KIDS’ SPORT NEEDS HELP
AS EMPLOYMENT takes a hit across the country, parents could be forced to make tough decisions on how their children partake in sport.
And according to inaugural Cowboys coach Grant Bell, the impacts could be particularly felt in regional towns if measures are not taken.
Early estimates suggest more than 1.6 million Australians have lost their income but Bell believes regional areas will be hit harder because they have fewer resources for rebuilding.
Given the likely changes in financial circumstances, Bell said choices would have to be made by parents regarding their children’s sport.
He said as all sports sought to restart, young athletes might also lose the chance to play multiple sports as schedules and payments overlap.
“If we have the unemployment rates across the country, there’s a greater percentage of unemployment in regional areas because significant urban areas get up and going quicker,” Bell said.
“Parents will have to be discretionary about their spending around the sports their children play.
“Do codes need to … go back to four seasons during the year and four codes during the year (to cater for children) playing more than one code? That takes co-operation across all sports.”
With the NRL expected to return on May 28, league will have an opportunity to broaden its reach as one of the first professional competitions back on the park.
But as Bell told the Townsville Bulletin last week, too hefty a focus on the elite product could neglect what needs to happen at the grassroots level. In turn, this could affect the long-term prosperity of the game.
Bell, who has been prominent in rugby league circles for years, said it would not just be rugby league that needed to have that focus, as other sports sought to return at community levels.
With that, given the time forced away from the field or court, codes could be in more direct competition than in typical seasons.
Add in registration and equipment costs, and the cumulative effect on families could be too much.
Bell said areas in North Queensland could be in the firing line, given they had just got back on their feet after the 2019 floods.
He said the onus would also fall on local governments to bring all sports together to ensure they were accessible and not competing.
And a central body or forum could be the key to pull these sports together.
“We can’t not recognise 18 months ago all those sports in the Murray area took a massive hit,” Bell said.
“Whether or not they were fully or partially compensated coming back to support redevelopment of damaged facilities, they all took a significant hit.
“What does that mean now, having their second hit in 18 months? What does it mean for their families who are having a second hit building houses, and now found themselves in an employment challenge or business challenge?
“If we lose more funding the potential is we’ll see an even greater contraction, and that could impact at the lower levels. It’s upon all codes to have a look at what could happen regionally.”