In the last financial year, more than 600 KidSport vouchers were used to access sport and this is set to grow with a Summer Sports Expo Weekend planned for 28 August and 29 August.
Mayor Carol Adams said the State Government’s $150 vouchers meant 631 children last financial year were able to participate in local sporting clubs who otherwise might have not been able to afford to.
A second voucher has been made available this financial year until December 2021, to utilise funds unspent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Swim schools were also included in KidSport for the first time this year, which Mayor Adams strongly welcomed.
“We are thrilled the State Government included swim schools in the KidSport as of January and want more parents to be aware of this opportunity,” she said.
“We have 1200 children enrolled in swimming at the Kwinana Recquatic at the moment, and we expect to see a greater uptake of vouchers by families so their children can learn to be confident and safe in the water.”
Mayor Adams said the Summer Sports Expo Weekend was a great event to find out more about local clubs, try out a summer or year-round sport, and register to play.
The bulk of the $100,079 worth of KidSport vouchers spent last financial year were used to access the Kwinana Junior Knights Football Club, the Kwinana Swim School, the Saints Rockingham and Districts Netball Club and the Kwinana United Junior Soccer Club, Mayor Adams said.
“We have a wonderful diversity of children participating in sport through these vouchers, including 123 Aboriginal children, 25 children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and 39 children with disabilities participating. More than 19 per cent of KidSport voucher users in Kwinana self-identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, higher than the state average of 17 per cent,” she said.
To be eligible for a KidSport voucher, applicants must be aged five to 18 years, be listed on a valid Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card issued by Centrelink and must reside in Western Australia.
To find out more about sporting clubs in the City of Kwinana, and to apply for a KidSport voucher, visit the City’s What’s On page at https://kwin.city/3xJqZ6X or attend the Summer Sports Expo Weekend.
Summer Sports Expo Weekend
Kwinana Marketplace
Saturday, 28 August: 9am to 2pm
Sunday, 29 August: 11am to 2pm
Caption: Zac Fryer (11), Hayley Sumpton-Hall (11), Levi Shurmer (5), Ava Adam (7), and Bronson Scoon (11).