POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY

Positive Impacts of having the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Basketball Association & Championships on the Indigenous Community

Sport has played a vital role in defining Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people’s place in Australian Society. Sport has done so much more than helping to establish our National Identity during the time since colonization. It has evolved to becoming an important ‘community building tool’ that can assist in addressing many of the social issues plaguing Australian Indigenous People.

Sporting activities at the grass roots level have the potential to motivate, inspire, and forge a community spirit in the face of the ever-present scourges of poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, domestic violence, ill health, and apathy.

Having a regular Annual National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Basketball Championship will have a myriad of positive impacts on the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Communities with Culture & connection to country.

The regular practice of Basketball offers invaluable lessons essential for life in our modern society. Basketball teaches Tolerance, Cooperation, Teamwork, Endurance, and Hard Work & Respect, all of which are components that are necessary to succeed in both Basketball & everyday life. Basketball is all-inclusive, knows no barriers and is easily accessible by everyone.

Basketball has the power to improve Education, Health, and social development & to reach lasting peace.

Not only will the Annual National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Basketball Championship have positive impacts on all aspects of life for the community it will also do the following:

• Increase the promotion, participation, and access of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander People in the field of Basketball.
• Basketball and Sport in general, is a universal language and is a powerful vehicle to promote Peace, Tolerance and understanding. Through the power of the sport of Basketball to bring people together across boundaries, cultural differences, and regions, it will also promote tolerance and reconciliation between the Indigenous People of this country and the Non- Indigenous People of Australian Society who provide their services to help with the organising and running of the Nationals Championship each year!
• The core values integral to sportsmanship in Basketball, make this sport a valuable method of promoting peace, from a local, Regional, State and to a National scale between the Indigenous People of Australia and the Non-Indigenous People attending the Nationals!
• On a communicational level, basketball can be used as an effective delivery mechanism for education about peace, tolerance, and respect for opponents, regardless of their differences. Basketball’s inclusive nature makes it a great tool to increase knowledge, understanding and awareness about peaceful co-existence.

Basketball and Education

Basketball teaches essential values and life skills, including self-confidence, teamwork, communication, inclusion, discipline, respect, and fair play. Basketball as a sport along with the Physical Education that is taught also has psychological benefits such as reducing depression and improving concentration, attendance, and overall achievement. Young people learn better when they are having fun and are being active.

The skills and values learned through sport are especially important for girls, given that they have fewer opportunities than boys for social interaction outside the home and beyond family networks.
Through sport, girls are given the chance to be leaders and improve their confidence and self esteem. As girls begin to participate in sport, they also acquire new interpersonal links and access to new opportunities, allowing them to become more engaged in school and community life.

Giving young people with disabilities the opportunity to participate in physical education programs at school and through community clubs is crucial given the additional benefits, among others, for social inclusion and self-esteem they receive from sport and physical activity.

Positive Impact of Basketball on the Physical Health of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community

Many studies have proven that Regular participation in sport can have an overall Lasting impact on the Physical, Psychological and Social aspect of an individual’s life.

Promoting Physical activity and healthy lifestyles through the Basketball Championship helps in bridging the many cultural, economic, and social barriers Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander People are faced with in today’s modern society.

Some of the main health problems within the Australian Indigenous Community are Diabetes, Obesity, Smoking, Alcohol and drug abuse, cardiovascular disease and heart problems. The National Basketball Championship is the absolute perfect opportunity to promote and educate the community on how to deal and conquer these problems through Information stalls, participation by and promotion of local, Regional and National Indigenous Specific Health Services.

The National Physical Guidelines for Australians suggest that minimum levels of physical activity needed for good health include:

• Utilising movement as much as possible.
• At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, or all days; AND
• Regular, vigorous exercise

The above-mentioned guidelines can and are being met through the consistent training by teams entered into the National Basketball Championships every year in preparation for the event.

There is also increasing evidence also demonstrating the beneficial relationship between physical activity and mental well-being. Sport has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve the ability to cope with stress. Organised physical activity also promotes a feeling of belonging, self-expression, increases participation in community group/club, improves social interaction and has psychological benefits.

Basketball as a Sport and physical activity is crucial for life-long healthy living. Sports in general improve health and well-being, extend life expectancy, and reduce the likelihood of several non-communicable diseases including heart disease.
Regular physical activity is essential for physical, mental, psychological, and social development. Good habits start early: The important role of physical education is demonstrated by the fact that children who exercise are more likely to stay physically active as adults.

Impact on Anti Social Behaviour of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Youth

Sport and Physical activity programs provide an effective vehicle through which personal and social development in young people can be positively affected and can be a prevention tool for antisocial behaviour of youths, particularly as a diversionary strategy from the criminal justice system. With the obvious psychological benefits, sport has been shown to improve emotional and cognitive skills including self esteem and problem solving.

Diversionary activity is the most suggested solution to eliminate or ease the problem of serious youth offences since it is generally implied that the root cause is a lack of constructive (or at least not harmful) outlets for youthful energy and tensions, generally described as ‘boredom’.

Through the continual marginalisation of young Indigenous people in isolated communities there is increasing evidence showing that Indigenous communities experience higher rates and worsening types of violence than non-Indigenous communities. Compared with other Australians, Indigenous youths are more likely to be unemployed, die at a younger age, leave school earlier, spend more time in jail and are more likely to die in custody (Johnston 1991, Bowers 1999). Given the social and geographic isolation of many communities, particularly in the Northern Territory, which is where a large proportion of our teams come from for Nationals, the lack of activities precipitates boredom, low self-esteem, and depression.

