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Category: Organised sport

football; cricket; tennis; athletics; basketball; netball; badminton; hockey; golf; cycle racing; water sports

MidCoast Open Space and Recreation Strategy 2023 – 2035

MidCoast Open Space and Recreation Strategy 2023 – 2035 Final (27.5MB)

The MidCoast Open Space and Recreation Strategy 2023 – 2035 is the most contemporary strategy of its type in Australia, having been adopted by Council in July 2023.

The Strategy is based on an Adaptive Management model, making it unique in Australia for its appreciation of MidCoast’s 4100ha of open space and the activities that the community does on that space as a complete system, needing to be managed for emergent challenges. The Strategy includes an Impact Assessment model that assists Council’s land managers in being able to identify impacts on their parks and reserves, and what measures to put in place to meet those challenges. Primary among those challenges is climate change and impacts from over-use and over-visitation.

The Strategy also includes a new set of parks guiding principles, that once again are focused on the “whole system” rather than just human activity.

Review Status:

The Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition

The Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) is focused on reducing the rates of chronic disease through research excellence in nutrition and physical activity. It is hosted by Deakin University, Victoria.

“IPAN is a multi-disciplinary research institute focused on understanding – and influencing – physical activity and nutrition to improve health across the lifespan.​

“Our research spans from the lab to real world settings. We conduct metabolism, physiology, clinical and behavioural studies, and community and population-based research.​”

Visit the IPAN website

IPAN research covers four research domains, one joint department and a research centre.

Research domains

Biology of health and disease
The overarching aim of research in this domain is to characterise and understand the biological mechanisms by which exercise and nutrition impact health. Research in this domain includes healthy and clinical populations across the lifespan – from growth in the womb to ageing.

Healthy active living​
This domain focuses on real-world solutions to increase population levels of physical activity and consists of three research groups; Physical activity and sedentary behaviour from infancy to young adulthood; Built and natural environments for healthy living​; and Worker health and stress.​

Preventing and managing chronic conditions
The focus of this research is the development, implementation, evaluation and translation of lifestyle-based solutions for the prevention and management of chronic diseases . This includes cardio-metabolic and musculo-skeletal-related conditions, brain, cognitive and mood-related disorders, and cancer. ​

Food, nutrition and health
Unhealthy diets are the leading contributor to the global burden of disease and research in this domain includes developing and evaluating interventions and translating research into policy and practice.

Baker-Deakin Department of Lifestyle and Diabetes

A collaborative partnership between the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and PAN, the Baker-Deakin Department of Lifestyle and Diabetes has been established to advance research into one of the greatest health challenges of our time – the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.

The Department focuses on developing evidence-based lifestyle approaches to address the growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes, drawing on shared interests in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, nutrition and chronic disease management research.

The Centre for Sport Research

The Centre (CSR) is focused on influencing practice in sport to enhance the health and performance of people and organisations participating in sports. CSR researchers are experts in sport, exercise and health.

 


Review Status: Pending

Sport knowledge – the Australian Clearinghouse

The Australian Clearinghouse for Sport is the pre-eminent information and knowledge-sharing platform for Australian sport.

The Clearinghouse brings together Australia’s leading sport and active recreation agencies, using Sport Australia as the principal information coordinator, to share news, evidence and insights about sport, human performance and physical activity. The Clearinghouse works to:

  • Identify and acquire information of relevance to the Australian sport and active recreation sectors;
  • connect people in sport and active recreation with complementary expertise;
  • inform Australian sport practitioners (such as athletes, coaches, physical educators, scientists, medical providers, researchers, administrators, students, facility managers, policy makers, volunteers, and sporting officials) about good and promising practice in sport and active recreation;
  • provide Australian governments at all levels with comprehensive and policy relevant analysis of research relating to sport and active recreation, and its value to the community; and
    Provide Clearinghouse members with high quality information on sport, physical activity and active recreation.

The Clearinghouse is a central access point for knowledge about the Australian sport sector and for communication between sportspeople and sporting organisations. It is an entity of the Australian Sports Commission, itself an agency of the Australian Government. Access its website https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/ here.

Given the existence of the Clearinghouse with its focus on ‘active’ recreation and sport, the PaRC document library and this PaRC narratives website have purposely focused on ‘passive’ recreation, open space and park management, although of course no clear distinction can be maintained.


Canadian Sport Information Resource Centre

The Canadian equivalent is an excellent source of technical knowledge about sports played in that country. Click on SIRC Resources or its French version.

Review Status: Pending