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In an effort to get more women and girls playing sport and increase social sport opportunities, funding of up to $3,000 or up to $10,000 is available for community sport clubs to help Victorians improve their physical health and mental wellbeing.

The latest round of VicHealth’s Active Club Grants, which open today, is simpler and easier for community sporting clubs to apply.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy encouraged Victorian sports clubs to apply for the grants.

“Grassroots sports clubs are at the heart of their communities, providing opportunities for people to keep healthy and happy,” Minister Hennessy said.

“This is a great chance for sports clubs to apply for a grant to help them get even more people in their local area involved in their sport.”

VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter says Active Club Grants have helped thousands of Victorian sports clubs get more local residents active.

“Active Club Grants can make a huge difference to hardworking Victorian community sporting clubs, helping them create more opportunities for women and girls as well as people who don’t usually participate in organised sport,” Ms Rechter said.

“We’ve simplified the grant application process so club administrators and volunteers can spend more time on building their club and focusing on helping their members get active, and less time on administration.”

Ms Rechter said that with less than a third of us getting enough physical activity to benefit our health it was critical that sporting clubs were supported to offer more opportunities to get people moving.

“Our research shows most Victorians are not fitting the recommended amount of physical activity into their week,” she said.

“In particular, women’s participation in sport is still lower than men’s. There’s a number of reasons for this, including a lack of opportunities, time and self-confidence, which means many women and girls find it hard to get active.

“Following on from our This Girl Can – Victoria campaign, we want to encourage community sports clubs to offer new programs, teams and activities that make sport less intimidating for women and girls to get involved.

The grants can also support new social sport programs, which are more flexible, fun and less-structured opportunities with a focus on social interaction, and less emphasis on performance, results and competition. Sporting programs can be modified to increase opportunities across age, disability, skill level, fitness level, lifestyle, cultural background or location.

“I encourage local clubs to see for themselves just how easy it is to apply for an Active Club Grant and visit the VicHealth website today.”

Clubs should apply for the Active Club Grants funding through the VicHealth website before round one closes at 4pm on Friday 31 August 2018. For further information and to apply visit www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/activeclub.

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Media Contact

Rachel Murphy, Senior Media Advisor, P 03 9667 1319 M 0435 761 732 E [email protected]