Redesigning how we deliver sport

Social sport is less structured than traditional sport. It has fewer rules and more flexibility, both in how the sport is played and how you can participate it in. However, social sport is more structured than active recreation activities. 

We all want to make sport and being active more accessible and fun for all Victorians.

However, we also encourage organisations to use the Doing Sport Differently principles to make their sport more enjoyable and more welcoming.

There are a huge number of reasons why people might not participate in sport. Lifestyle changes could mean that they have recently dropped out of sport or are doing less. Some people may not like traditional sport or may have had bad experiences in the past.

We also know that people from particular populations (e.g. from low socioeconomic areas, with disability, women, culturally and linguistically diverse, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTIQ) may face particular barriers that prevent them from being active. 

Doing Sport Differently supports a broad range of sport organisations to help them ensure their ongoing viability and engage Victorians to participate in sport. Doing Sport Differently has assisted local clubs and regional, state and national sport organisations to build more welcoming and flexible approaches to sport participation. 

These programs have helped more Victorians become active, keeping them healthy, happy and well. 

The new opportunities developed through these initiatives include: 

• social sport programs that make activities fun, social and local 
• introductory programs for newcomers to a sport 
• programs specifically designed for under-represented groups (e.g. women, people with disability or newly arrived Victorians) 
• programs designed to retain participants or cater to people who are returning to sport following a gap. 

These programs emphasise fun, social interaction and enjoyment more than performance, results and competition. 

When sport organisations do sport differently, they: 

• attract larger and more diverse audiences 
• provide opportunities for people at different stages of their lives 
• increase the number of participants, volunteers and administrators 
• improve their brand 
• see their sport thrive into the future 
• positively influence the health of Victorians. 

Doing sport differently requires rethinking when, where and how sport is delivered, and who delivers it. It may also require new systems, processes and ways of working. It needs patience and a commitment to a new direction.