New funding to get north east Victorians active

Sport North East is one of nine regional sport assemblies sharing in $4.5million in new VicHealth funding to support more regional Victorians to get active.

The three-year funding will help to make sport and physical activity more accessible and attractive to regional teenagers and women inspired to get active by VicHealth’s This Girl Can – Victoria campaign.

Sport North East will support local sport clubs and associations to introduce a range of sport activities, including female-friendly activities such as Bowling with Babies, casual and flexible options for sport and recreation participation, and modified sport activities to encourage greater participation of community members.

Sport North East Team Leader, Tom Mitten, says the funding will help them create more opportunities for north east Victorian residents to become more active and improve their health.

“This is about making grassroots sports more accessible and appealing to north east Victorian locals, so everyone can get involved in the sports they love,” Mr Mitten said.

“We want everyone to get active and embrace a healthy lifestyle, regardless of their age, gender or ability.

“Over the past few years with VicHealth investment, we have successfully implemented the School Holiday Program for primary school-aged children, the Twilight Touch Football program, and Jack Attack Lawn Bowls.

“Through our online surveys and consultation with local sporting clubs, in addition to our club partnership activities such as the school holiday program, community members and sport partners have been able to contribute their ideas and input towards the type of participation opportunities they would like to see in our region.”

The funds will also be used to make sports clubs more inclusive for women and girls, by identifying quick, simple and cost-effective changes like scheduling women and girls’ matches on the main grounds and promoting women’s sport on social media.

In addition to providing more opportunities for women, girls and young people to get active, Sport North East will work to improve participation rates of other community groups, such as primary school-aged children through the School Holiday Program.

VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter said the program aimed to address declining rates of physical activity and the associated impact on the health of Victorians.

“Regional Sports Assemblies have such fantastic knowledge of their local areas so we’re proud to work with them to meet the physical activity needs of regional Victoria,” Ms Rechter said.

“Less than a third of us do enough physical activity in a week to benefit our physical health and mental wellbeing,” she said.

“This funding is about making sport and physical activity fun, accessible and local for less active regional Victorians.

“We know sports clubs want to get more people in their community involved in their sport, which is why we’re working with them to make their clubs more accessible to everyone – regardless of their gender, age, ability, cultural background or what they look like.”

Media Contacts
Sport North East
Tom Mitten
Program Leader
P: 03 5721 0230
E: tom.mitten@thecentre.vic.edu.au

VicHealth
Rachel Murphy
Senior Media Advisor
P: 03 9667 1319 / 0435 761 732
E: rmurphy@vichealth.vic.gov.au