There is a gap in participation rates of people with disability when compared to the general population. However, there are signs that the work of State Sporting Associations, clubs and associations is making in a difference.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), participation by people with disability in sport related activities increased from 18% in 2012 to 27% in 2015. In addition, the Australian Sports Commission’sAusPlaysurvey results in 2016 showed that people with disability are 10% less likely to participate in sport or active recreation at least once per week when compared to the general population. This is not because of lack of demand.
In addition to this, research by the Australian Sports Commission in 2010 suggested that 75% of people with disability who play sport want to play more, and that 83% of people who are inactive want to get active.
There are a few approaches that your organisation should consider:
Person centered-model.This means working to understand the individual needs of your participants and actively working to break down barriers to entry and ongoing participation. Sport organisations can work with people with disability and listen to their needs, co-design programs and work in partnership with people with disability, including when relevant their families and carers. This approach has been recognised by many State Sporting Associations as fundamental to success of inclusion programs.
Break down stereotypes.Your organisation will benefit by focusing on theabilitiesof people, based on what they tell you they can do. This means changing the perceptions of people with disability within and outside of your sporting community. Gymnastics Victoria has been very successful in changing the perceptions of gymnasts, creating a culture in which more people understand that anyone with a disability is just as much as gymnast as an elite athlete. You can find out more and view their poster serieshere.
Older adults.Data from the ABS (cat 4430.0, 2015) shows that the rates of disability increase with age. For example, while 1 in 5 people have a disability, closer to 2 in 5 people aged 65 and over have a disability. Therefore, if your sport organisation is also targeting older adults as new participants, there may be similarities in your approach. The Victorian Active Ageing Partnership has developed a useful evidence based framework for engaging older adults in sport. Click here to read ithere.
Know the facts – health outcomes for people with disability
Aresource summary by VicHealthhighlights adverse health outcomes which affect people with disability. Participation in sport and active recreation can have a positive impact on health outcomes.
Fifteen per cent of Australian adolescents and young adults (aged 15–29) with disabilities have poor psychological health compared with 8 per cent of their non-disabled peers.
A higher proportion of people with an intellectual disability aged 18–39 years have heart disease (8 per cent), compared with the same age group in the general Victorian population (1 per cent).
In Victoria, people with an intellectual disability are far less likely than the general population to participate in an adequate amount of physical activity (22 per cent compared with 60 per cent).
For more information and references check out the research summaryhere.
It is important for your sport organisation to provide a welcoming and positive experience to everyone. This includes providing a welcoming first experience and creating a club culture which values inclusion. At the local level, inclusion programs are often driven by dedicated volunteers who drive the success of programs. These champions provide tremendous value to sports clubs and they should be supported by everyone in the clubs, including clubs committees, to ensure that inclusion is the responsibility of everyone involved.
Sport organisations should take a holistic approach to providing a welcoming experience to people with disability. To do this, you could consider providing resources, training and support to individuals at all levels of the sport, including committee members, administrators, volunteers, coaches, officials, families and participants.
Some actions your organisation can take include:
Training: Provide face to face training to your coaches to build their capability to work with people with varying abilities.
Resources:Consider providing communication tools, plain language fact sheets, best practice checklists and educational resources to sport the people who deliver your sport. Ensure you communicate these resources widely within your sport in different formats including written, visual and online and look to embed these into ongoing training or workshops (i.e. coach and official courses).
Specific club roles: Many sport clubs nominate an individual from the committee to be the Welcoming Officer whose role is to actively welcome new families and members to the club. You could also instigate a buddy system to pair new members with someone who can help them feel welcome in their first few months at the club. Another role employed by some clubs is a Community Liaison Officer whose role is to engage local community organisations and residents and promote opportunities at the club.
Social activities. Ensure the social aspects of your sport or organisation include activities and events that make everyone feel comfortable and welcome, regardless of their background or ability.
Leadership:Get your leaders, including committee members, coaches and others, to lead by example and create a culture that supports participation by people with disability (for more information see the Leadership section).
Taking a person-centered approach to providing sporting opportunities is an effective way to understand the needs – and abilities – of individuals. Empowering the voice of people with disability can have a profound impact on your sport. It helps to break down stereotypes, change perceptions and educate administrators, volunteers, coaches and officials about what they should do.
Here some tips for how your organisation can better understand potential participants, including people with disabilities which you may be interested in learning more about.
Consult people with disability. It is important that you talk to people and ask them about theycando, and what they need. In doing so, you strengthen your own ability to offer products, services and facilities that meet their needs.
Run a small workshop.Doing this is not as hard as you might think and you don’t need to be a marketing or advertising expert! Find the people you want to know more about, think carefully about the questions you want to ask, get people into a room and ask the questions. A useful resource to use when doing this is theHow to Consult with People with disability.
Promote stories.A great way to empower the voice of people with disability is to promote the stories of participants in your sport. This might include successful athletes, local champions or simply people participating in sport for the health and enjoyment benefits. A good example of this can be heard in apodcastby Vicsport which explores interesting the stories of two people sharing their stories of participating in sport with a disability.
