Awarded for the Walking Netball initiative connecting the general population and older people with the ability to play and participate in a modified walking version of sport, irrespective of capacity, ability or age.
About the Walking Netball initiative
The primary audience that the Walking Netball initiative connected with were the general population and older people. It encouraged those who may have previously played netball but were no longer able to play the traditional version due to injury, ability or age, the ability to play & participate. It also provided the options for those who had never played before to join in and play this modified version. For this reason the initiative met the Walking for Health award category.
Evidenced-based action and sustainability
Walking Netball was a resounding success! When the original expression of interest was put out to the community, there was a greater than anticipated response which resulted in the initiative commencing sooner than expected. Participant numbers were strong throughout and as a result, the initial trial period was extended from 6 weeks to 9, and continued into the winter term. Participation numbers were higher than anticipated as the initiative resonated well in the community.
As a result, additional courts were required to accommodate the larger group to ensure adequate playing opportunity. There were 326 attendances by 90 participants in term 1. The average time since people had played netball was 22 years, with the oldest player born in 1942 and the youngest player born in 2011.
The community feedback was extremely positive. Many hadn’t played netball since they left school or had children and others hadn’t played before. There were 3 generations of woman all playing together at the same time and some adult children coming out to watch their mums play like their mums did for many years.
Community engagement, participation, partnerships, and volunteerism
There was a higher engagement from community participants than was initially expected. The Wellbeing Hub Project Officer and the Haven Partner initially ran the sessions in the evenings (after hours). The participants took an active role in driving the initiative, arriving early to help set up, lead the warm up, self-umpire and rotate positions resulting in the Project Officer taking on a more supportive role.
Equitable outcomes
The initiative supports vulnerable and low socio-economic communities to support the creation of healthier walking environments especially for older people, those with injuries/ disability. A majority of the infrastructure/equipment was able to be borrowed apart from new game balls and squeeze whistles.
Sharing the learning
50 participants in term 1 (77% of the total invited) participated in the evaluation of the initiative.
The question asked to evaluate appropriateness was – Did you enjoy stepping onto the court and being active with your teammates? 1 – Not at all, 2 – Not much, 3 – Not sure, 4 – A little bit, 5 – A lot. Why? Resulting in an average score of 5. This was shared through the Preventive Health SA Stats & Stories reporting as part of the Murray Bridge Wellbeing Hub’s Our Participatory Evaluation Report July 2024.
In term 2 100% responded to the same question with an average score of 4.9. Participants fed back the following which highlighted the key elements of success:
- ‘It’s been a good opportunity to catch up with old netball friends’
- Such a laugh’
- ‘Loved being able to play with my daughter’
- ‘Even though I know it’s cold I still make sure that I come each week’
- ‘That was so fun but so hard, I want a t-shirt saying that I survived walking netball!’
- ‘When I use to go to the shops I would never see people I knew, now I will see people from walking netball and I will say hi’
- ‘This was much better on my knees then normal netball but I am so glad to be back out on the court ’
Obstacles such as the cooler weather in term 2 was overcome by moving to a local indoor stadium. Numbers were lower in term 2 due to players also playing netball elsewhere as a winter sport and the Project Officer discussed moving the sessions to more suitable day/ time.
You can find out more about how to join the Walking Netball program on the Rural City of Murray Bridge’s Wellbeing Hub page.
