Sportswatchautumn16web

Sportswatch

Autumn 2016

QSport Board engages State sporting bodies on forward plan for industry collective The largely unchanged Board elected at the QSport Annual General Meeting on 31 March has commenced consultation with the industry collective’s 65 State sporting organisation (SSO) members on its objectives and activities for the remainder of the decade.

The move follows a briefing mid-March by State Government officers on the Review of Industry Peak Body funding from 2011 carried out by KPMG for the Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing (DNPSR) last year.

The consultation process covers meetings of QSport’s four Sport Groups – Aquatic, Field Team, Indoor and Outdoor – and follow up by Board Directors with member SSO delegates unable to make organised group meetings.

The Board, with the one new face in Tennis Queensland CEO Cameron Pearson, will review feedback at upcoming meetings over the next few months, prior to the expected release of State Government guidelines later in the year for ongoing assistance over 2017-19 for sport and recreation development.

Inside Stadiums Queensland – Business Model

Page 5

AFL SportsReady – Traineeship Opportunities

Page 8

2016 marks Sportspeople’s 20th year of operations

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Sportswatch/Awards under review

Page 15

Fire Ant Threat to Sporting Community

Page 16

Finally some good news Page 19 - Queensland’s weight gain is slowing QAS celebrates 25 years of sporting success

Page 21

QSport 2016 Meetings / Page 22 Activities / Functions Schedule

At the first meeting of the Board in April following the QSport Annual General meeting in March, Surf Life Saving Queensland CEO John Brennan OAM, Queensland Rugby League CEO Rob Moore and Taekwondo Queensland Operations Manager Kate Eggar were returned as QSport Chair, Deputy Chair and Treasurer respectively.

Sportswatch is a quarterly publication of QSport which is an independent collective of State sporting organisations established to enhance the development of sport in Queensland. Sportswatch aims to inform readers and views expressed in Sportswatch are not necessarily those of QSport. No responsibility is accepted by QSport for consequences emanating from actions or failures to act on material within this publication. For contributions, advertisements and enquiries, contact the QSport Office at Sports House, Cnr Castlemaine and Caxton Streets MILTON Q 4064 Telephone 07 3369 8955 Facsimile 07 3369 8977 Email admin@qsport.org.au

From the

Office By the time this edition of Sportswatch hits the desks / screens of computers and other devices of readers, we’ll have seen a Federal Budget announced and a Federal election called.

Not long after, a State Budget will be brought down by Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Sport Curtis Pitt.

All three will have, to varying degrees implications for sport as we grapple with not easy times for Queenslanders and more widely Australians.

With fiscal constraints on Federal and State Governments, albeit to differing degrees across jurisdictions, one won’t expect much by way of surprises for sport.

That said, Federal support for a Townsville sport precinct development pledged prior to the 30 June won’t surprise.

Elsewhere in this edition is an article on Stadiums Queensland and its business model, prompted by some intermittent media exposure for calls here and there for greater hirer support and also developments interstate that are ramping up expenditure by governments on various existing and new stadia for sport.

How these vital pieces of infrastructure came about varies from state to state and awareness and understanding of how our stadiums operate and why is important for balanced discussion in the local sporting environment.

Also of interest is an article from Queensland Health, prompted by a recent discussion with Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young who advised that Queensland’s weight gain is slowing which is, as the article advances, some good news after annual increases over past decades.

Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

Sporting clubs quite rightly get a mention for their efforts but getting our weight under control requires both individual responsibility as well as collective effort and there is no room for complacency.

Other articles in this edition on AFL Sportsready, the ongoing Fire Ant threat to the sporting community, from Sportspeople’s Rob McMurtrie looking back and looking forward 20 years and the Queensland Academy of Sport celebrating 25 years of sporting success by Queenslanders are interesting, particularly the last as Queenslanders are again expected to dominate Australian Olympic team success in Rio in August.

And finally a word or two on the review of State Government funding provided to QSport from 2011 carried out last year by consultants KPMG mentioned on the front page of this edition.

It was the third examination in five years by government of what QSport does and not surprisingly, the briefing on this latest exercise shone little new light on the subject, confirming that while a volunteer Board of ten and a small secretariat of two is not all things to all people, the activities funded are generally consistent with the funding program objects and that program administration is relatively efficient.

