TBA welcomes funding extension to keep kids active through sport

Tenpin Bowling Australia (TBA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rohan O’Neill has welcomed the Australian Government’s plans to extend funding to keep kids active through sport following the announcement in last night’s Federal Budget.

The 2022-23 Federal Budget announced a range of initiatives and funding packages to Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) to allow continued support for sports across the country.

One of the several announcements included the extension of the popular Sporting Schools program that TBA offers through its participation programs.

Sporting Schools is an Australian Government initiative designed to help schools increase children’s participation in sport and connect them with community sport opportunities. The program is set to receive $79.6 million which will see it continue to provide free activities to school children until the end of 2024.

The extension of the Sporting Schools program delighting TBA who is one of 35 national sporting organisations (NSO’s) that is partnered with Sport Australia in helping achieve the goal of having more children active through programs such as Bowl Patrol and Bowl Abilities.

“It’s a great result for our sport. The Sporting Schools program enables us to deliver tenpin bowling to tens of thousands of children across the country,” explained O’Neill. “We are extremely pleased to be able to plan ahead with certainty until the end of 2024 and grow on our record-breaking year in 2021.”

TBA had a record-breaking year in Sporting School participation in 2021 despite the challenges of COVID-19 and 2022 is shaping up to be even bigger.

“We have delivered more Term 1 programs than ever before and it’s clear that there is high demand for tenpin bowling in schools given how inclusive the sport is,” added O’Neill.

The $117 million package to Sport Australia and the AIS will not only see the extension of the Sporting Schools program but also assist in funding projects to promote and create leadership opportunities for women and girls and expand community participation programs to help get all Australians more active.

“Increased funding to support women and girls in sport at all levels is really pleasing,” said O’Neill.

“We have seen firsthand that there is no shortage of talented women in sport ready to take on leadership roles with our own Emily Rennes only recently being selected for Sport Australia’s 2022 Women Leaders in Sport program.

“We remain focused on also driving participation for girls and women across the country and increasing the number of girls and women participating in the sport. With 42 per cent of our membership base female, we have more work to do and initiatives such as this further enhance our chances of truly reflecting the community,” added O’Neill.

To read more about the sports highlights in the 2022-2023 Federal Budget, click here