ACTIVE WOMEN

The Active Women unit was formed in January 2000 to facilitate and promote the participation of women in physical activity. The unit delivers a Statewide program with a team of regionally based consultants, who were previously employed by Womensport West.

The unit facilitates opportunities for women to access and participate in the physical activities of their choice in safe and enjoyable environments. It also provides models of best practice for State sport associations, schools, recreation centres and other key community and government organisations involved in the delivery of sport and recreation.

Education on gender issues, both within the Ministry and externally in the industry has also been a major focus to promote opportunities for women of all ages.

Through Healthway funding, a number of programs were inherited from Womensport West including the:

■ Active Achiever Country Week Awards;

■ Smarter Than Smoking regional schoolgirls’ breakfasts;

■ Women with special needs aquatic program; and

■ Seniors programs.

The Ministry provided management, administrative support and additional funding for the following initiatives:

■ Come ‘n’ try activities (a feature of regional areas);

■ Alcoa Coach-in-Residence panel — “Coaching female athletes” with Jill McIntosh (World champion Australian netball coach);

■ Adolescent girls leadership camp;

■ Teachers resource Celebrate to acknowledge the centenary of women’s participation in the modern Olympics;

■ Fact sheets with Sports Medicine Australia (Perth branch);

■ Development of a ‘Mentor as Anything’ program; and

■ ‘On the Move’ to specifically support State sporting association and local government initiatives.

COACHING

All coach education programs have been coordinated and delivered by the

Ministry since the Coaching Foundation of Western Australia ceased all operations on 31 December 1999.

The regional coach education program delivers coach education in regional WA.

The Ministry employs eight regional coach coordinators, based in each regional office. The following programs were delivered in regional WA between 1 January and 30 June 2000:

■ 18 Level 1 Coaching Principle Courses;

■ One Level 2 Coaching Principle Course;

■ 24 Level 1 Sport Specific Courses;

■ Ongoing coordination and induction of participants into the Level 2 Coaching Principles Correspondence Course; and

■ 20 community seminars on coaching related issues.

In the metropolitan area, the following coach education programs were delivered:

■ Six Level 1 Coaching Principle Courses;

■ Two Level 2 Coaching Principle Courses; and

■ Five community seminars.

Sixty coaches attended two elite coach luncheons, hosted by the Ministry, during the year. These luncheons, extended to community coaches for the first time, provide a forum for elite coaches to share ideas on current trends and latest techniques in coaching.

The Alcoa coach-in-residence program continued to offer sports access to top Australian and international coaches. Alcoa celebrated 20 years of continuous sponsorship of this program, bringing 200 coaches to WA, with a gala dinner in August. The dinner was attended by 260 guests with guest speaker Ron Barassi highlighting the Alcoa Coach-in-Residence program and the benefits it has brought not only to coaches but to the sports industry. In 1999/2000 the

following associations were involved with the Alcoa Coach-in-Residence program:

State Sporting Association Visiting Coach/Expert Amount

Lacrosse West Nancy Burke $3,550

TouchWest John Pratt $1,600

Equestrian Federation of Australia

(WA Branch) Rod Brown $2,000

Orienteering Association of WA Peta Whitford $1,300

WA Fencing Association Pieter Leewenburgh $2,500

Tennis West Mark McMahon $2,500

Pony Club of WA Domini Morgan $3,000

Sports Medicine Australia Jill Cook $2,600

WA Softball Association Dave Pearce $4,500

Baseball WA Marvis Foley $5,000

WA Netball Association Jill McIntosh $5,000

A series of coaching meetings and seminars were organised for both State sport association coaching coordinators and community coaches. These seminars were delivered quarterly with a total of four seminars delivered during the year.

A coaching reference panel was formed to provide ideas and initiatives to support the Ministry in its implementation and delivery of coach education in WA. The panel meets quarterly and has provided the Ministry with ideas on areas of need and focus for future program delivery. These include the coach recognition program for Olympic and grass roots coaches and research on base line data for coaches in WA.

OFFICIATING

The Minister for Sport and Recreation allocated $100,000 to fund State sporting association initiatives for officiating: 30 State sporting associations were granted funds to assist in the development of officials in their chosen sport. Programs ranged from the development and implementation of regional umpiring plans to the purchase of technical equipment.

An officiating reference panel, under the chairmanship of David Johnson, met seven times during the year. The role of the panel was to address the recommendations of the 1994 Pavey Report that identified ways to improve the profile of officials in the sports industry. The Sport and Recreation Advisory Centre (SPARC) from Edith Cowan University was commissioned to provide a review of the Pavey Report. This would allow the Ministry to evaluate the impact of its

officiating program and provide guidance for its future direction. The report will be completed by September 2000.

An ‘officials breakfast club’ was launched to give elite officials a chance to network, share knowledge and acknowledge their contribution to sport. The club targets key officials across all sports, predominantly volunteer umpires, referees and judges with experience at national and international level. Three ‘officials breakfasts’ were held during the year including one in April, to acknowledge 40 officials who have been appointed to officiate at the Olympics.

The inaugural sports officials awards dinner was held on 20 October 1999 with over 100 people in attendance. These awards were established to recognise and reward an official from each sport for their outstanding contribution to sport in Western Australia.

Officiating courses were run by State sporting associations in two schools as a pilot project. The schools involved were Morley Senior High School (basketball and football) and Perth College (netball and hockey). This project assisted the sports in developing links with the schools and consequently provided the sports with more qualified umpires/referees to assist at community level.