The Access for All Abilities Program is a Victorian Government initiative coordinated by Sport and Recreation Victoria.  It’s the only sport and recreation program of its type in Australia.  For over 10 years the program has, and continues to support and develop inclusive sport and recreation opportunities for people with a disability throughout Victoria.

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The 2009 Australian Paralympic Youth Games will be held in Melbourne from Monday 5 October - Saturday 10 October 2009.  The Games hope to attract up to 300 athletes participating at Melbourne’s premier sporting venues, including the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.  The Youth Games will be hosted by Wheelchair Sports Victoria in partnership with the Australian Paralympic Committee. 

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Special Olympics Victoria (SOV) can offer 14 sports aimed at different age groups and different levels of ability.  Sports include: Athletics, Basketball, Bocce, Cricket, Golf, Gymnastics, Sailing, Football (Soccer), Softball, Swimming, Tennis, and Tenpin Bowling.  However SOV needs to hear from local people with an intellectual disability and their families, in the west, to get the new competitions started.  See contact details below.

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Access for All Abilities helps sports clubs to include everyone. In Maribyrnong there are a number of inclusive clubs that are often the best both on the field and in the clubhouse.  They include: Kingsville Tennis Club, North Footscray Football Club, Barnstoneworth United Football Club (soccer), Maltese Bocce Social and Recreation Club, and Rosamond Bowling Club. Here are some of the benefits that these clubs have enjoyed:

* Offering a broader range of programs has increased membership
* Have an edge over the other applications to attract government funding and community sponsorship making the club a better place to be 
* More volunteers at the club due to more rewarding volunteer roles
* Increased media coverage in the local papers

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Wheelchair Rugby is really starting to make its mark in the west with Caroline Springs hosting a Round of the National Wheelchair Rugby League, July 24-26.  This event followed on from the Australian Squad Camp held in May when the Aussie Steelers started selecting players for the 2010 World Championships.

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The RECHARGE scheme is a simple and effective means of ensuring that people who use an electric scooter or wheelchair can travel without the fear of being stranded by a flat battery. It’s about encouraging local businesses and community organisations to provide a power point so people can recharge their battery on their premises, if required.

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Access for All Abilities works with this centre to continually improve their services.  For example VicNord selected MAC last year to be one of 12 centres to identify ways to improve the experience of people with disabilities using the centre.  So far we have completed an audit that covered:
* Physical access
* Equipment
* Policies and procedures
* Staff training
* Marketing and communication
* Programming

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The Championships took place at AMF Sunshine from 30 May – 5 June.  206 people took part in the event - 85% were players with an intellectual disability.  The event involved men’s and women’s events in singles, doubles and teams, and mixed teams.

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The Cinema Nova, Carlton is an accessible cinema allows people with hearing or vision impairments to fully understand or access movies through captions or audio description.  Captions are an English-language text version of the movie soundtrack, which includes not only speech but other important sounds. The captioning is seen by all audience members at a designated captioned screening.  Even for those that have cochlear implants or hearing aids, using these devices can be tiring and not all sounds will be heard, so captions can provide a more enjoyable way to see a movie.

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This important document was updated recently.  The new strategy will guide how Council provides recreation services for the 5 – 10 years.  It includes the results of the community consultation - a community survey and meetings with community members, disability service organisations and leisure providers.  A copy is available on the MCC web site.

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