There are also lots of great resources available which provide research and statistics about people with disability:
There are lots of organisations you can partner with to help you build, promote and support opportunities for people with disability to participate. These organisations might also be able to provide training and awareness sessions to build the capability of your staff and volunteers to run programs.
Potential partner organisations may include disability service providers, community health organisations, yourlocal council, schools, yourState Sporting Association, a Regional Sports Assembly or a Disability Sport Organisation.
There are lots of organisations outside the sports industry who would make great partners. Many of these organisations specialise in a specific disability type. Some examples include:
TheVicHealth Partnerships Analysis Toolis a very useful guide for assessing and developing effective partnerships. It is one of the most downloaded resources from the VicHealth website.
Disability Sport Organisations
In Victoria there are a range of State Sport & Recreation Bodies who specialise in providing opportunities for people with disability to gain the benefits of and active lifestyle:
Disability Sport & Recreation
Disability Sport & Recreation (DSR) is a not for profit that has been assisting Victorians with disability to find better health through sport and recreation since 1962. DSR conducts the annual Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation Awards, the Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation Festival, an adaptive equipment loan library, disability awareness training, Sport Rec Access service, camps, wheelchair rugby and AFL wheelchair while conducting kid’s programs in hospitals.With 3,000 members including over 200 organisations, DSR also provides a number of communication opportunities for the various sporting activities conducted by other sporting organisations to promote their programs directly to people with a disability.
Operated by Reclink Australia, Access for All Abilities (AAA Play) provides Australia’s only first-point-of call service connecting people with disability to sports and recreational opportunities in Melbourne, Victoria.
Special Olympics Victoria is proud to be part of the Special Olympics Australia network that provides weekly sports training and regular competition for people with intellectual disability. Through sport, people with intellectual disability learn the skills and build the confidence that can help them achieve their personal best in sport and in life.
Scope is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to support people with physical, intellectual and multiple disabilities achieve their goals in life. Our services help more than 6000 individuals and their families across Victoria. We provide support when and where you need it, whether it’s in your home, at school, in the community or at one of our 99 service locations. We are passionate about providing you with high-quality support that is individualised to your needs.
Sport Inclusion Australia, formerly AUSRAPID, is a national sporting organisation established in 1986 to assist the inclusion of people with an intellectual disability into the mainstream community using sport as the medium. Sport Inclusion Australia has worked within the Australian sporting sector with outstanding success and is proud of the increasing numbers of sporting organisations and clubs taking responsibility for inclusion with the focus on ability and based on social inclusion principles.
Deaf Sports Recreation Victoria (DSRV) was established in 1982 and is the state parent sporting body in Victoria representing the deaf and hard of hearing community. DSRV is a non-for-profit organisation that also manages Victorian representatives of Australian deaf sports team competing in local competitions. DSRV plays a role in putting deaf and hard of hearing Victorians in touch with various sporting clubs, and keep the community informed of events and opportunities for meeting new and like-minded people. DSRV is associated with numerous sporting clubs, recreation groups and health and well-being practitioners and is always looking to create new partnerships. Every 4 years, DSRV supports and coordinates a Victorian state team to participate in the Australian Deaf Games, the most important and largest sporting event in Australia for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria is recognised by Sport and Recreation Victoria as the State Sporting Association responsible for the development, promotion and support of sporting and recreational opportunities for blind and vision impaired people throughout Victoria.
Established in 1978 as the Australian Disabled Skiers Federation, we are now known as Disabled Wintersport Australia (DWA). The organisation has assisted thousands of individuals with disabilities to participate in winter sports annually. From its programs some of the world’s finest alpine skiers have emerged recording victories at the highest level of international competition. The organisation's members range from recreational skiers to Australia’s Winter Paralympians. DWA is an organisation with a national perspective taking responsibility for development of disability winter sport in Australia. Through building the capability and capacity of a National Sport System, including accountability at the national level, we provide members with technically sound sports programs, policies and service.
To enable people with disabilities throughout Victoria to experience enjoyment, challenge and a sense of achievement through participation in equestrian activities to improve their quality of life, attain personal goals and develop life skills. RDAV is a grass roots volunteer based organisation which has 36 centres, 1200 riders, 1100 volunteers and 200 coaches across Victoria. We are proud to have offered our services for 40 years in Victoria.
There are many examples of great partnerships that have enabled more participation in sport by people with disability. Here are some great videos which demonstrate the impact of partnerships:
Australian Deaf Games
Deaf Sports Australia partnered with multiple National Sport Organisations to conduct the 2018 Australian Deaf Games. To view the videos,click here.
Videos below are examples of how organisations are catering for people with disabilities.
Blind Sports Victoria & Gymnastics Victoria - Blind Sports Gymnastics
Disability Sport & Recreation and Rugby Victoria – Wheelchair Rugby
Cricket Australia and Sport Inclusion Australia – Lord’s Taverner’s Shield
