Sport Education Victoria has recently taken over the management of Sport CONNECT within Victoria, funded by the Australian Sports Commission.

Sport CONNECT was launched in October 2002 as a joint venture between the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Paralympic Committee. Sport CONNECT stands for Creating Opportunities Nationally through Networks in Education, Classification and Training.

Sport CONNECT aims to provide national sporting organisations with assistance in meeting the needs of people with a disability within their sport.Its two main focus areas are:
- Creating athlete pathways for people with a disability.
- Breaking down the barriers within disability and non-disability specific sport structures for people with a disability.

SportEd will do this by forming partnerships at national, state and local levels to address a range of critical issues that impact on the participation of people with a disability.These issues are addressed in the national sporting organisation’s Disability Action Plan, which will form the basis of a range of support services provided through Sport CONNECT.

Disability Action Plan

The foundation of Project CONNECT is the Disability Action Plan.This document is negotiated between Project CONNECT and the national sporting organisation.Strategies agreed to in the Action Plan will outline the funding assistance provided direct to the national sporting organisation or indirectly through a third party, the agreed outcomes, timeframes and evaluation methods.The basis of negotiations is one of cooperation and joint ownership.Both the national sporting organisation and Project CONNECT will make a commitment to ensure that outcomes are met in a timely manner.

The Disability Action Plan will be unique to the national sporting organisation and may cover areas of work no t covered through CONNECT but deemed important for their sport.On completion, the Action Plan will be registered with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission.Specific focus areas for Project CONNECT are:
- Disability Education – The delivery of sport specific disability education and training modules at the local level.
- Accreditation – The training of accredited sport specific coaches and officials.
- Classification – The establishment of a sport specific classification recognition program.
- Athlete support – The provision of administrative and technical support for the classified athlete.

SportEd is currently working with Riding for the Disabled Association of Australia and the Australian Pony Club Council (in a combined initiative), Softball Australia and Bowls Australia to implement their Disability Action Plans as part of Project CONNECT.

More information can be obtained by downloading the Project Connect Flyer or by contacting Sport Education Victoria on 9425 0058 after 10:30am weekdays.