AOC Chief Executive Officer Matt Carroll says organised sport plays an important role in the Australian community for our collective health, addressing the nation’s obesity crisis, chronic diseases, mental health, and improved academic success for school students.

“Sport strengthens our communities, contributes to Australia’s economy, research and most importantly, sporting excellence builds national pride and inspires the next generation,” Mr Carroll said.

“The “Play Well” strategy links with the “Win Well” high performance strategy announced by the Australia Sports Commission last year and complements the AOC’s Sport Powering Australia’s Future 10+10 strategy announced in 2021.

“The critical factor in 10+10 was the importance of recognising and strengthening the “virtuous circle” to grow sports – participation, pathways, performance. More participants lead to more athletes seeking opportunities, leading to more athletes achieving success on the world stage, inspiring more participants.

“The AOC congratulates Kieren Perkins and the ASC for this focus on sport participation. Particularly the need for co-ordination of policy and action between all levels of government; federal, state, and local. Recognising the role of sport in major event tourism and sport diplomacy.

“Olympic sports account for more than thirteen million participants in Australia who also bring with them an army of volunteers and supporters. We have 50 sports in the Olympic family that offer something different for everyone. All ages, backgrounds, abilities and gender.

“We use the term “virtuous circle” because our high-performance Olympians inspire others to have a go at different sports – that drives participation with all the benefits and with the right pathways in place, produces our future high-performance Olympians.

“Cathy Freeman’s win in the 400 metres at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games inspired a generation of future champions, who in turn are doing the same. That is the power of sport.

“But community sport faces many challenges including with the rising costs that impact Australian households, so this strategy highlights a range of areas that are designed to get people involved, reduce duplication and improve the way we do things.

“The strategy has identified the barriers to participation and further identifies how collaboration can address those barriers. The AOC and our member sports look forward to working with the ASC and the Government to ensure appropriate investment to grow sports participation for the benefit of the Australian community,” Mr Carroll concluded.