Grants aim to help more women and girls participate in sport across Victoria

Sporting clubs across Victoria are being supported by state funding to help increase the participation of more women and girls with 104 community sporting organisations having been awarded grants through the Change Our Game Community Activation Grants Program.

Grant recipients will share in more than $500,000 for events and initiatives that aim to increase participation and enhance gender equality in sport.

Victorian Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence notes “community sport plays a vital role in shaping our values and perceptions and driving important cultural change.

“This continued investment cements Victoria’s leadership in supporting women and girls in sport and recreation and advancing us towards gender equality in sport.”

A variety of activities and initiatives have been funded, from the Soccer Mums program offering weekly social, non-competitive soccer to their culturally and linguistically diverse community, to a monthly women-focused coaching development program to build confidence, technical skills and leadership for women volleyball coaches in Victoria.

Broadmeadows Basketball Association will deliver the ‘No Hoopla’ program, an initiative to provide basketball for women. It aims to engage 400 women in one of Victoria’s most socially disadvantaged and culturally diverse areas in three free, weekly and flexible basketball programs for all ages and abilities.

Broadmeadows Basketball Association General Manager Luke Lehmann shared “Women’s basketball is growing in popularity both at the community and elite levels. We’re so excited to utilise our Change Our Game funding to ensure women in the Broadmeadows region are part of that growth and feel they can learn to play basketball in a safe and supportive environment.”

Since the program’s inception in 2018, the Community Activation Grants has invested more than $2.4 million in community sports organisations across Victoria.

The grants are part of the State Government’s $18.8 million investment in the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation – the first of its kind in Australia – and the Change Our Game initiative, which is dedicated to levelling the playing field in sport.

Established in 2017, the Office delivers nation-leading policy, advocacy, research, and education in pursuit of gender equality, including the Fair Access Policy Roadmap, Balance The Board initiative, Change Our Game Women in Sports Broadcasting program, Research Grants Program, and Professional Development Scholarships.

For more information, visit changeourgame.vic.gov.au/