House debates

Monday, 22 June 2015

Statements by Members

Sporting Schools

4:11 pm

Photo of Nickolas VarvarisNickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

It was absolutely fantastic to attend, representing the Minister for Sport, the Hon. Sussan Ley, the launch of Sporting Schools at Ferncourt Public School on Friday. Sporting Schools is a coalition initiative designed to increase participation in sport by students before, during and after school. This program is the first of its kind being rolled out and nine primary schools in Barton have already registered. I am proud to say that we are partnering with the Football Federation of Australia as one of 12 Sporting School pilots across the nation. It is excellent to have a leading and popular national sport like football as part of the Australian government's largest participation based program designed to get children healthier and happier through Football Federation Australia's AIA Vitality MiniRoos Kick-Off initiative.

The Sporting Schools program partners with more than 30 of the country's leading sporting organisations, including the Australian Sports Commission and the FFA, to develop resources and activities for schools to use. The government's $100 million Sporting Schools program is all about getting children into sport to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle. One in every four of our children is overweight or obese and around 77 per cent of children spend their spare time watching television and only half are involved in sport. I urge schools that have not already registered to do so. Funding can only be applied for after registration and this closes on 26 June.