Blacktown City Council Signs On with Sport NSW

Sport NSW is pleased to announce Blacktown City Council as the first Council in NSW to become a member of Sport NSW under the new Local Government Membership category.

Local Government Membership has been launched recently as Sport NSW aims to increase its support of Councils, working with key community demographics under the auspice of sport and active recreation.

As part of its Stronger Sporting Communities program Sport NSW will partner with Councils on participation initiatives such as Girls Get Active Days, Activate Inclusion Days and Community Sports Festivals while also conducting community education sessions and workshops, assisting with Council community strategic planning processes and advocating for improved sporting outcomes.

Blacktown City Council is a leading Council in the sport and active recreation space, recently being awarded a national award of excellence for leisure and open space planning. This planning work will see an additional 157 new sporting facilities constructed over the coming years. Blacktown City Council is also embarking on a major Master Planning process for the Blacktown International Sportspark precinct which is due to be finalised in March 2017. Blacktown City Council truly recognises the importance of providing community sporting facilities as well as pathways to elite sporting venues such as Blacktown International Sportspark.

Sport NSW Chief Executive Darren Simpson is delighted to partner with Blacktown City Council on this initiative.

“Sport NSW sees the introduction of a Local Government Membership category as the perfect avenue to provide assistance to Councils as we aim to promote, strengthen and advocate for the sport sector while also growing participation. We look forward to working with Blacktown, which has proven itself to be a leading sporting Council,” Mr Simpson said.

Blacktown City Council Mayor Stephen Bali was keen to see his Council be one of the first to take up the Local Government Membership with Sport NSW given their strong commitment to sport.

“Blacktown is a Sporting City and we have some of the best facilities in Sydney,” Mayor Bali said.

“Our aim is to strengthen the position of Blacktown City as the recognised sporting capital of Western Sydney through the development of world standard sporting venues and events and by promoting community participation in local sports to enable a ‘Blacktown healthy and active lifestyle’.

“In the last year, 8,000 children learned to swim in our pools, more than 2 million people attended our major sporting venues and across the city hundreds of thousands of people take to the sporting fields each week,” he said.

Sport NSW is excited to implement this new initiative with the proactive team at Blacktown City Council and invite enquiries from Councils across NSW through the Sport NSW Membership & Female Programs Officer, Sophie Milton. Contact Sport NSW on 8736 1242.

Photo: Standing - Blacktown City Council's Brad Billett (Coordinator Sport & Recreation Services) and Matthew O'Connor (Manager Sport & Recreation Services)
          Sitting - Sophie Milton (Membership & Female Programs Officer) and Darren Simpson (Chief Executive Officer) from Sport NSW with Stephen Bali, Mayor, Blacktown City Council