The twin themes of ‘active communication’ and ‘internal buy in’ are essential elements for success that resonate across all Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Community Sport programs. These range from Indigenous Sport and Disability Sport to All Cultures and Women and Sport, where ASC works with sports groups to make them accessible and increase participation.
Manager of Women and Sport Linda Muir said the importance of quality communication with stakeholders is a recurring theme, particularly in managing the ASC’s ‘Building a Better Sport: Better Management Practices’ project.
This project aims to get more women into leadership and decision making roles in sporting organisations.
“For example, Bowls Australia identified that a barrier to obtaining new female memberships was the dress regulations,” Linda Muir said.
“To effect change to the regulations across all State and Territory bodies, as well as individual clubs, they needed to have clear, well constructed and widely distributed communications.
“Stakeholders resistant to change are more flexible if the reasons for the change have been communicated.”
At its heart, Building a Better Sport centres on the need for research, particularly with stakeholders, to help sports identify planning gaps, areas for improvement, trends, and opportunities in relation to the involvement of women.
Bowls Australia and Golf Australia are two national sporting organisations being funded over three years to help develop a better management framework.
The success of this project will greatly depend on the quality and quantity of the organisations’ communication.
Organisations that can effectively communicate their policies, current news and events to all levels of stakeholders can expect greater understanding and ‘buy in’ from all involved.
Similarly, the ASC’s network of Indigenous Sport Development Officers in the Indigenous Sport Program are using communication with Indigenous communities as their chief method of identifying sporting needs and then developing programs — often in partnership with mainstream sporting organisations, like the AFL, Softball Australia and Netball Australia — to deliver community based sporting opportunities and services.
Active communication is also essential for any sport organisation working with people from multicultural backgrounds. A greater understanding and awareness of diverse lifestyles, experiences, attitudes and cultures is paramount.
Conveying the importance and value of being inclusive to everyone in a club or community group encourages participation and supports positive sporting and social experiences for all.
For more information on how to make your sport more inclusive, visit www.ausport.gov.au/participating
*Copy supplied by ASC
