Sport
31 January, 2025
Home run with inclusivity
Since mid last year, Abilify in Morayfield has been providing several disability inclusive sport programs in partnership with Caboolture clubs.
Every Tuesday from 10am to 2pm for just $15 per person, NDIS participants have been learning foundational cricket skills at the Caboolture Cricket Club. But the program is not just for people with disabilities; clients can bring their support worker, a friend, family member, or anyone else who would like to join.
Abilify managing director, Tim Bradford, said it is important to offer physical programs for NDIS participants, especially if they don’t usually do many outdoor activities. "We recognized that there are a lot of people with disabilities in the local area who are having trouble finding recreational programs," he said. "Last year we offered the Caboolture Cricket Club, who have great facilities, with a great opportunity to allow NDIS participants to learn an inclusive sport."
Tim highlighted some of the benefits people with disabilities can receive from this program. "We have around six to ten participants now and then they bring their support team, so we’ve got about a dozen people participating," he said. "We are hoping to build it up so we can make up a few teams and have proper games of cricket, but in the meantime, everyone is learning really good skills and developing friendships."
“The biggest benefit for participants would be that they are getting that interaction, they’re getting access to the community, and learning new skills.”
He added that he hopes NDIS participants would be able to get a job with the skills they’ve learned from the program. "It’s not just the skills around cricket, it’s the communication, camaraderie, and it’s self-confidence that they are building," Tim said. “Participating in programs like this are so much healthier to do rather than sitting at home.”
Tim said that although they haven’t had group games yet, he was confident participants could soon join their own teams outside of the program. “We don’t have any participants who have joined a club on their own yet, but with a little bit more practice, a few of our participants could slot into a C or B grade team potentially.”
Abilify would like to bring other sport programs to the community, such as touch football and soccer, but for now, they are focusing on growing their current programs. They also run a lawn bowls program on Fridays from 1-2pm at the Beachmere Bowls Club.
