A new UNE-led program this term will help aid wellbeing and recovery for the region’s children through sport and physical activity.
The Get Active United: Guyra-Armidale-Uralla youth sport and physical activity program, led by UNE School of Education academics Dr Kristy O’Neill and Professor Pep Baker, has been awarded $49,884 by the Office for Regional Youth under the Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery initiative, aimed at post pandemic and natural disaster recovery.
Beginning in October for Term 4, Get Active United will provide targeted opportunities for primary-aged students (5-12 years old) from select NSW Department of Education Primary and Central schools in Guyra, Armidale and Uralla to participate in extracurricular, curriculum-based physical activities through to Term 2, 2023.
They will have opportunity to enrol in a range of after school activities like swimming lessons and Football United soccer workshops to develop fundamental skills and social connections, free of charge to families.
“The project has a focus on enhancing children’s health and wellbeing in response to COVID-19 and the natural disasters that have impacted heavily upon Armidale and surrounds over the last few years,” Dr O’Neill says.
“Equally it’s about breaking down socio-economic barriers to encourage participation in sport so all children and youth can enjoy the social, physical and mental benefits of physical activity.”
It is the third community sport and physical activity program Dr O’Neill and Professor Baker have designed for the region since 2019, with more than 500 Armidale community members of all ages so far participating in a range of funded activities, including gym memberships, swimming lessons and soccer workshops.
The project has a focus on enhancing children’s health and wellbeing in response to COVID-19 and the natural disasters that have impacted heavily upon Armidale and surrounds over the last few years.
“What we’ve seen through these programs is that there is high demand for these activities in the Armidale community, particularly as many recreation and sporting activities have been cancelled due to COVID-19 over the last couple of years,” Dr O’Neill says.
“Children in particular have lost many learning opportunities and rites of passage. For this new program, we are particularly focusing on curriculum-based activities that support health and physical education learning during after-school extracurricular opportunities. These will relate to swimming lessons, Fundamental Movement Skills, team and lifelong physical activities.
“We’re very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to children from select NSW Department of Education schools across Guyra, Armidale and Uralla.”
The schools that will be able to participate in the program from Term 4, 2022, are:
- Minimbah Primary School
- Newling Public School
- Drummond Memorial Public School
- Black Mountain Public School
- Guyra Central School
- Uralla Central School
- Sandon Public School
- Bald Blair Public School
- Rocky River Public School
- Armidale City Public School
- Ben Venue Public School
Enrolments for free Term 4 swimming lessons at SportUNE are now full, but children can be added to the waitlist for Term 1, 2023 – mention Get Active United and school name – and further details about other activity opportunities will be provided to schools in coming weeks.
