and coordination of the AASC program. The Super Site Awards highlight best practice and recognise sites for their exceptional contribution. The winners of this year’s Super Site Awards are:

• Australian Capital Territory – Curtin School Age Care
• New South Wales – Bundanoon Primary School
• Northern Territory – Na-Wulg Wulg Family Care Service
• Queensland – Marian Outside School Hours Care
• South Australia – St Thomas School
• Tasmania – Triabunna District High School
• Victoria – The Patch Primary School Outside School Hours Care
• Western Australia – Caralee Community School and Fremantle Language Development Centre.

Caralee Community School physical education teacher Jason Shapcott said, ‘Active After-school sport has proved to be very popular at Caralee. We have found it has helped improve physical education outcomes across the school and for these kids to join local sporting clubs is fantastic’.

The AASC program is an inclusive, fun and safe environment in which children can participate in sport through games-based activities. Without the program, more than 80 per cent of participating children would not be engaged in structured physical activity after school.

There are activities to suit all interests, from more traditional sports like AFL, football (soccer), cricket, hockey, tennis, netball and softball, to less mainstream options like fencing, cheerleading, lawn bowls, dancing, martial arts and circus skills.

The aim is to encourage traditionally inactive children to get active and develop a love of sport that motivates them to join a local sporting club. Sporting clubs are an important part of community life, so the benefits of increased membership flow through the whole community.