VicHealth is seeking applications from State Sporting Associations (SSA’s) and/or National Sporting Organisations (NSO’s) to create new opportunities for women’s participation in sport, to engage those less active women and girls to become more active. The following sporting organisations can apply:

• Sporting organisations recognised as an SSA under the classification provided by Sport and Recreation Victoria and NSO recognised by the Australian Sports Commission.
• All organisations must conduct the funded activities in Victoria.
• Organisations meeting the above requirements who have acquitted previous grants awarded to it by VicHealth (to the satisfaction of VicHealth).

Your SSA/NSO could share in up to $3.6 million in funding available over 2017 to 2020 to deliver new participation opportunities to engage less active women and girls.

The allocation of the total $3.6 million funding pool will be considered in respect to the best applications from SSAs/NSOs who propose a new opportunity and applications from any of the six CTG sports to extend the reach of existing CTG programs/products (eligible to only the six existing CTG SSAs/NSO).

If your application is successful your sport will initially commit to a minimum 18-month funding agreement with the option to extend to a further 18 months depending on the performance and potential demonstrated in the first 18 months, i.e. potential of three years total funding.

Your sport will need to consider where you are best placed to offer a great new participation opportunity which may include social or competitive offerings that can be tailored for less active women within one of the four female segments VicHealth has identified. We want your opportunities to be the catalyst that helps move females from contemplating being more active to taking action and getting more active.

Your participation opportunity will effectively engage females who haven't been involved in your sport before, or reengage past participants who are no longer involved in your sport. Again, the focus must be on one of the four female segments and the creation of a new tailored participation offering to meet their needs. The opportunity could be:

• A brand new product, program or competition developed specifically for the audience, e.g. new social competition or a new league for novices.
• An existing NSO or international program that could be trialled and rolled out in Victoria for the first time.
• Repurposing or modifying an existing program, product or competition for one of the four female life stages. It might be a program designed for males that could be tweaked or a program that has been targeted to a different age group previously, e.g. adapting your cardio blitz program to become a lower intensity, social program for mothers.
• Building on one of your sports existing competition or program opportunities to accommodate the chosen female group, e.g. adding a social D grade competition level to your existing pathway.

The opportunity can be competitive or social but needs to demonstrate they are customised to the female group you wish to engage. 

As part of VicHealth’s commitment to increasing physical activity among less active Victorians we commissioned a study to help us understand the characteristics of different female life stages or segments. We wanted to know what impacts upon their lives and influences them in their decisions around physical activity. We also wanted to know the best ways to inspire and engage them to increase their participation in sport and physical activity.

As a result of this study, VicHealth has identified four age segments of women and girls that are the most suitable for sports to engage because they include:

• large numbers of females who are currently the less active
• are ready and motivated to consider getting involved in more physical activity
• are open to participating in sport.

The four female life stages which are a key focus for this program are less active:

• girls and teenage girls aged 12–17 years
• young female adults aged 18–24 years
• females aged 25+ with no children
• females with children, particularly those with children school-aged or younger

Read more about each of the life stages snapshots here.

Click here to view the slides from our Participation Workshop.

VicHealth is also offering the six State Sporting Associations (SSAs) / National Sporting Organisation (NSO) currently funded through the existing VicHealth Changing the Game (CTG) program the opportunity to apply for funding to extend the reach and scale of their existing CTG programs and products for women and girls. These are:

• AFL Victoria – AFL Active
• Tennis Australia in partnership with Tennis Victoria – Get Into Cardio Tennis
• Netball Victoria – Rock Up Netball
• Cycling Victoria – Social Spin
• Gymnastics Victoria – Move My Way
• Surfing Victoria – Coasting

CTG sports can apply to extend existing CTG programs and products OR to create a new opportunity. CTG sports cannot apply for both streams of funding.

The period of additional funding for extending CTG programs and products is 12–18 months (as determined by the VicHealth assessment panel)

Existing CTG programs/products will need to be tailored to engage one of the four female segments VicHealth has identified above

The allocation of the total $3.6 million funding pool will be considered in respect to the best applications from SSAs/NSOs who propose a new opportunity and applications from any of the six CTG sports to extend the reach of existing CTG programs/products (eligible to only the six existing CTG SSAs/NSO).

For information about the Changing the Game (CTG) extension please click here.

FAQs for technical system related questions are for eligible SSA’s and NSO’s who are using the VicHealth Online Grant Management System to apply, click here.

For FAQs about The Changing Our Game Participation Initiative related questions for eligible SSA’s and NSO’s, click here.

Before you apply, make sure you have familiarised yourself with the following documents:

Terms and conditions

Funding guidelines

VicHealth’s Privacy Statement

VicHealth’s website Terms of Use

Frequently asked questions

Life stage snapshots

Budget template

Marketing and communications plan template