Mel Yuan for Brunswick

Merr-bek’s Sport and Recreation Policy 2020 is due for review after 5 years. Sports and recreation facilities are under massive pressure due to population growth. The pandemic set a collision course between open-space recreational users and organised competitive sports.

The pandemic had a massively detrimental impact on people’s health & fitness and sports participation. Ensuring access to walking and cycling paths, dog walking, playgrounds, space for “kick to kick” or “pick up” games, casual swimming, and other free or cheap casual recreation is a priority to improve overall community wellbeing post-pandemic.

We need to be especially mindful of the needs of children, the aged, culturally and linguistically diverse and LQBTQI+ users who have needs for safe and relevant facilities and services.

The landscape of sport itself has changed with a greater focus on equitable participation, especially with professional women’s sport. We need to ensure that we are closely aligned with Sport and Recreation Victoria programs and funding. National Sports Organisations (AFL, Cricket Australia, Netball Australia, etc.) for all codes are finding it increasingly hard to ensure “their” grassroots facilities are available at local levels, especially as the number of sports played continues to increase.

We need to allow more sponsorship and private funding for sporting groups and help them keep their costs low. Local businesses supporting local sports is a win-win.