Celebrating the successes of 'A Sporting Chance'

Published on 13 December 2024

As the 2024 year comes to an end, the Shire of Broome is celebrating the successes of the important local youth engagement program, ‘A Sporting Chance’.

The Shire launched the ‘A Sporting Chance’ program in June 2023 in an effort to reduce youth crime by offering a safe and engaging space for young people on Friday nights.

The program was entirely grant funded from three separate funding bodies (the Department of Justice, the Department of Local Government, Sport, and Cultural Industries, and the Kimberley Development Commission) and was expected to run for 3 years (from the first grant award in 2022/23).

The ‘A Sporting Chance’ program has offered a diverse mix of activities to young people on a Friday night at the Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre, including soccer, cricket, rugby, arts and craft, cartoon drawing, board games and laser tag.

The program was delivered over five rounds, each lasting ten weeks, for a total of fifty sessions. Participation in the program was more successful than initially anticipated, with 1,897 total youth attendances and an average attendance of 37 youth participants per session.

The program is also well supported in the community, with positive outcomes noted from WA Police and other participating organisations such as Broome PCYC, Broome Youth and Families Hub (BYFH), Kullarri Regional Communities.

The program actively supported the training and employment of local residents and youth, with ten casual staff employed by the Shire to help deliver the program.

Through this opportunity, some team members have gained youth work qualifications from North Regional TAFE (Certificate IV in Introduction to Youth Work), creating a foundation for a skilled local workforce and helping young people with future job opportunities.

The ‘A Sporting Chance’ program was suspended in September 2024 to review the financial budget and assess its feasibility for the final year of delivery, which was to run from September 2024 to September 2025.

Despite the program's success, the administrative effort required to meet funding requirements from three separate entities has added complexity to the process.

At this stage, the Shire has been unable to secure additional funding to continue the program, which has resulted in transferring of previously secured funds, back to the state government and to Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation to continue providing elements of the program in remote communities.

The ‘A Sporting Chance’ program is recognised by the Shire of Broome as a valuable youth engagement initiative and the Shire will continue to advocate for funding to ensure longer term delivery of the program.