Bocce Australia is thrilled to announce our application to the Australian Government’s $200 million Play Our Way program has been successful.
The Play Our Way program was established to promote equitable opportunities for women and girls to benefit from sport at all levels and locations, by addressing the barriers they experience when participating in sport and physical activity.
The nationwide grant opportunity offered two streams:
- Stream 1: Facilities – to support new and upgraded facilities, playing areas, or spaces for sport and physical activity, specifically for women and girls.
- Stream 2: Participation and equipment – to support sustainable and enduring sport participation programs and/or new or upgraded equipment, specifically for women and girls.
After a highly competitive process, Play Our Way is allocating funding to 290 organisations across Australia. Our program application will receive funding under the ‘participation and equipment’ stream.
We will be using our grant for Come ‘n’ Try Bocce Team Challenge rollout across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland over two years to increase enduring female participation to into bocce sport so women and girls in our community can easily access and enjoy playing sport and being active.
The Come ‘n’ Try Bocce Team Challenge introduces a new inclusive approach to bocce participation. It offers a hybrid program that combines the social aspect of casual play with the excitement of team-based competition, making it accessible to individuals with limited time or experience as well as to those not wishing to commit to play in an overly competitive environment. The initiative aims to engage underrepresented groups, including women, CALD communities, and people with disabilities, fostering inclusivity and community integration. By promoting this inclusive format across eight locations in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, we aim to increase bocce participation considerably and address barriers to sports engagement at the local level. This project directly supports the objectives outlined in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines by promoting diversity, reducing inequality, and creating sustainable access to sports and physical activities for all members of our community.
Further information about the program is available at: Play Our Way program | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.