Local sporting club representatives visited Korumburra Secondary College today to welcome news of further State Government assistance to enable more kids to participate in sport.
Upper House Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh was on hand to celebrate the announcement of an additional $6 million funding throughout Victoria for the government’s Get Active Kids Voucher Program, with that initiative part of the Victorian Budget for 2024/25.
Eligible families, those with Health Care Cards or other concession cards, can apply for vouchers of up to $200 per child to help with the upfront costs of memberships, registration fees, uniforms and equipment.
That applies to a wide range of sports and recreational activities.
Korumburra City Soccer Club president Tony Gardner said the vouchers assisted quite a few people to participate in the sport last year, noting demand is such it outstrips supply.
“I’m very supportive of the program,” he said.
“It does make a difference; the cost of playing sport is an issue and we want equitable access for everyone, and it’s a good initiative.”
Nadine Smith, Secretary of Korumburra Bena Football Netball Club, said the club has had some people using the vouchers this year and is pleased with the flexibility the vouchers offer to help with any of the costs of sports participation.
Korumburra Basketball Association president Bill Jeffs said the Get Active Kids Voucher Program makes a big difference for eligible families.
“We keep our entry costs as low as possible because it’s becoming difficult for a lot of families, particularly in the current climate to afford to have kids playing,” Bill said.
He added that there are unavoidable costs such as court hire and paying referees.
Travel expenses for those who are part of Wildcats representative teams add to the cost for families as do tournament entry fees.
“We know that a lot of kids are not playing sport because of the costs,” Bill said, adding that previously as the Chairperson of Basketball Victoria Country he observed the benefits of such vouchers in terms of sports participation.
Parliamentarian Tom stressed it is a big deal for some kids who otherwise mightn’t have the opportunity to play sport to get that chance.
“It’s really good for all of our local sports clubs because the more kids we’ve got playing the better the teams are going to be and the more you’re going to progress,” he said.
The State Government indicated that almost 150,000 Active Kids vouchers have been provided to families since 2020, adding that over 50 percent of recipients said their children would not have been able to participate in their favourite sport without that assistance.
Eligible families will be able to apply for the vouchers online before redeeming them at a ‘Registered Get Active Kids Voucher Program Activity Provider’, with people encouraged to visit getactive.vic.gov.au/vouchers to register for email notification of when the next vouchers start later this year.
