Pathways for juniors
Junior sport in Australia has different paths that young people can take to play or be involved with sport. The Junior Sport Framework encourages sports to define a pathway for participants of their sport. The pathway should be supported by programs, resources and facilities to enable the sport to provide the best possible experience for juniors.
A sport pathway should explain how young people can move easily and progressively from one stage to the next and provide opportunities in line with their level of skill and maturation.
Typical pathways that are offered by sports include:
It is important to realise that these pathways are only some of the typical ways in which young people may progress through their sport. In reality there are wide range of pathways that a junior athlete can take to achieve enjoyment and success.
Talented pathways
All sports have pathways to higher-level competition for talented athletes at the junior level. Young people can find out about sports pathways through their school, a local club or by approaching the relevant national sporting organisation. Some sports also have talent identification programs across the country.
The Australian Institute of Sport and some state and territory institutes and academies of sport also conduct talent identification programs that aim to recognise and tap into the potential that young people display for specific activities. For example, girls who are tall, have long arm spans and a large aerobic capacity may be suited to train in a sport such as rowing.
For more information, see the National Talent Identification web site.
Grassroots pathways
Grassroots pathways are all about providing opportunities for young people to participate socially in the sports they love. It is important that grassroots participation provides challenges for young people to ensure they are provided with opportunities commensurate with their ability.
There are many opportunities to play junior level sport at local schools and clubs. To find out more, people who are interested in junior sport should contact the local or state sporting association for the sport that interests them.
School pathways
School sport is an integral part of the Australian education system. Sport, including health and physical education, is one of the key learning areas in school curriculum. Schools and teachers are responsible for determining how the outcomes of the sports curriculum are achieved.
Junior Sport at the Australian Sports Commission, through the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation and the Schools Network, works with sporting organisations to help them to develop programs and strategies that complement the curriculum outcomes.
School Sport Australia coordinates inter-school competitions as well as primary and secondary school exchanges across the country. Selection trials are held in each state and those chosen then represent their state at an exchange or championship. In this way school sport can provide grass roots or elite pathways for young people.
Coach/official/administrator pathways
In addition to providing junior athletes an opportunity to progress through the sport, most sports provide opportunities for junior coaches, officials and administrators to develop and progress their skills. Participation in this support area is an important part of encouraging a participant’s life long involvement in sport.
