New program aims to give all young people a sporting chance
Published on 29 June 2023
The Shire of Broome's new A Sporting Chance youth program kicks off on June 30 at the Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre (BRAC) featuring Perth Wildcat basketball stars Damian Martin and Bryce Cotton.
A Sporting Chance has been introduced to address the issue of weekend night-time youth offending by offering a safe environment for young people to engage in popular sports while diverting them from offending and at-risk behaviours - though all young people are welcome to participate.
The Friday-night program is funded for three years through $334,330 in grant funding, from the Department of Justice, Department of Local Government Sport and Cultural Industries, and Kimberley Development Commission.
The funding covers training, sports equipment, team uniforms and footwear, dinner for participants, and staff including the Program Coordinator Priscilla Hotereni.Priscilla is a New Zealand Maori Wahine (woman) and women's rugby league champion, who joined the Shire with excellent qualifications, including her work as a logistics and vocational education trainer.
Since moving to Broome three years ago, she has worked with the Broome Youth Families Hub and PCYC in the Program Co-Ordinator roles, providing safe-space programs where children and young people can participate in fun, meaningful and age-appropriate afterschool activities, such as basketball, fishing, haircuts, gardening, music and cooking.
A Sporting Chance will run as a series of 10-week programs at BRAC on Friday nights from 6pm to 12am. The first begins at the start of the July school holidays on June 30. Each program will include a four-week introduction phase featuring sport music and art, before moving into the featured sport, which in the first cycle will be soccer, which will be run with the Football Futures Foundation. Participants will also have access to youth services and workshops.
A Sporting Chance is one of the actions to come from the Shire’s Youth Plan 2021-2025, to address issues related to juvenile crime by improving outcomes for young offenders and diverting youth from the justice system as well as ensuring the safety of the community.
While the program is primarily aimed at at-risk youth, all young people aged five to 18 are welcome to participate.
To make joining easier, anyone wishing to join can just show up to one of the Friday night sessions at BRAC (children aged five to eight will need to come with a parent or guardian).