Aquatics and recreation doesn't receive 'recognition it deserves'

A recent industry forum, hosted by the Australian Leisure Facilities Association (ALFA), resulted in an overwhelming agreement among invitees "that the industry does not receive the level of recognition it deserves for the important role our facilities play in developing healthy communities."

Attended by representatives of local councils, management organisations and Departments of Sport and Health, the forum aimed to get industry feedback on what ALFA should focus on, how this can be achieved in a sustainable manner and how the industry can work together to strengthen its voice for the betterment of the industry.

Discussions focused around what ALFA needs to do to actively pursue it's vision of "more people actively participating in quality community facilities to improve the health and wellbeing of the Australian population".

Reporting on the forum, ALFA Executive Officer Loren Bartley wrote "there was overwhelming agreement that the industry does not receive the level of recognition it deserves for the important role our facilities play in developing healthy communities.

"For example, our industry consists of incredibly multi-skilled individuals who make a significant impact on people's lives and developing community, yet they are underpaid, undervalued and not recognised for their skills.

"Our industry also isn't taken seriously in regards to the preventative health benefits and economic benefits that it offers. This is most evident through the level of funding invested in the construction and on-going maintenance and upgrading of facilities. When a new facility is being planned and designed, there are usually many compromises made to the final product so that the minimal available budget is not exceeded (too much). This is at the expense of constructing world class facilities and community hubs that not only meet (or fall short of, as is sometimes the case) the needs of our communities, but also provide innovative solutions to other community issues, such as reducing the obesity epidemic, warding off depression and crime prevention (to name a few).

"Despite this, some people (and Councils) may complain about the amount of money being spent on a leisure facility. However, nobody seems to complain about the billions more dollars that are being spent on hospitals tackling many illnesses that could have been prevented through regular visits to a leisure centre.

"This situation is unlikely to improve until the industry is in a position to provide clear evidence that demonstrates the significant benefits it offers. There is solid evidence from across the globe that you can reduce health issues by diet, exercise, weight loss, etc, but no collated data on how much of this is occuring in leisure facilities across Australia. We all know it is happening, but where is the data?

"The good news is that some of this data already exists, it just hasn't been collated and presented in a format appropriate to promote the benefits of leisure facilities per say. There was an understood need from within the industry forum that ALFA needs to pull together and analyse some of this existing data quickly to provide basic statistics to use in the short term, whilst identifying more long-term research requirements and potential partners in this process.

"ALFA's long-term approach will be to undertake research into the impact (in terms of cost reduction) of investing in community sport and recreation facilities. This would include:

• Measures of health
• Economic benefits
• Social outcomes
• Environmental benefits

"Once ALFA can effectively demonstrate the impact the industry makes it will be better placed to be able to work toward gaining the recognition the industry deserves. In turn. ALFA will then be able to create influence to achieve better outcomes for the industry, such as advocating for decent levels of funding for new/upgraded facilities, rather than the minimal levels of investments ... 

For more information Email info@alfaleisure.org.au

Image: The City of Sydney's Prince Alfred Park Pool.

27th June 2008 - NEW NATIONAL BODY FOR AQUATICS AND RECREATION