Labor pledges to expand inclusive sport

A program that aims to promote and expand inclusive sport and recreation, currently being piloted in Geelong, would be greatly expanded across the nation if Labor wins this weekend’s Federal election.

Last week, Shadow Minister for Sport and Tourism Senator Don Farrell and Corangamite federal member Libby Coker announced that a Labor Government would put an extra $10.34 million into Get Skilled Access (GSA), which runs the Sports 4 All (S4A) program.

The City of Greater Geelong is one of five local government areas now running a pilot of S4A, which involves employing a person with disability or lived experience of disability as an inclusion coach to help deliver the program at the grassroots level to sporting clubs and schools.

Labor’s pledge will extend S4A to 80 LGAs across regional, remote and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, determined in consultation between S4A and the Federal Government.

Senator Farrell and Coker visited the Nimble Hits Indoor Sports Stadium in Bell Park to make commitment alongside GSA Chief Executive Danielle Fraillon and GSA representatives.

Making the announcement, Senator Farrell stated “Labor believes all Australians should have the chance to enjoy sport.

“Sport’s benefits include boosting our mental and physical health, supporting community connectivity and social inclusion, and much more.

“Expanding Sport4All will help skill up schools and sporting clubs to provide even more and better opportunities for Australians with a disability to participate in their favourite sports.”

GSA was founded by champion wheelchair tennis player and 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott, and Dr Lisa Chaffey - Alcott’s first wheelchair basketball coach and now a GSA consultant.

Dr Chaffey, present at last week’s commitment, added “one of the things we like at GSA is that we have a phrase: ‘We call people in, we don’t call them out’.

“We are encouraging club members and students and staff at schools to be confident around disability and understand that people with disability are people - they might want to play the sport, they might want to be in the tuckshop, they might want to be on the board.”

Image (from left): Get Skilled Access inclusion coach Penelope Bunn, GSA participant Alex Blanden, Corangamite Federal MP Libby Coker participant Alex Blanden, Senator Don Farrell, GSA consultant Dr Lisa Chaffey and inclusion coach Travis Zimmer. Credit: Get Skilled Access/Facebook.