So, on we all go, onward and upward, hopefully forward not backward and something we’ll all find out more about down the track later in the year.

In the meantime, the Qsport Office will continue to roll out this year’s approved program of activities and events.

Peter Cummiskey CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 3

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

Stadiums Queensland – Business Model Background The establishment of SQ (formerly the Major Sports Facilities Authority) in 2001 as a single organisation to own and manage Queensland’s major sports facilities provides the following benefits;

Hirers benefit from such an approach because the venue services they require to stage their events are provided at market competitive rates including such specialised functions as ticketing, catering, security, cleaning and waste management.

• avoids duplication of overheads associated with business systems for such functions as payroll, asset management, and financial management which had (prior to the establishment of SQ) been performed separately and independently by the various venue trusts and Council departments;

SQ Model The SQ model for Government-funded major sports facilities has attracted considerable interest from other states and even other countries. The model has proven to be durable, effective and a commercially sound approach to the management of major sports venues and facilities.

• hirers, patrons and taxpayers benefit from the lower business costs that result from the efficiencies achieved through economies of scale; • enables co-ordination and planning of major sports facilities and therefore helps Queensland attract more major events.

Legislation The Major Sports Facilities Act 2001 requires SQ to manage and operate its portfolio of venues in accordance with commercial principles. Consistent with this legislated obligation, it is expected the commercial sports franchises that hire SQ stadia will meet the costs associated with staging their particular event and contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of the venues they use.

Event costs are not stadium costs. They are the actual costs associated with staging the event.

Indeed these costs would not be incurred if not for the hirer conducting an event. It is not appropriate taxpayer funds be used to subsidise the operating costs of what are commercial businesses, which are substantial profit motivated professional sporting enterprises in their own right.

Cost efficiencies SQ endeavours to keep event costs as low as possible by procuring event services through regular competitive tendering. As an owner of multiple major sports facilities, SQ is also able to reduce direct event costs from economies of scale through procurement of venue services on a multivenue basis.

Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

Venue hiring SQ’s venue hiring model for Queensland-based franchises in national and international sporting competitions (NRL, Super Rugby, AFL, A-League and Big Bash League) and for other major sporting and entertainments events (eg State of Origin, international cricket, stadium concerts) is to recover all direct costs associated with staging an event as well as a proportional contribution towards venue overheads.

The SQ hiring model; a. treats all hirers equally so taxpayer funds are not subsidising the business and event costs of specific franchises and therefore placing others at a commercial disadvantage in what is a highly competitive sports market; b. ensures all hirers have access to a venue on equal terms, with no cross-subsidy between hirers, ie SQ revenue from one event is not used to subsidise another hirer’s event since they all operate in the same (competitive) market; and c. provides each hirer with opportunities to maximise revenues from their events by having access to a “clean venue”.

The Queensland Government has provided the capital (via debt financing) for the construction, or redevelopment, of SQ venues. Historically there has been no recovery of this cost of capital in hiring fees, relieving sporting franchises and other hirers of this cost.

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At the same time, SQ offers the hirer a “clean venue” which allows hirers to maximise returns from their events. This places most of the stadium revenue streams in the hands of the hirers. Those revenue streams include all seats that are available for public sale (excluding the membership offerings at Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba), all corporate suites and boxes that are available for public sale, as well as signage and merchandise. In addition, hirers are allowed to make available to sponsors supply rights for certain product categories for their events at the stadium. These supply rights (usually beer, wine, spirits and soft drink) provide the clubs with considerable leverage to boost the value of their sponsorships.

Most interstate venues retain these revenue streams. SQ hirers have access to stadia revenue streams which hirers of interstate venues do not always receive.

The revenue SQ receives from naming rights is used to help meet the cost of venue overheads, including maintenance and to help fund refurbishments. SQ retains a proportion of seats for sale as stadium memberships at The Gabba and Suncorp Stadium. This provides a revenue stream for the repayment of loans for the capital works at these venues which SQ has to fund.

The SQ business model is one that responds to market conditions and team performance by providing for both the hirer and SQ to benefit from higher revenues when events are well supported.

