Sport and active recreation are forms of physical activity.

Sports are activities involving skill and physical exertion with rules that govern the activity and are generally recognised as a ‘sport’ e.g. football, netball, tennis, volleyball.

Active recreation are activities done for the purpose of health, wellbeing or enjoyment, that have a physical component but aren’t generally recognised as a ‘sport’ e.g. gym/fitness, riding, jogging, roller-skating.

Participating in sport and active recreation has many benefits for individuals and the community including:

• Physical health benefits including lower risk of many chronic diseases.
• Mental health benefits including improved mood, less stress, and lower risk of anxiety and depression.
• Social connection and sense of community that comes with being active with others or being part of a club or group.
• Shining a light on issues in society, such as gender equality, racism and accessibility.

The purpose of the Strategy is to make sure that the decisions Council makes about sport and active recreation facilities and programs are consistent, based on data and facts and meet the needs of the community.

The Strategy will:

• Develop the vision sport and active recreation within CoPP for the next 10 years.
• Define Council’s role and the role of other organisations in supporting the community to be active.
• Address the changes and challenges that have occurred in sport and active recreation over the past 10 years.
• Develop actions that will get more people active and improve the experience people have when being active.
• Consider other important issues including environmental sustainability, accessibility and equity.

Our previous Strategy (Getting Our Community Active: Sport and Recreation Strategy) came to an end in 2024.

There have been major changes to sport and active recreation in the last 10 years that we need to respond to. This includes:

• The impact of COVID-19, which included more people being active in their local area.
• Increased female participation in sports that have previously had majority male participation.
• People preferring more informal and flexible options to participate in sport and active recreation.

There are also other challenges that the new Strategy needs to consider including:

• Expected population growth, particularly in Fishermans Bend.
• More people living in apartments without backyards and therefore needing to use public open space for many different purposes.

People who live, work, study or regularly visit the City of Port Phillip

Yes, the strategy will look at all the ways the community can be physically active to improve their health and wellbeing including:

Sport

This includes things like:

• soccer, football and rugby
• basketball and netball
• cricket
• baseball
• beach sports
• tennis
• lawn bowls
• gymnastics

Active recreation

This includes things like:

• gym and fitness activities
• walking, running, cycling or skating
• kiteboarding and stand-up paddle boarding

Play

This includes things like:

• playgrounds
• climbing trees
• building sandcastles at the beach

Active living

This includes things like:

• gardening
• physical household chores
• working a physical job

Active transport

This means walking, running, cycling, scooting to get from place to place

Feedback from the first round of engagement in 2025 was considered alongside participation data, trend analysis, population forecasts, and other industry research to inform the development of this draft Sport and Active Recreation Strategy.

Feedback you provide during this round of engagement will be reviewed and considered to determine if any changes should be made to the draft Strategy before it is finalised and considered by Council for adoption.

The draft Strategy was developed using community feedback, research, participation trends and an assessment of current and future recreation needs across Port Phillip.

To balance community needs with current budget pressures, Council has focused on its core role in sport and active recreation, which is to maintain and renew existing facilities so they remain safe for community use.

The actions in the Strategy need to be delivered within existing Council budgets, which means there is limited opportunity to introduce new initiatives at this time, without removing others.

Council will continue to work with the community, sporting clubs and other groups over the life of the Strategy to understand changing needs, identify new opportunities and seek external funding to help deliver additional initiatives where possible.

The Strategy is anticipated to be adopted by Council in late 2026. Once this happens, actions will start to be delivered as they are prioritised in the Strategy:

• short-term (year 1-3)
• medium-term (year 4-7)
• long-term (year 8-10)

The exact delivery order and years will be subject to Council’s annual budget process.