Select A Role - Select which role applies best to you - it will help us deliver the most relevant content for you in the future. Select one if you are an administrator, coach or official, player or parent.
Administrator
Administrators play a vital role in sport, particularly to reduce the potential for things to go wrong. Here, you can access resources to help you manage risks in your sport.
Coach or Official
Coaches and officials are what make sport tick. They play a crucial role in helping keep sport safe, fair and inclusive. Here are a number of tools and resources to help you do just that.
Player
If you are a player then you can make a huge contribution to making sport safe, fair and inclusive. Your behaviour influences others, not only your team mates, but everyone involved in sport.
Parents
As a parent you should be aware of your clubs responsibilities. At the same time you also have responsibilities and you can play a huge role in creating a safe environment for your child.
In 2017 we celebrated our eighth year of delivering our blind tennis program which has now benefited more than 300 people with vision loss.
When we developed this initiative in 2009, it was Australia’s first program of its kind.
Tennis for blind and vision impaired people was invented by Miyoshi Takei in Japan in 1984. In order to establish blind tennis in Australia, Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria (BSRV) President Maurice Gleeson OAM established a close relationship with the Japanese Blind Tennis Federation to benchmark best practice, develop rules for the game and establish strong professional links.
Personal meetings with the Japanese Federation in Tokyo in 2013 and an exhibition blind tennis match between the two countries helped to deepen BSRV’s expertise. This led to subsequent benchmarking of other countries’ practices, including the United Kingdom and Italy.
Our program is supported by Tennis Victoria - which has also provided the Melbourne Park Tennis Centre facility and promoted the program through its channels.
A key factor in the program’s success has been partner engagement and a number of universities have provided young, sighted volunteers (many from multicultural backgrounds) to assist on court and make the activity safe.
Many totally blind people may never have held a tennis racquet or been on a tennis court. This program helps them – as well as participants with low vision - to develop skills, directional hearing and balance with the help of audible balls containing bells.
Coaches are specially trained in adapting rules and conditions for people with vision loss.
The inclusive nature of the program sees first-time beginners playing alongside seasoned competitors in an open, welcoming environment.
Why we did it
According to VicHealth, people with disabilities experience substantial disadvantage and much poorer health outcomes than the general Australian population.
As a consequence of blindness and vision impairment, opportunities for physical activity can be more challenging and limiting than for the general community. This can lead to obesity and health related issues; and a lack of confidence and independence.
Being a social game, blind tennis also helps to create social connections for people with vision loss, as they participate together in one of the world’s most popular sports.
How we know it worked
Beyond health and fitness, the program has delivered a myriad of other benefits. Weekly blind tennis clinics have brought together people from diverse backgrounds, regardless of gender, ability or culture.
The social opportunities between players and between volunteers and players has improved confidence and even transformed lives.
LaTrobe University, through VicHealth, has evaluated the Victorian Blind Tennis program and the following milestones have been achieved:
The playing pathway has expanded to now cater for children as young as five and up to age 17 through a junior blind tennis program. These juniors showcased their skills at an exhibition match at the 2018 Australian Open Tennis Tournament.
Five Victorian blind athletes represented their country in the inaugural International Blind Tennis Tournament in Spain in 2017. The team competed against 13 other countries and received the ‘Fairest Team’ award. Three of those who played had never played blind sports before their involvement in tennis. Four blind athletes are representing Australia at the DLR TAKEI International Blind Tennis Tournament in Dublin in 2018.
Australia has increased its profile in the sport internationally, with BSRV President Maurice Gleeson OAM and Dr Erica Darian-Smith now members of the International Blind Tennis Association and working collectively with their international colleagues to have blind tennis become an official Paralympic sport.
