A funding announcement made by the Victorian Government on Sunday is set to result in more kids having opportunites to play sports (including table tennis!) with their teammates and friends across the state.

A $45.2 million funding boost is aimed at getting kids moving and helping families with the costs of community sport, as Victoria moves towards COVID Normal.

As stated by the Government, Victorian kids deserve the chance to get out there and be active. The support of up to 100,000 children to get back on the pitch, court, nets, field or tables to play with their team. Is coming in the form of a $21 million Get Active Kids Voucher Program which is a Victorian first and will support children to get involved in organised activities by providing $200 vouchers to help families with the cost of sports equipment, uniforms or memberships.

“Every child deserves the chance to be active and healthy – but especially after this year – and these vouchers will help families afford the sports their kids love” said Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence.

The vouchers will be launched in early 2021 with eligibility criteria and details on how to apply to be announced in the coming months.

The package will also deliver more opportunities at school to participate in sport as part of the Active Schools program. More resources and expertise will be available to help Victorian students become more active, including:

• $7 million to support up to 481 government schools with an Active Schools funding boost to help meet the costs of running sport, outdoor education, and active recreation programs after school, including forming partnerships with local sport clubs.
• $5.7 million for a further 96 schools towards implementing a whole school approach to physical activity.
• A new team of physical education leaders will provide on-the-ground advice and support to more than 800 schools to improve their approach to sport, physical education, and physical activity.
• Trials of new and innovative approaches to increasing activity through several partnerships — including working with the start-up community to explore how technology can get teens moving, as well as adapting Deakin University’s Transform-Us! Program for secondary schools to get adolescents moving more and sitting less.
• All schools will have access to a new Active Schools Toolkit, which will include tips and tricks on how to make their school and their kids more active.

Table Tennis Victoria CEO, Ritchie Hinton said:

“We are very excited to see this type of funding become available in Victoria, after watching how successful it has been in other states over several years

"In particular, we are hopeful this will provide an extra incentive for families to sample our exciting new entry-level program, Spinneroos, which we see as great first step into the table tennis family”.