Sports Focus has partnered with the Bendigo FIDA Suns to deliver a free Come and Try FIDA Football session in Castlemaine.
FIDA Football is Australian Rules football for people with intellectual disabilities and has teams across Victoria, including Bendigo and Kyneton.
The Kyneton FIDA Tigers are a newly established team who came together in 2021 and are auspiced by the Kyneton Football Netball Club.
The session in Castlemaine will be held on Sunday April 2, 10am-12.30pm at Wesley Hill Recreation Reserve.
Anyone who has an intellectual disability and is aged 14+ is invited to attend the session to learn new skills and meet new people.
Connecting Futures and Rotary Club of Castlemaine are also supporting the event, and a free barbecue will be provided.
Jasmine Noske, Sports Focus project coordinator, told the Express that FIDA was quite popular across the state.
“There are modified rules to suit all abilities and it’s a great team environment and way to involve people who might not have otherwise been involved,” Jasmine said.
This event was organised as a result of Sports Focus’ work with Mount Alexander Shire Council to support the development of the Shire’s Disability Action Plan.
This plan aims to address barriers people with a disability experience in participating in community life.
Sports Focus are particularly interested in looking to provide inclusive sport and recreation opportunities.
On December 3, 2022, Sports Focus attended Castlemaine’s International Day of People with a Disability event where staff spoke with the community about what sport and recreation activities they may be interested in participating in.
From these conversations, it was determined that FIDA Football was an activity of interest, with locals stating that they would like to play, but couldn’t travel to Kyneton or Bendigo to participate.
This event is being delivered as a trial, with further sessions depending on demand.
Registrations are encouraged and can be completed at: https://bit.ly/FIDA-Castlemaine
