Leisure Networks and AFL Barwon have brought home the gold in the Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation Awards.
The organisations won Sport and Recreation Victoria Sports Initiative of the Year during the October 3 awards night for establishing and facilitating the AFL Barwon Inclusion League.
Leisure Networks program coordinator Luke Maher said he was “quite humble” about the award and that the project was a collective effort.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the group we work with here are truly amazing,” he said.
“I remember sitting down in mid-2017 with a couple of the guys from Bell Park footy club, Tim Downes and myself.
“We sat down with a vision of being able to provide football opportunities for people living with disability, and what progressed was the Geelong Dragons.”
Mr Maher said more than 100 players of different abilities, ages and genders were involved in the AFL Barwon Inclusion Leage’s inaugural 2023 season.
“We could give more access to more players, and that’s pretty much what has happened with the support of AFL Barwon,” he said.
“The next step is to sit back down again with AFL Barwon and see where we can move to next and how we can extend this over the coming years, to more clubs and more players.”
AFL Barwon regional general manager Edward Wilson said the award showed a “phenomenal amount of people” who positively impact the community.
“What we want to do is create as much equitable opportunity as we can and there’s a lot more to do,” he said.
“That’s what our partnership with Leisure Networks is all about, in creating the Inclusion League, to find opportunities for people in the Barwon region, in football and netball.”
