Description:
Children’s activity choices and patterns of activity in the after-school-hours period (between the end of school and dinner) can be important predictors of daily activity levels The Out of School Hours Sports Program (OSHSP) is a state-wide physical activity initiative that provides structured sporting experiences for children in formal out-of-school-hours care (OSHC) involving 17 State Sporting Associations (SSAs) and 70 OSHC services. Participants in the evaluation were 86 children (27 girls and 59 boys) and 86 parents, and 20 deliverers of the OSHSP at various OSHC services. The average age of the children was 7.7 years (SD = 1.6). Measures included surveys, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The OSHSP initiative was evaluated over three years on four levels: reactions of the deliverers, advances in skills and knowledge, attitudes of the deliverers, and success of the initiatives against program objectives. The evaluation suggested that deliverers remained concerned about the requirements of delivering the initiative. Often deliverers did not modify their current practices to match the objectives of the OSHSP, possibly due to a clash between deliverer beliefs and program objectives. The children were having fun (97.5%) and learning new skills (89%). Most participants (76.7%) indicated an intention to continue their participation in the sport being delivered at the OSHSP into club sport participation. Children in the OSHSP were generally very active, with most (88%) already participating in sport outside the OSHSP suggesting that the target population may be difficult to access.
Description:
The Department of Victorian Communities funded a study to evaluate the policies and practices of State sporting associations (SSA) in Victoria. The study was conducted in 5 phases which were (1) invite all SSAs to submit their sports injury risk management (SIRM) policies which were content analysed; (2) interview key informants from 12 selected sports; (3) develop a survey instrument for clubs and local associations; (4) survey approximately 720 clubs and local associations and (5) do observations of practices at competition and training for the 12 selected sports. The objectives of the project were to investigate the effectiveness of SIRM policies in sport and to identify barriers and facilitators to SIRM implementation. The overall aim of the project was to develop a framework for the development of sports activity standards for SIRM in Victoria.