Benefits to Queensland through Queensland’s business model

Stadiums

Over the past 15 years, the Government has invested almost $1 billion in delivering to Queensland the very best in stadia and venues to assist Queensland sporting franchises become powerhouse brands, attract and retain highly sought after events (Bledisloe Cup, State of Origin, 2015 Cricket World Cup and 2015 Asian Cup) and provide Queenslanders with world class facilities to watch elite sport.

This investment benefits the Queensland taxpayer by providing quality venues that attract events, generate jobs and deliver an economic benefit.

The community gets very good economic and social returns from this investment. Venues deliver economic benefits by generating business for the hospitality, restaurants, bars and transport services sectors, as well as jobs for Queenslanders (an event can generate direct jobs and provide skills and training opportunities in those sectors). Venues also deliver social benefits in the form of facilities 6

that host community based sport, access for sports fans and families to enjoy elite sport, school sport and recreation pursuits for individuals. However, it is not seen as appropriate that the taxpayer meets the costs associated with running the sports businesses themselves.

Events show off Queensland to millions around the world through the broadcasting of elite sports events. Economic research shows SQ’s venues contribute over $300 million to the economy each year.

Patrons benefit through access to major sports facilities which are of a high standard, without ticket prices being impacted by the need to recover the capital cost of the facility or to generate a return on this capital.

Transport SQ currently implements the Government policy of integrated ticketing. A small component of the ticket price provides patrons with public transport to events at SQ venues in south-east Queensland.

The venue operator (on behalf of Translink) recovers part of the cost of these transport services from each hirer through an integrated ticketing levy.

Summary While the Government has invested in the provision of infrastructure like stadia, it does not subsidise the operations of teams which play at these venues. They are, in the end, commercial businesses which are substantial, multi-faceted franchises turning over tens of millions of dollars in a season.

All are in the business of maximising the commercial returns to their respective organisations through; • attracting and maintaining market share; • developing their brand through investment in player development and sponsorship support; • television ratings; and • maximising revenues.

How the sporting franchises use stadium facilities to market their product is a matter for them.

How much they spend on “dressing” the venue, marketing, production and pricing strategies are business decisions they make.

Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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AFL SportsReady – Traineeship Opportunities Associate member AFL SportsReady recently held their Annual Graduation ceremony evening at the Victoria Park Golf Complex.

them, valuing the relationship and focussing on a strong outcome for all parties.

The gala occasion marked the 11th running of the event from humble beginnings in 2006.

Gretel Tippett from the Queensland Firebirds and the Australian Diamonds was on hand to present the graduates with their certiďŹ cates. Her special guest was team mate Kim Raviallion.

AFL SportsReady are dedicated to providing employment and training opportunities to young people who are looking to build a career particularly in sport and recreation but also with other partners. Some trainees use the traineeship as a gap year before heading to university and others just want to start an entry level role and then progress through the ranks of a sporting or other businesses.

Currently there are a number of trainees with sports organisations such as the Brisbane Lions, Queensland Rugby League, Gold Coast Suns, AFL Queensland, Brisbane Broncos, Golf Clubs, various Aquatic centres and also assisting PE and Sports departments in schools. Other partners include the ANZ, CBA, Australia Post and Kmart.

SportsReady provide strong support to organisations that elect to place a trainee with

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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alaq.com.au Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

Nothing has changed, but everything has changed.

Looking back and looking forward 20 years.

2016 marks Sportspeople’s 20th year of operations in Australia and New Zealand; so, when Peter Cummiskey invited me to write a piece for the QSport Autumn Sportswatch I wasn’t sure where to start.

Over these two decades Sportspeople has successfully managed and placed more roles than any other recruiter operating in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector here in Australia and New Zealand. More jobs and more employers.

Looking back what strikes me is not only the continual growth in the number of assignments we are commissioned to manage and the breadth

Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

of the work, but the internationalisation of the job seeker pool.

The breadth of this work is also interesting as we now reach across the entire spectrum of organisations from local community level, midtier and others operating in highly commercialised environment. From entry level roles to Chief Executive Officers and pretty much everything between, is a constant feature of our work.

