Water in sport grants 2017-2020

Making water the drink of choice in local government owned sport and recreation facilities

Do you want to improve access to and promote water and healthy drinks in your sport and recreation facilities? Do you want to create an environment where choosing a healthy drink is the easy choice?

VicHealth is supporting Victorian local governments to make it easier for participants, coaches, spectators and volunteers to choose water as the drink of choice in canteens/retail food outlets in local sport and active recreation facilities.

Through this grant round, a small number of local governments will receive funds to undertake a ‘nudge’ in Council-owned sports and recreation facilities’ retail outlets which sell sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB’s), such as soft drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks. The nudge will involve either limiting to less than 20% or removing SSBs (red) from display and increasing availability, accessibility and promotion of water and healthy drinks (green) to greater than 50%.

The funded Councils will be required to have a dedicated project manager and implement Council policies and practices that support longer-term change.

Making water the drink of choice, instead of SSBs is a significant first step to implementing the broader Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices guidelines, a set of guidelines to improve the supply and promotion of healthy foods and drinks in key settings including Sports and Recreation Centres.

Even though the focus for this grant is to promote water as the drink of choice, Councils can also trial a ‘nudge’ to promote healthy food choices which are classified ‘Green’ according to the Victorian Government’s Healthy choices: food and drinks classification guide (DHHS, 2015).

What’s on offer?

Your Council could share in up to $540,000 in funding available over 2018-2020 to:

• Implement ‘nudges’ within multiple community sport and recreation facilities, to demonstrate changes in supporting making water the beverage of choice
• Develop or strengthen Council policies and practices which enable longer-term changes to increase the promotion, access and supply of water across council-owned sport and recreation facilities.