The solution to funding sport is right in front of us, and it’s absolute garbage
Nearly every conversation I’ve had in sport over the last 5 years centres around, hints at or circles back to one key theme- a despairing deficit of resources. It manifests in various ways:
Coffee after coffee, conference after conference there are calls to think “outside the box” and “find a better way”. Sure, occasionally we see a smattering of small wins, but they are few and far between.
With growing rates of inactivity and a more disconnected Australia, it’s clear that sport cannot bear this burden alone. These issues impact all of society, thus, the solution demands a greater alignment across society.
Put simply- we need to stop milking the same cow and get creative.
Australian sport is dangerously underfunded.
"There is a $2 billion shortfall in…investment in Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports in the 10 years leading to Brisbane 2032."- Matt Carroll, AOC
As an industry, we talk about funding like a starving person talks about food. Every level of the pyramid is struggling to generate enough revenue to keep up with rising costs, let alone to innovate and meet growing expectations.
It was astounding to see Football Australia plead for more funding from the Australian government after the most successful women’s FIFA World Cup in history. Here, at the top of the pyramid, the largest sport in Australia believes it lacks the resources it needs.
At the Sport SA Festival of Sport, I heard Tennis and Netball express similar concerns. “We don’t have enough resources, they said.” Three, far smaller SSOs seated at my table scoffed “If they struggle with 20 staff, imagine how we feel with 2.”.
At the bottom of the pyramid, you’ll find my club, nestled snugly against thousands of others. This is where some of the most beautiful moments in sport occur. It's where a child's nerves are transformed into lifelong friendships. Where we learn about defeat and humility. Where lifesaving conversations occur while simply turning snags on the barbie.
But, it is becoming increasingly difficult to nurture these moments. Many grassroots clubs resort to ramping up membership fees just to get by. We keep milking the same cow and it is pushing people away.
This is a problem.
Australian volunteers are at risk.
"Without [volunteers],…the viability of many community sporting organisations would be questionable.' - Australian Bureau of Statistics
"Volunteering participation in Australia declined from 2001 to 2020." - Volunteering Australia
Funding is a major concern, and it’s exacerbated by the rot affecting the most valuable resource sport has historically relied on- volunteers.
Recently, I was humbled to join Michael Hartung , Victor Lee and Leigh Simmonds (Laurence) on a panel formed by the Australian Sports Commission . The topic- New approaches to recruiting sport volunteers. Together we unpacked some pretty confronting statistics and anecdotes.
Volunteers make up 30% of the workforce in the Australian sporting industry, equating to 90,000 FTE jobs. To say we are highly dependent on volunteers is an egregious understatement.
Yet, there are widespread reports that volunteerism is dying.
Traditional approaches to attracting, developing and retaining volunteers have reached their use-by-date.
Volunteer burnout is increasing. Churn rates are spiking.
So, we are faced with an ineffective funding model on one hand and an observable decline of “free” resources on the other.
We have too few, doing too much, with not enough.
They are feeling less connected.
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This is a problem.
We are trashing our country.
"7.2 billion cigarette butts are littered annually in Australia"- NSW EPA
"Litter management costs the NSW economy more than $162 million per year" - NSW EPA
Volunteers aren’t the only ones appearing detached. Australians in general are reporting feeling more socially isolated, lonely and disconnected from their neighbours than ever before. This is in part due to declining participation in volunteer organisations and it has far-reaching consequences.
Last week I took an American mate on a hike through the Royal National Park. As a kid, I would run this route via a narrow dirt track forged by the occasional footstep. This time, we strode along a heavy-duty polymer boardwalk surrounded by a moat of litter. A token of thanks left behind by those who came to enjoy the pristine landscape.
“I don’t get it.” my mate said “People obviously come here because it’s beautiful. Why ruin it?”
Psychologists know why. People litter when:
This is an opportunity.
The Solution.
The benefits of community sport are undeniable and no one can logically argue in favour of littering. So, here are two seemingly unrelated aspects of society that can easily be aligned to address several critical problems.
Increase the fine for littering, fiercely enforce it and reinvest the proceeds into community organisations.
Unsurprisingly policies based on building community can reduce crime. So, why not take this one step further and mandate community service at grassroots organisations for repeat offenders?
Is it not worthwhile trying to foster a sense of community and accountability while providing much-needed resources to grassroots sporting clubs?
Conclusion.
“What’s the biggest difference between the UK and Australian sports industries?” I asked Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth OBE in July.
“That’s easy,” he replied. “In the UK, our industry shares a vision and is united on what needs to be done. We might not be right, but we are all moving in the same direction. It’s not just within sport, we are strategically aligned with other government departments. Australia is fractured and misaligned.”
Perhaps increasing fines for littering and reinvesting in community sport isn’t the answer.
Maybe making public school fields available to sporting clubs after hours is absurd.
Or maybe, we need to stop milking the same cow and get creative.
BBus. BInov/Entr. Integrity, Inclusion, Equity, Governance & Strategy
1yGreat read, Nic! I can only hope that Australia can come up with new and innovative solutions like this. Love your work.
Managing Director, Chair and Board Member
1yExcellent thinking Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone agreed with a joint vision - I think Kieren Perkins OAM and his team are really trying with the volunteer strategy and the participation strategy due soon What Europe has done is embraced the health agenda better than Australia We have to ask when more people play some activities outside of the tranditiobal sports vertical - we need to change our priorities and finding strtategy It would be good to even get agreement on the industry - where does play sit? Where does physical activity/exercise really fit? Let’s stop trying to fit squares into round holes Happy to make this a feature at National Sports & Physical Activity Convention in 2024 if people like this idea
Senior Product Owner at Westpac
1yLove this idea. The Brits funded the Olympic team with the Lottery, Australia can fund grassroots with Littering. NZ will be next, through... Loitering, perhaps?
Commercial Manager - Australia at Safe365
1yRefreshing perspective Nicholas. Whilst there is under underfunding, this has been the case for sometime. When the funding does go up, do we get the sugar hit, become dependant, then it isn't enough again - and so the cycle goes? In sport, there is far too much of 'this is the way we have always done it' and whilst there might be some innovation and some wins, rather than focus on the wins and make tough calls to drop the losses, we just add it to the pile, which adds another event or another discipline, which requires more money and more time, more volunteers. Part of the problem is we are too scared to let go in fear our members/fans might speak ill. But in many businesses, if things are going well and it is adding value but at the cost of dropping something else that may not be adding as much (but requires just as much resource), then it's carefully considered and/ or dropped. So whilst I agree there is under funding, I think as sports, we need to look at what is working, what isn't and making some tough calls, as we can't just keep adding all the time, as that just adds to the cycle... Appreciate that is a simple approach and there are complexities etc around it. Just my views.
MBA Candidate - UQ | Sports Management | Leadership | Strategy
1yGreat insights Nicholas, do you think the decline in volunteerism can also be connected to the cost of living pressures increasing in Australia? Gone are the years where families could survive on one income, ultimately this means less time available to families who may be interested in volunteering. I’d also hypothesise that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are more likely to devote their spare time to creating side hustle type businesses than volunteering at their local associations. “What’s in it for me” is a consistent challenge we face at UQ Rebels Touch Football when recruiting volunteers.