Water: The clear winner in junior sport

Water is the drink of choice for health and sports performance benefits, especially for juniors.

Download: Water: The clear winner in junior sport (PDF, 153 KB)

VicHealth supports approaches that increase the supply of and access to healthy choices in Victorian sport settings by making healthy food and drinks ‘the easy choice’ for everyone involved. In particular, we support activities that increase the supply, access and promotion of drinking water over sugary drinks. 

VicHealth, together with partners Sports Dietitians Australia, Nutrition Australia and YMCA Victoria, wants to remind coaches, parents, teachers and kids involved in junior sports and being physically active, that when it comes to hydration, water is the best choice. 

Young Australians, particularly teenage males, are very high consumers of sugary drinks, but despite the known health risks associated with consuming sugary drinks, and the high amounts of sugar in most sports drinks, some people believe that sports drinks are necessary for kids to have when they are playing sport. 

This resource, developed in collaboration with our partners, and with input from Triathlon Victoria and Vicsport, can be used to help young people, and those guiding them, to know the facts about sports drinks and how to achieve their best performance by maintaining their hydration with water.