For many roles we are specifically contracted by our client employer to develop a world’s best and international candidate field. Chief Executive, Performance Director, Chief Operating Officer,

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Marketing Director, Financial/Corporate Services Director, Event Managers and often HP specialists, are some of the roles where an international field is expected.

The way we develop these groups in 2016 is vastly different to the methods we used in 1996 when we established the Sportspeople business. Remember, applications were sent by post and fax in 1996!

While 1:1 contact underpins all the strategy today, our ability to alert the market to opportunities, the information we can provide and the ways we can communicate has changed fundamentally.

Our website has a worldwide audience (100+ countries). We can distribute a communication piece to a clean dB of 40,000+ people by the touch of a button. We can segment a job by function, location and salary and then send an alert to a smaller, targeted candidate group. We can conduct calls and interviews via Skype and other mediums talking with candidates as if they are sitting in the room with us. We can identify candidates who may not be actively looking for a role but are open to receiving news of upcoming opportunities and others actively seeking a new position, regardless of whether they are working in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector or not.

And in 2016 it doesn’t make too much difference

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where the job seeker is located as a call to Townsville or Melbourne is virtually the same as a call to London, New York, Paris, Dubai or Shanghai. It’s just a matter of our software scheduling the call to accommodate the local time differences.

One of the common questions, particularly when speaking with an undergraduate group, is our take on the where the jobs will be in the future.

That’s an open ended question so it always allows us to be, well, creative in our response.

What I can say is back in 1998 we decided to take a risk and launch a Job Board when really there were very few Job Boards in existence. At the time SEEK had just been launched by the Bassett brothers into the Australian market, newspapers still carried all the positions vacant advertisements and the web was still so young that we always referred to it as the ‘world wide web’. In many ways it has taken 18 years for our Job Board to be an ‘overnight success.’

Fast forward to 2016 and the existence of print newspapers is in peril, not only due to shrinking revenue from jobs, real estate and other classified advertising, but also the availability of 24/7 online news and social media. SEEK has a market capitalisation of $4.4 billion and for our part, the Sportspeople Jobs Board has played a major

Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

and significant role in bringing job seekers and employers together every day since. In fact last year 2.1million people visited the Sportspeople Jobs Market and over the past 12 months we have achieved record results in terms of visits, sales, revenue, number of jobs and number of jobs filled.

So, what does the next 20 years look like for jobs in our sector? According to eminent futurist Dr Peter Ellyard 70% of the job categories, and products and services of the year 2025 have yet to be invented. To put some context around this, remember the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on culture and commerce since the mid1990’s, Facebook only launched in 2004 and Apple’s App Store opened in 2008. I mention these web based services as they will continue to influence many, many things in our daily life moving forward.

One of the big opportunities in our sector has to involve the aging population. The number of people aged 65 and over has increased from 11.6 per cent of the population (or 2.1 million people) in 1993 to 14.4 per cent (or 3.3 million people) in 2013. We are living longer and retiring later,

if we can afford to retire at all. ‘Leaders’ will be older workers coming back into the workplace to provide advice to co-workers on how to do things better, more efficiently and smarter. These Leaders will of course, have lifetime experiences to pass onto to businesses and will be seen in all sectors.

Think Sport Governance Leader; Finance Leader; Marketing Leader and so on.

This aging population will also be consumers of programs that help them maintain an active, healthy lifestyle. There will be greater opportunities within sport for Masters programs that cater for both competition and participation.

The reputation of every organisation is increasingly vulnerable, with a plethora of social media able to damage or influence the brand’s worth. A Brand Manager in 2025 might be in charge of not only how a business is perceived but also monitoring, managing and ultimately influencing the brand externally, including ‘spinning’ social media.

According to recent figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation, Australia has jumped from fifth to fourth fattest nation with 28.3 per cent of the adult population obese.

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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Federal & State Governments will continue the realignment of sport funding, slowly away from elite, high performance with a greater emphasis on participation. Opportunities will arise in this participation space as will health promotion roles and general wellbeing, including in-house programs as part of the employee benefits packages offered by employers.

