Disability
People of all abilities are welcome at our club.Our Position
Wallsend Touch is committed to providing a safe, fun and inclusive environment for all people, including those of diverse abilities. Being inclusive not only reflects our core values but reflects the diversity of our community.
Wallsend Touch Association has zero-tolerance for anyone that shows or displays bullying, harassment and/or vilification within the sport be that on or off the field.
Wallsend Touch is passionate about helping people lead happy, healthy and active lives while celebrating diversity of sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, intersex status, ability, skill, cultural background, ethnicity, location, religious or political beliefs and life stage. There is a place in sport for everyone, exactly as you are.
Why is Disability Inclusion Important?
Participation rates for people with disability are significantly lower than the general population. While attitudes and practices are changing there is still work to do. There are many practical ideas, tools and strategies you can use to ensure people with disability have every opportunity to participate in activities of their choice.
By including persons with disabilities, sport also provides opportunities for innovation and recognizes the range of diversity within the disability community itself. Sport can provide a variety of mainstream and disability-specific opportunities across the inclusion spectrum for persons with disabilities.
All Abilities Touch Football Program
The Indomie Noodles All Abilities Touch Football Program is a completely inclusive program that provides opportunity for people with intellectual and/or physical impairments to learn Touch skills and play the sport with their family members, carers, friends, elite footy players and the wider community.
Internal Support
If you would like to reach out to our club for a confidential conversation, or to seek more information on how we can support you, please contact our Ambassadors and Allies.
Ambassadors & Club Allies
- Kellie Johnston (she/her)
ALLY Ambassador
kellie.johnston@wallsendtouch.com.au
- Nat Little (she/her)
ALLY Ambassador
nat.little@wallsendtouch.com.au
External Support
If you are seeking support from external organisations in the space of disability inclusion, we encourage you to reach out to:
Sport Inclusion Australia
Sport Inclusion Australia, formerly AUSRAPID, is a national sporting organisation established in 1986 to assist the inclusion of people with an intellectual disability into the mainstream community using sport as the medium. Sport Inclusion Australia has worked within the Australian sporting sector with outstanding success and is proud of the increasing numbers of sporting organisations and clubs taking responsibility for inclusion with the focus on ability and based on social inclusion principles.
www.sportinclusionaustralia.org.au
mail@siasport.org
Disability Sport & Recreation
Disability Sport & Recreation (DSR) has developed in partnership with Monash University and in consultation with multiple stakeholders including, most importantly, people with disability, and released an NDIS Sports Guide. The guide is free and outlines the logical steps that participants should be thinking about when preparing for their planning/review meeting with NDIS planners and how to incorporate sport and recreation into their goals. It also includes templates to assist with meeting preparation. The templates are currently available as accessible PDFs and accessible word documents are available upon request. DSR are looking to provide more accessible options in the future as the guide develops.