How We Think

While we typically associate physical health benefits with sports participation, there are also a range of direct and indirect health benefits. Sports participation has been shown to both improve psychological wellbeing (the positive aspect of mental health) as well as reducing psychological illness (the negative consequences). Sport has also been shown to have positive effects at the community level.

A dream that was ignited at 8 years old when running the ball out in front of the NSW Waratahs, at a packed-out Sydney Football Stadium. Rugby Union was front of mind for a lot of Australians in 2001 - the Wallabies were world champions at the time and were a source of inspiration for so many, especially this young boy with aspirations of following their footsteps.

As we approach the Great Debate on 'does sport unite or divide us?', I reflect on the many benefits sport has on our community, specifically our aging community. I am firmly on team 'unites' as I see how sport supports ageing and contributes to greater social connection and participation later in life.

12 October 1997. A 9-year-old girl with a mop of brown curls, and an insatiably curious mind was taken to Parliament House to witness the Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTAR) Sea of Hands – a powerful, physical representation of the Citizen’s Statement on Native Title. The Citizen’s Statement was a petition circulated by ANTAR to mobilise non-Indigenous support for native title and reconciliation.  

Organisational transformation is hard. It's complex, multi-faceted, and takes time. Amongst this complexity lies risk - what if these aren't the right changes for the right reasons? What if all this change doesn't achieve the outcomes we seek? What if our people don't buy in to this?

If there's anything the last few years have reinforced, it's that change is constant and inevitable. As a community, we've learned it is our shared ability to respond effectively to change that determines our success.