One of the great shifts in sport participation and physical activity has been under way now for the past 20 years. Recent ABS data has shown a migration away from those highly ‘organised’ sports toward those that offer greater flexibility in participation and more informal. Walking for exercise, fitness, cycling, jogging & swimming are the top 5 for men & women (combined) with tennis, soccer, cricket & basketball the top ‘organised’ sports.

participation programs will present challenges for those organisations that aren’t ready. Organised Sport could face a double whammy through decreasing membership as people seek less structured physical activity.

All of these things problems will create opportunities. From opportunities come solutions.

People are good at finding solutions and that’s why, despite all the change ahead, there will always be jobs in our sector.

In truth, if you really want to know what jobs there will be in 2025, you’ll have to ask me in 2026!

Robert McMurtrie Sportspeople

To continue to function in 2025 National & State Sporting Organisations will need to reshape what they do, the ways they do it and in particular, their perception of membership. The likely shifts in federal & state funding away from high performance and with a greater emphasis on

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

Sportswatch/Sport Awards under review This edition of Sportswatch could well be the last in this current format of QSport’s longstanding quarterly publication.

Arriving in hard copy form every three months on the desks of its regular readership for over 20 years, in the past twelve months it has moved from that to also embrace electronic distribution to satisfy the increasing demand for all things digital.

Fair enough and while that adds to its potential to be read, it’s worth nothing that some wouldn’t necessarily read it if it ceased to arrive in hard copy form. That’s acknowledging that we can’t guarantee it being read in hard copy, either.

Hard copy doesn’t cost QSport other than some minimal layout costs for design by longstanding sponsor Kwik Kopy, and the time of QSport staff to put it together.

The production of copies is provided by another longstanding QSport sponsor Konica Minolta and the mail out distribution by more recent supporter Pronto Direct.

Sportswatch is a longstanding and useful component of QSport’s communication and stakeholder engagement strategy and as such, any pressure to change its place in the scheme of things needs careful consideration.

That’s not to say that things about it shouldn’t change and a regular reader’s recent feedback suggesting an “editorial makeover”, while stressing “look” rather than “content”, has merit.

page of this edition, the QSport Board has been looking at the annual Queensland Sport Awards program of promotion and recognition following the 21st Awards Presentation last November, held 20 years to the day since the inaugural Awards in 1995.

While “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” could well apply to the actual presentations, the overall program from nominations through selection of finalists and ultimate winners and what follows each year has been deemed worthy of a look see, if only to confirm that how it has evolved is still the optimal process.

The date, venue and actual categories have been addressed and readers who don’t miss this annual night of the year for Queensland sport can pencil in Thursday evening, 8 December at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre First call for nominations for this year’s 11 Award categories will take place later this month.

Reach audiences you’ve only dreamed of.

It can happen by design.

So, if you read this item and have a view you want to share with the editor of this quarterly newsletter, drop us an email to admin@qsport.org.au.

Sportswatch is not the only aspect of QSport’s activities under review.

Prior to the developments covered on the front Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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Fire Ant Threat to Sporting Community Although small, fire ants are one of the worst invasive species to hit Australia’s shores.

Fire ants can ruin our lifestyle, and have serious environmental and agricultural impacts. They inflict a terribly painful sting and can restrict everyday activities, such as barbeques, picnics and sporting events.

The National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program could not have achieved its success to date without the ongoing awareness and vigilance from local communities. Seventy per cent of fire ant sightings in South East Queensland are reported by the general public.

It’s important that you don’t attempt to disturb or destroy the ant nest yourself because if it’s not done correctly the worker ants will simply evacuate their queen to a safe location and start a new nest.

If you think you’ve spotted fire ants, take a photo if possible and upload it to the website www.anthunt.daf.qld.gov.au, or call Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23.

We urge you to continue checking your yards, local parks and recreational areas for fire ants.

A typical fire ant nest looks like a mound of loose dirt, with no visible entry or exit holes. Nests can also be found under logs, rocks or gardening materials.

Fire ants are small, varying in size between 2-6mm and are coppery-brown with a dark abdomen.

They are aggressive and inflict a painful sting which can be life threatening.

Take a look around your property and if you see a mound of dirt that could be a fire ants nest, stand well back and poke the nest with a long stick. Never use your hand. If it’s a fire ant nest you’ll notice ants of varying sizes swarming out to attack.

