Equity: Increasing Participation In Sports

In order to increase participation in sport we first must improve equity and access. Equity focuses on providing equal opportunities to all members of society and aims to eliminate unreasonable barriers that restrict sports participation - such as discrimination, prejudices and stereotyping. A lack of equal opportunities is a primary reason as to why an individual may choose to not participate in a specific sport. AFL, like many other sports, intend to remove unreasonable barriers in the sport to help increase participation rates. Development programs – such as AusKick - target all children, no matter gender or race and encourage them to get involved in AFL. Women’s leagues are also popping up all over Australia with more than 51,000 Queensland

women and girls participating in the sport and a 30% increase over all programs (http://www.aflq.com.au/female/). The AFL also offers multicultural, Indigenous and disability programs. The AFL disability program supports the right of people with disabilities to be involved in all aspects of Australian football, including full and equal active participation. The development and implementation of a Disability Action Plan allows local clubs to provide a club environment which encourages the involvement of people with disabilities and accommodates their requirements. Multicultural inclusion is also a major focus of the AFL. Programs such as the Diversity Championships run in Cairns earlier this year provided players with the unique opportunity to strengthen their game with people from culturally diverse backgrounds. An individual’s access to a sport also contributes to their participation.