To effectively address four key contemporary area’s in Australia’s rural, remote and regional youth:
- Mental Health and Well-Being,
- Substance Abuse,
- Personal Development and
- Athletic Development.
Sport offers an opportunity to address these thorny issues young people in country Australia are facing. Dr Stuart Vella, a research fellow at the University of Wollongong, believes “Sport offers a really safe and secure place for adolescents to be exposed to messages about mental health.”
Dr Vella syas that “Typically people haven’t associated sporting clubs with having that role of supporting mental health, but they already play an important role. Our research shows kids who drop out of community sport are at a 10 or 20 per cent increased risk of developing mental health problems.”
Mental Health & Well-Being
“Depression is a high risk factor for suicide and, in Australia, there are approximately 2,500 suicides each year. 75% are by men – with an average of 6 men taking their lives every single day. Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under the age of 54, significantly exceeding the national road toll.”
Source: Beyond Blue: Men (2016).
The National Mental Health Alliance Inc. make the following (alarming) observations regarding mental health and well-being in remote and rural Australia;
“The rate of hospitalisation from mental health conditions as well as drug and alcohol use and intentional self-harm increases with remoteness. In 2013-14, the overall overnight hospitalisations rates were 13 per cent higher in rural and remote areas as compared to metropolitan areas.”
Their research also reveals:
- The rate of suicide in remote and very remote Australia is almost double the rate in major cities.
- The rate of suicide among men aged 15-29 years who live outside major cities is almost twice as high as it is in major cities.
- Farmers are 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide than the general employed public (based on a study examining suicide in selected occupations in Queensland).
This is an issue that desperately needs addressing, an issue that, in-part, can be addressed through sport.
Substance Abuse
Both the illicit drugs and risky levels of alcohol consumption are a problem amongst Australia’s remote, rural and regional youth.
“About one-third of the Australian population live in rural and remote areas. In those areas, alcohol consumption and its associated harms are consistently higher than in urban areas.”
“Alcohol misuse is estimated to cost $36 billion annually in terms of productivity losses and healthcare, crime and child protection costs.”
“In rural areas, one-third of those aged 14–19 years and two-thirds of those aged 20–24 reported that they have been victims of alcohol-related physical abuse.”
“People living in Remote and Very Remote areas were twice as likely as people in Major Cities to have recently used meth/amphetamines, but less likely to have used ecstasy compared with those from Major Cities. Cannabis use and the use of pharmaceuticals not for medical purposes is higher in Remote/Very Remote areas areas than in Major Cites.”
Professor Harvey Whiteford from the University of Queensland believes “There is no doubt Australia has a culture, especially among our young people, which does not see the taking of illicit substances or binge drinking as particularly detrimental to the health. Our study suggests otherwise.”
Substance abuse amongst young people in remote, rural and regional Australia is an issue that desperately needs to be addressed, by connecting with youth through sport, it can be.
Personal Development
When positive organised sport environments are created, they can be incredibly conducive to personal development. A study from the International journal of behavioural nutrition and physical activity 2013 reported: “…researchers also found team sport participation had been reported to protect against feelings of hopelessness and suicidality and greater life satisfaction. These researchers also concluded that team sports provided an increase in physical health, self-esteem, teamwork, social skills, discipline, responsibility and empathy.”
“Sport offers an opportunity to build social and emotional skills, which underpin our general wellbeing, in a consistent and safe environment.”
Athletic Development
Stockman Sports aims to assist young Australian’s develop their sporting potential through interactive quality sports programs both on the ground and on-line. We believe in the power and benefits of sport and have an aim to provide young people in the bush further opportunities to progress in their chosen sporting field. We aim to identify, engage, equip and encourage the next generation of remote, rural and regional sporting talent.