Page 3819 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I congratulate the many community sporting clubs that we have in the ACT and also add my thanks to those already expressed before—to the volunteers who work with these clubs and contribute so much. Not all, of course, are parents; many of these are grandparents, other relatives and other members of the community.
In recent years, the ACT government has committed more than $16 million to drought-proofing our facilities in order to ensure all Canberrans have access to quality facilities. In 2008, the “where will we play” vision committed that by 2013, no ACT government sportsground would be solely reliant on potable water. This aim is to increase the sustainability of facilities in the face of future droughts or other impacts of climate change.
Sport and recreation facilities are considered an important part of the planning process for new schools. Sports halls, ovals and playgrounds are key elements to encourage physical activities. The minister mentioned the wonderful synthetic surface in Hawker, and the Nicholls neighbourhood oval, also being upgraded to a synthetic surface—and also the Ngunnawal neighbourhood oval being upgraded to a drought-tolerant surface. This facility is accessed by Ngunnawal primary school and junior cricket and AFL.
The central task of sports in schools is to prepare students for lifelong participation in sport and physical activity. The rationale is universal access, and it is organised to meet educational outcomes. School sport is the only sport program with access to every child in Australia. It is a major force in junior sport. School sport offers students opportunities to try new or different sports. It meets school needs in terms of class and school spirit and students’ needs through the development of self-esteem and peer respect. The ACT has a number of advantages that, combined with effective levels of government support, have enabled us to punch above our weight in sport.
These include the comparatively small size of the ACT, which means that teams and squads can get together easily for training and coaching; short distances between centres; access to a range of national and international standard playing and training facilities—many coaches in the ACT have international experience and have been trained by coaches at that standard—an education system supportive of sport in schools, particularly in representative areas; and the presence in Canberra of many national league teams, in a variety of sports, that have enjoyed success and ensured that sport has a high profile in this city.
As I said before, junior sport is an integral part of the development pathway in sport. It is a vital part of the process for children to learn gross motor skills and the basic elements of fundamental movement. These vital skills help children and young people to further progress to elite levels of sport. The combination of coaching as a junior athlete, the provision of facilities to support participation, organisations to deliver participation and the support of families—these are key elements for the recipe of athletic progression.
Most ACT sports have representative programs or programs to identify those who have above-average skills and to provide those selected with high-level training and coaching. Some limit these programs to older participants, but some begin in earlier years. For some sports, their talent development program is conducted solely through the ACT Academy of Sport.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video