Qualified Biosecurity Queensland technical officers will come and treat the ants using a combination of bait treatment and direct nest injection. The bait comprises corn grit that is soaked in soybean oil and insect growth regulator that sterilises the queen ant. The worker ants then can’t reproduce and they die out. The insecticide has low toxicity and poses no negative health effects for humans or animals.

The high level of support we’ve received from the South East Queensland community in identifying and reporting fire ants has assisted in the containment of this serious pest. With continued public vigilance we will eradicate them once and for all.

Join the ant hunt and check the top five spots for fire ants. On residential properties: lawns, footpaths, garden beds, outside taps and sprinklers and utility pits. On rural properties: dams and irrigation lines, edges of cultivated land, cropland post-harvest, fence lines and piles of organic matter.

For more information about the National Red Imported Fire Ant eradication program, visit www.daf.qld.gov.au/fireants.

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

Finally some good news Queensland’s weight gain is slowing Obesity has been described as a global pandemic, and Queensland is not immune. For some time we have had the dubious honour of being the heaviest citizens in the nation. Until now…

Latest assessments, using both state and national data, show that after annual increases over the past decades, there has been a slowing in the rate of adult obesity in Queensland. We are no longer the ‘heaviest’ state. Public health researchers are hopeful that obesity rates have finally reached a plateau.

This is great news for Queensland. But not reason for complacency.

Two-thirds of Queensland adults remain overweight or obese, and one-quarter of children.

(2015), among 34 OECD countries, Australian males had the third highest rates of obesity.

American males came in at number one, followed

by New Zealanders. For Australian males, obesity appears to be a long-standing problem. Over the previous 30 years, obesity rates had been among the top 5 OECD countries.

In the same assessment, Australian females were ranked eighth highest of 34 OECD countries.

Going back 30 years, they were ranked in 18th position — Australian women have been gaining weight quite a bit faster than women in some other OECD countries over the past few decades.

In a nation that prides itself on a love of sport and outdoor lifestyle, these figures are challenging.

While there are many factors as to why people become overweight or obese, including the environment we live in, overwhelmingly the evidence is that we simply eat (and drink) too much of the wrong food and move too little.

Why is ‘a little extra fat’ such a problem? For individuals, being overweight impacts personal health, family relations, social activities and overall quality of life.

Obesity is also a significant health and economic issue. High rates of obesity are fuelling the prevalence of chronic diseases, some of which can’t be turned back - conditions like stroke, hypertension, heart attack, some cancers, musculoskeletal conditions and type 2 diabetes.

Obesity places a significant burden on the health system and leads to significant losses in productivity. In Queensland, about half the financial cost of obesity is due to lost productivity in the workforce.

There are some rather confronting facts and figures, too, regarding Australia’s place in the world obesity stakes. In the most recent assessment Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

The almost unlimited availability and marketing of food high in kilojoules and low in nutrients and sugar laden drinks influences weight gain. Food and drinks that used to be ‘occasional treats’ have become everyday foods. They have found their way into the lunchboxes of children and the easy choice for busy adults on the run. The good news is that small but sustained healthy changes in diet can prevent further weight gain.

Along with a healthy diet, being physically active every day and limiting sedentary behaviour is essential for health and wellbeing and integral to weight management. With a thoughtful combination of everyday incidental activity, like walking to the bus, and regular exercise like sports participation, achieving sufficient physical activity to benefit our health should not be difficult.

Unfortunately, many Queenslanders do not meet the minimum recommended levels of physical activity.

New results recently released by the Queensland 19

Government’s Department of Health show that in 2015, only 58% of adults achieved the minimum recommended 150 minutes of physical activity each week (and fewer women than men).

Similar information is available for children.

Current recommendations are that children are physically active for 60 minutes or more every day.

In Queensland, only 39% of children achieved this in 2015 (again, fewer girls than boys).

Though not daily activity, children’s participation in organised sport is perhaps more encouraging. In 2015, 72% of children participated in some type of organised sport in the previous 12 months. For club sports, 56% of all children participated and for school sports, 52% of all children. Children in higher income households were 2.7 times more likely to have participated in club-based organised sport than those from lower income households (70% compared with 27%); and for school-based organised sport, 47% more likely (63% compared with 43%). Clearly there is much more we can do to ‘level the playing field’ with regard to children’s organised sport participation.

