Search

Participation in organized sports can provide a wide range of health and social benefits and, for young people from migrant and minority ethnic groups, can act as a critical mediator of inclusion and belonging. These population groups have relatively low participation rates however, with recognized barriers including costs, transport, culturally determined gender norms, culturally inappropriate club environments, a lack of knowledge and understanding of sports 'systems' and competing family priorities. Count Me In (CMI) was a mixed-methods, participatory action research project designed and implemented in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia between 2017–2019 to address these barriers. Key elements of the intervention included employment of bicultural community support coordinators, partnerships with clubs and community-based organisations, encouragement of volunteering and development of resources. This paper reports the qualitative results of the study and discusses the effectiveness and impacts of the Count Me In model for addressing participation barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the financial growth and development of the governing body of Rugby Union in Australia, now known as Rugby Australia. In doing so, the research observes Rugby Australia's transformation from a small amateur organisation into a multi-million dollar enterprise. The study examines 39 years of annual financial reporting from which four key operational phases were identified. Through this analysis the exponential growth of the organisation is quantified. Correspondingly, the composition of the organisation's specific revenue items was shown to have shifted significantly over the four phases. Furthermore, the changing accounting treatment of revenue line items within the financial reporting provides qualitative insight into the organisation's historical philosophy toward individual revenue streams. The study contributes to an emerging field of sport research which utilises financial documents as a primary method to explore organisational performance and development. This offers new empirical insights into the transformation of sport into a sophisticated commercial industry. In doing so, it addresses academic calls for greater adoption of quantitative financial methods to explore both sport history and sport management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male dominated team sports potentially provide many opportunities for women, through both voluntary and paid employment. However, very few studies focus on the experiences of women at a regional (or rural) level in sport. By examining the experiences of women working with male team sports at this level, insight into why women choose to be involved within male dominated sporting spaces can be explored, including the benefits and the barriers faced within these spaces. Such information is pertinent to the wider discussions relating to women in sport in Australia. Therefore, the aim of this research was to study the lived experiences of female coaches, trainers, strappers, umpires, exercise scientists and administrators involved in regional male team sports in NSW. The lived experiences and perspectives of women working/volunteering in these sports (such as rugby league, Australian rules football, soccer and rugby union) will be explored using a third wave feminist lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imperialism was a key concern for Australia during its early engagement with the Olympic Movement. This engagement was marked by a tension between traditional British approaches to sport and more modern approaches that could stem the tide of American superiority that had been expressed at the Olympic Games since 1896. Australia used the Olympic Games to assert its centrality within the British Empire in a sporting context. These themes are observable in three sets of circumstances: the selection of Australian teams between 1900 and 1932, Australia's engagement with the British Empire Games and Australia's response to the development of state amateurism within the Olympic Movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most notable trends in contemporary Australian sport has been an increased focus on sporting contacts with Asia. It is also a topic that has began to receive attention from sports historians. One aspect of this relationship that has been overlooked, however, has been sporting contacts with Sri Lanka. A sporting relationship between the two countries is generally only seen to have emerged in the late-1970s, and then only in one sport, cricket. This overlooks the fact that before the advent of air travel, Ceylon (as it was then known) was a common stopping-off point for ships to and from the UK. As a consequence, the vast majority of Australian sporting tours to Britain in the pre-World War Two era involved a stop on the island, and a vast number of matches were played there by Australian teams from a variety of sports. Far from being a peripheral player in sporting contacts, Ceylon provided Australia with both its earliest, and most extensive, set of links with Asia. Given the number of these sporting contacts, and the time scale involved, this hitherto neglected relationship provides a valuable case-study of Australia's emerging sporting relationship with Asia. This article analyses these contacts, paying particular attention to questions of race and racial identity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]