Be a Good Sport, join the Good Sports Program

Hockey WA is encouraging all clubs to be a Good Sport and continue building a winning community club culture by joining the Good Sports Program.

Run by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Good Sports is a free Australia-wide program supporting and inspiring community sporting clubs to set up a better environment for players, volunteers, supporters and officials.

For more than 20 years, the program has helped clubs tackle tricky topics like alcohol, drugs, smoking, mental health and safe transport, implementing policies that puts the health and welfare of members, families and guests first.

Clubs that sign up to Good Sports become part of something much bigger, with more than 10,000 club from over 100 sporting codes working together to create a winning community sporting club culture.

Studies have shown that Good Sports clubs experience a 42% decrease in alcohol-related incidents and a 37% decrease in risky drinking.

How to Join the Good Sports Program

Becoming a Good Sports accredited club is a simple online process that can be completed at your own pace, anywhere and anytime.

To get started, fill out a quick online form to create your club account. You will then be required to complete a questionnaire answering a series of questions about your club and build an action plan to help prioritise your club's work.

Once your policy is signed by your committee members, you will be an accredited Good Sports Club.

Once you have completed the entire questionnaire, with all actions and the complete policy signed off, your club will then become a Gold Medal Good Sports Club - the highest level of the program.

From there, you'll check in annually to ensure your club is on top of everything. The program is designed with busy volunteers in mind so you will only need to dedicate a few hours each year to keep making your club an even more welcoming and family-friendly place.

For more information and to sign up, visit the Good Sports website.

Good Sports Awards

Nominations are open for the 2023 Good Sports Awards, recognising the strong clubs and dedicated people who are passionate about their community, their members and making their club the very best it can be.

A total of $13,500 in prizes is up for grabs with winners across the seven award categories set to receive a cash prize that will be used to benefit their club (in line with the Good Sports values).

To enter, a club must be a registered Good Sports Club, not be a professional sporting club, National Sporting Organisation or State Sporting Organisaion, and also meet any additional eligibility criteria assigned to each award.

The Good Sports Award categories are Club of the Year, Club Volunteer of the Year, Safe Transport Award, Community Club of the Year Award, Mental Health Excellence Award, Junior Club of the Year, and New Club of the Year.

To find out more and nominate for the awards, visit the Good Sports website.

Nominations close on Sunday 12 November, with the awards ceremony set to take place in early 2024.