Sporting clubs do much to promote the benefits of physical activity, and are increasingly aware of promoting other healthy behaviours to enhance health and wellbeing. Many amateur community sporting clubs are now accredited participants in the Queensland Government funded Good Sports Program. Initially focused on alcohol harm

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reduction, this program has now been extended to include greater access to healthier food and drinks at club canteens, vending machines and catering.

Turning the tide responsibility.

of

obesity

is

everyone’s

Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

QAS celebrates 25 years of sporting success Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is proud to celebrate 25 years of achievement in sport nationally and internationally. QAS officially launched in May 1991. Since then it has provided the support that Queensland’s most talented and dedicated athletes and coaches need to excel in their respective sports. Over the past 25 years the Academy has developed tremendously and now supports more than 600 athletes over 22 different sports and individual scholarships.

through the QAS including Susie O’Neill, Kieren Perkins, Grant Hackett and Vicki Wilson. Current Queensland athletes supported by the QAS include Sally Pearson, Jamie Dwyer, Ken Wallace and Emma Snowsill.

The QAS is not resting on its laurels and is looking ahead to the next Olympic cycle. Innovation is a key focus at the QAS so the future is looking bright for an even better result in the next 25 years.

QAS support a variety of state and national sporting organisations in sports including athletics, canoeing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, rowing, sailing, swimming, triathlon and water polo. The Academy also partners with state and national sporting organisations, including baseball, cricket, football, golf, netball, rugby league, rugby union, softball, tennis and volleyball.

QAS athletes have been very successful in achieving their goals and staying on top of their game.

This can be seen in the results of the past six Olympic and Paralympic Games The 119 QAS male athletes and 144 female athletes achieved 68 medals and 129 medals respectively. In six Paralympic Games, 55 male athletes won 76 medals and 27 female competitors won 26 medals. In 2016, Queensland athletes plan to dominate for a seventh time at the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio. Some of Australia’s greatest sporting heroes have advanced Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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QSport 2016 Meetings / Activities / Functions Schedule Annual General Meeting

Thursday 26 March

5.00pm – 6.00pm

General Meetings

Thursday 9 June

to be confirmed

Thursday 15 December

3.00pm – 4.30pm

Thursday 25 February

9.30am – 11.30am

Thursday 14 April

9.30am – 11.30am

Thursday 16 June

9.30am – 11.30am

Thursday 25 August

9.30am – 11.30am

Thursday 20 October

9.30am – 11.30am

Thursday 15 December

12 noon – 2.45pm

as required

to be confirmed

Board Meetings

Sport Group Meetings

Member Information Sessions / Forums Wednesday 16 March

Strategy Formation

10.00am - 4.00 pm

Tuesday 12 April

Strategy Implementation

10.00am - 3.30 pm

Thursday 21 April

Fundraising (Advanced)

12noon - 3.00pm

Thursday 5 May

Sports Governance

6.00pm – 9.30pm

Tuesday 10 May

Succession Planning

12noon - 2.30pm

Thursday 12 May

Sports Governance

6.00pm - 9.30pm

Thursday 19 May

Sports Governance

6.00pm – 9.30pm

Thursday 26 May

Sports Governance

6.00pm – 9.30pm

Wednesday 8 June

Directors and Officers

6.00pm – 9.30pm

Thursday 14 July

Risk Management

12noon – 2.30pm

Thursday 25 August

Dispute Handling

12noon - 2.30pm

Wednesday 26 October

Volunteer Management (Events)

11.00am - 2.30pm

Wednesday 16 November

Directors and Officers

6.00pm – 9.30pm

Tuesday 28 June

Members / Sponsors Luncheon

to be confirmed

Thursday 8 December

Sport Awards / Hall of Fame Presentation

6.30pm – 11.00pm

Functions

MEETING TIMES, DATES AND VENUES ARE SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION. CONFIRMATION WILL BE PROVIDED WITH CIRCULATION OF DOCUMENTATION. As at 3 May 2016

22

Sportswatch - Autumn 2016

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