Looking for partners to play in Sydney[Dulwich Hill]

Anyone for badminton?
ALEX MCCLINTOCK
January 9, 2010 .

Playing ball ... Timothy Ham and Sophia Low get sweaty with a game of badminton at Dulwich Hill. The club has had to put on extra holiday classes to cope with demand from children wanting to learn the sport. Photo: James Alcock

CHILDREN are signing up for so-called alternative sports - such as badminton, triathlon and golf - threatening the dominance of traditional pastimes such as cricket or rugby.

Experts say demographic and cultural changes in the suburbs have led to children turning away from established team sports.

In the Crawford Report into the future of sports funding in Australia, released in November, immigration was identified as a major factor changing the sports children play.

Table Tennis Australia chief executive Peter Marriott said his sport was experiencing a player windfall.

''Even if you look at the national squad, there is a large influx of Asian players,'' he said. ''That is happening at a club level as well.''

About 14,500 Australian children, close to a third of the total number of children registered to play junior club rugby in NSW, are expected to take part in this month's Weetbix TRYathlon, an increase of more than 2500 on the event last year.

Jim Dollman, of the University of South Australia's School of Health Sciences, said traditional sports also had to compete with ''take-away sports'' such as skateboarding and mountain biking, which could be played anywhere and have been growing in popularity.

''Kids on the whole are looking for lifestyle sports, that is sports that have an image associated with them,'' Professor Dollman said.

''I think they will increase in popularity. Kids are looking for more than a bit of fun and being active, they're looking for a look, an identity,'' he said.

Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation chief executive Peter Van Wegen said junior golf was on the verge of a big expansion into NSW primary and high schools and hoped the sport would reach between 40,000 and 50,000 children this year.

''We want to compete with those major sports, we don't see ourselves as an alternative sport,'' he said.

''We're developing a model that is similar to major sports like swimming, athletics and rugby league. Golf is one of the few games that parents and the whole family can get into.''

Badminton Australia chief executive Paul Brettell estimated close to half of Australia's 153,000 badminton players were children.

''Growth at a junior level is steady,'' he said. ''The awareness of badminton is increasing.''

Timothy Ham, 7, who has been playing with the Dulwich Hill Badminton Club for a year, said the sport was good for children ''because you're running a lot - I'm sweaty''. Skills classes had paid off, too. ''I've got a bit of improvement,'' he said.

Club chief Kathy Fong said she had to schedule extra holiday classes to cope with growing demand from children aged seven to 15.

''[The classes] are a lot more popular and the association is getting really big.''

Medical experts hope that the wider variety of casual sporting activities available will help fight the childhood obesity epidemic.

Louise Baur, a professor of pediatrics at Sydney University, said the most important exercise for children was active play but organised sport was also important.

''I love the idea that there are a range of sports that are available.

''If you're not a football or a cricket fan there are a range of options that you can do.''

Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis said having a variety of sports on offer meant there was something for everyone.

''I encourage young people to get involved in any sport that interests them,'' Ms Ellis said.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

 

Weldone Dulwich Hill Badminton Club