Organized physical activity after school hours (such as training for the National Championship) and also during school holidays are believed to significantly reduce offences (such as break-ins) and harmful activity, such as substance abuse.

Mason and Wilson (1988a) from the Australian Institute of Criminology have reported that organised activities particularly sport have contributed to a reduction in offending behaviour. Most of these programs are based on the notion that if ‘desire ’is removed from the ‘desire +ability +opportunity =crime ’equation, then long term antisocial behaviour is reduced (Hazlehurst 1990). According to the works of Cameron and MacDougall (2000) they have also identified ‘situational crime prevention’, which operates on the basis that young people are diverted from antisocial behaviour by engaging in physical activity.

Self harm and youth suicide is an issue that has recently emerged as a serious problem in some Aboriginal communities.

However, there has been increased research into the incidence of Indigenous youth suicide. There has been an increasing trend of youth suicides since the 1970s and rates appear to be rising faster than their non-Indigenous counterparts Studies have also shown that ‘high rates of substance abuse, violence, criminal offending and imprisonment ’are a risk factor for suicide amongst Aboriginal youth.

The roots of problems highlighted by the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report, and the disturbing evidence of increasing self harm and suicide (Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care 1999) are embedded in social justice issues. Sports and recreation programs are believed to be a useful tool in addressing ‘upstream ’political and health issues, particularly in terms of accessing youth.

Although attending a sporting event as a spectator involves interaction between community members, active participation in sporting roles can contribute more directly to community well being.

Social Activities provides an opportunity for groups to come together and for individuals to interact on a social level. Taking part in social activities may also encourage healthy family environments, build stronger communities, and enhance cultural identity.

Sport and Development

Basketball as a Sport is a catalyst for economic development. Individually each of the various sectors of the Basketball/Sports economy can create activity, jobs, and wealth. When the several are combined into a single strategy, such as the National Basketball Championships, it is possible to achieve additional economic gains because of the synergies that result. The local economic potential of Basketball is further enhanced when supported by national ‘sport for all ’strategies.
Securing Government leadership is essential to ensure that sport and physical education are incorporated into country development and international cooperation policies and agendas.

Local developments through Basketball particularly benefits from an integrated partnership approach to sport-for-development involving the full spectrum of actors in field-based community development including all levels and various sectors of government, sports organisations. The National Basketball Championship offers strategic basketball-based partnerships that can be created within a common framework providing a structured environment allowing for coordination, knowledge and expertise sharing and cost-effectiveness which will benefit the community.

Social Impact of the National Basketball Championship

A glimpse of the recent history of elite Indigenous sporting participation and achievements is useful, as it reflects the social and political values that have led to the contemporary environment of promoting sports in Indigenous communities.

Prior to the 1940’s, Indigenous people excelled (and continue to excel) in individual sports such as boxing and athletics. Since the 1940s, elite Indigenous participation has focused more on team sports. There are various theories explaining the popularity of Team Sports in Indigenous communities, including:

• Team sports are more communal and therefore more akin to the social interaction of Indigenous communities and are more culturally appropriate.
• ‘Privileged’ sports such as cricket are less socially accessible for Indigenous people (unlike Basketball or football); and,
• Team sports such as Basketball generally requires little expenses.

Some of the appeal of Basketball (just like football) for young men lies in the potential economic gain and access to wider social mobility and acceptance.
Social access to sports has been and continues to be a significant determinant of Indigenous participation. Structural factors contribute to access, for example: some sports socially and economically exclude Indigenous people. For example, sports that require funding for equipment or facilities (such as cricket or skiing) are beyond the economic means of many living in remote Indigenous communities (Cooke 1996).In addition to economic exclusion, such sports are also perceived to be socially ‘elite ’and therefore not seen to be accessible to Indigenous people.

Accounts of negative experiences due to racism have also influenced the participation of Indigenous people in particular sports (Cooke 1996).
At a community (non-elite) level, festivals bring extended families and communities together and provide meaning when appropriate employment is otherwise scarce

The National Basketball Championships provides many opportunities for the Men, Women and Children picked to participate in teams. This too will have a lasting impact on the family members and friends of those selected for teams to be able to experience the Joy of having a loved one participating in a Team at this Annual National Event!

Having the National Basketball Championship consistently every year portrays to the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community that there are avenues available to compete at National level and that the opportunity is there to help Basketball players within the community to excel in the field of Basketball, thus increasing the participation of Indigenous People in Basketball and through their participation in this sport it will have positive impacts on their physical and mental health and social well being and these effects will be more long term! Participation in this event will instill the feeling of Pride and Honour in the communities!

The National Basketball Championship benefits members of the teams on many different levels:

For the individual, participation in this sport activity will enhance one’s personal abilities, general health, and self-knowledge.

On the National level, participation in this Sporting event will contribute to social growth of the participants, improvement of health, and will bring many different communities together.

Access to and participation in this national sporting event provides an opportunity to experience social and moral inclusion for the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander players selected to be in teams which all come from communities that are usually marginalized by social or cultural barriers due to gender or other forms of discriminations. Through the participation in the National Basketball Championship by every team, each individual in the team can experience equality, freedom and a dignifying means of empowerment.