26 May IDS19 Wrap Up

On Monday 20 May, over 170 delegates from across National and State Sporting bodies, local and state government, recreation centres and service providers gathered at the Ian McLachlan Room, Adelaide Oval for the 2019 Inclusion and Diversity in Sport conference.

IDS19 focused on discussing Australia’s rich sporting culture, sport as the power to be the place that brings people together and its responsibility and accountability on and off the playing field, with speakers and special members discussing: The ‘inclusion’ path so far and steps for Sport to continues its role as one of the key social equity change agents that drives a healthy and active nation.

Port Adelaide Athletics Club (PAAC) captivated the conference attendees with their Welcome to Country video at the beginning of the day. Athletes from PAAC and video creators/club committee members Colleen Strangeways and Lele Sanderson joined Event Emcee Shelley Ware on stage to discuss how the video came about, the Aboriginal Athletics program at the club and the impact it has had on the athletes who have been a part of it.

After a quick introduction from the day’s Master of Ceremonies, Shelley Ware, The Honourable Corey Wingard MP, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, officially opened the conference for 2019.

Keynote Speaker and Sport Australia CEO, Kate Palmer kicked off proceedings with her account on the Sport Australia Sport 2030 Plan and what that means for inclusion in sport and recreation in the nation. Conference delegates were asked to share their opinions on Poll Everywhere, with their feedback provided to Sport Australia for future planning and discussion. The session ended with the urging of attendees to have the difficult conversations needed with those around us as we strive towards making the sporting landscape truly inclusive.

Following the session, Kate Palmer was joined by our panel of specialists: Professor Rob Gill, Sport Inclusion Australia CEO Robyn Smith, and basketball legend Brett Maher. The panel discussed the valor of professional sport and the importance it has as a platform to serve the community.

You could’ve heard a pin drop during Logie Winner and former Socceroo Craig Foster’s session. The host of the SBS’s The World Game had the room enthralled as he spoke of his time in football and shared his perspective on where sport is, where it can improve and provide opportunities for all no matter, ability, culture, religion, sexuality or gender.

After a, once again delicious, lunch from the team at Adelaide Oval Dr Bridie O’Donnell took to the stage, speaking candidly about studying medicine, life as a high performance athlete and her journey to becoming head of the Victorian Office for Women in Sport and Recreation . Bridie’s anecdotes about the challenges and observations as a woman involved in sport and in a leadership role were both amusing and often poignant for IDS19 delegates.

As well as the stellar speaker’s sessions, conference attendees also took part in a hilarious networking activity with comedian Justin Hamilton, listened to SA and Australian Boomerang basketball players Brad and Wayne Kinross and coach Tony Moore talk about their achievements as the 2019 Ivor Burge champions and heard the results of the LGBTQI+ study from Professor Murray Drummond.

To all the IDS19 attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers we would like to say thank you for once again supporting this event.

IDS19 Evaluation

Our IDS19 evaluation is now open and we are keen to hear from you, the delegates, about your thoughts on the day. Click HERE to let us know.

IDS19 Masterclass – Tickets now available!

We are pleased to announce an exciting new addition to the Inclusion and Diversity in Sport conference with the first of our IDS Masterclasses on Tuesday 2 July. The in depth session will run from 10am-2pm and focus on Including Children and Young People in Decision Making with guidance from South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly. Find out more and book your tickets HERE. See all the photos from IDS19 on our Facebook page.