Report on AusSport National Participation Leaders Network Conference held MCG, Melbourne on 28th & 29th June.

It was honour to be asked by PFA ( Pétanque Federation of Australia) to be their official delegate at the recent Sport Australia’s ‘National Participation Leaders Network” conference. Sport Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for supporting and investing in sports in Australia. So here was an opportunity for us to put our best foot forward and advocate nationally for the sport we love.

Sue Mc Gill, Director for Participation Growth in Sport Australia, opened the conference with ' all sports are equal in importance''. There were many delegates from sports that are familiar – such as NRL, athletics, hockey, softball, rowing and gymnastic and delegates from sports that may be less familiar to the public such as flying discs, judo, aviation and equestrian. In talking to delegates I found that our sport, petanque, was not known by many. Yet Sport Australia knows about pétanque and I see real potential to develop PFA’s relationship with this commission.

The conference focused on topics such as the Australian Sports Commission’s strategies and policies for participation in sport, future trends in sports participation, reimagining volunteering in sport, social trends, quality coaching experiences, sports participation in schools and collaboration between sports. With many discussion opportunities, networking between various sports, workshop activities on issues regarding participation, it was obvious petanque in comparison, has a smaller participation rate, is volunteered based and would greatly benefit from funding and assistance to promote and aid our sport further.

Here's a very brief rundown on some of the main speakers and topics of discussion.

Cameron French, Deputy GM Participation Sport Aus, asked an open question about the value of sport. What’s important to those of us who play petanque? Is it the competition, the camaraderie, the health benefits, sense of wellbeing and community? Maybe its all of the above and more.

For those playing and participating in petanque, what are they looking for? How can we provide quality experiences in our sport?

Across all sports, there is a lot of discussion on the social aspects of playing sport. Not everyone wants to commit long term to organised sport. Some would prefer more social interactions with sport on a casual basis. This has implications for members, insurance etc.

Dana Assenheim focused on conscious inclusion and highlighted breaking down barriers and making sport inclusive and a positive experience across cultures.

Cameron Tradell focused on modernising coaching which goes hand in hand with participation and positive experiences.

All great food for thought for our sport, pétanque. We should ask ourselves the hard questions that will help us ensure that our passion for the game is as strong as ever and that we encourage new participants (and keep our existing ones!)

PFA has endorsed a 5 Year Strategic Plan (with much thanks to Victoria O’Connor) and is in the process of finding ways to answer these questions and many more specifically related to pétanque through our four advisory committees ( Communications, Membership services, Development & Coaching, and Competitions & Umpiring). Petanque’s Strategic plan is accessible under documents on our PFA websiote petanqueaustralia.org.au 

Contact PFA if you are interested in assisting with these committees or would like to contribute your thoughts and ideas to help make pétanque in Australia a quality sporting experience for us all now and in the future.

Kimberly Broadbridge, PFA Board member