200 WA clubs now Good Sports

by admin on December 2, 2013

Good Sports working with Community clubs Now just over a year old in Western Australia, Good Sports works with community sports clubs to help them put the focus back on sport, and away from drinking.

Western Australia’s community sporting clubs are leading the way in breaking the link between alcohol and sport with 200 clubs now signed-up to participate in the program.

Good Sports is a national accreditation program of the Australian Drug Foundation. It works to make community sporting clubs healthy, safe and family-friendly environments by reducing alcohol and tobacco-related harms such as drink driving, and violence and aggression.
 
Through Good Sports, clubs work through three levels of accreditation that identify a range of areas for improving practices including alcohol and tobacco management, safe transport and alternative fundraising strategies.
Greg Williams, Good Sports State Manager for WA, said with alcohol a leading cause of preventable illness and death in Australia, breaking the link between alcohol and sport has never been more important.
“By joining Good Sports, community sports clubs all across the state are showing their communities the importance they place on the health and wellbeing of their players and members,” he said.
 
“Since launching the program only a year ago, we’ve been inundated with interest from clubs wanting to set a good example for their communities. The first club to come on board was an outstanding tennis club in Menora, since then we’ve worked with hockey clubs, cricket clubs, soccer clubs through to underwater hockey clubs!
 
“Congratulations to the first 200 clubs to sign up for leading the way in alcohol management in the state.” 
 
According to independent research, the Good Sports program is associated with a reduction in short-term risky drinking of about 10%. 
 
Good Sports is Australia’s largest preventive health program for the community sporting sector, with more than 6000 involved nationally.
Good Sports is supported in WA by Healthway and the Drug and Alcohol Office.
For more information about Good Sports visit www.goodsports.com.au or find us on Facebook.com/GoodSportsClubs