Alcohol and sport

This article appears in the May 2009 edition of Sportshorts.

The ugly side of alcohol and sport has dominated news recently with shocking headlines about sports stars behaving badly after misusing alcohol.

Sport and alcohol abuse is certainly not a new issue. But many now want to stop the association between the two – and for good reason.

At a personal level, alcohol misuse can devastate individuals’ wellbeing and safety. At the sport level, it damages the integrity of the sport and club. It also takes the emphasis off the game, performance and the ‘good stories’ within the sport. Negative associations arising from a ‘drinking’ culture could jeopardise sponsorships, which sustain sport from the elite through to community level. And at a broader social level, continued alcohol misuse creates negative role models and builds a culture of acceptance of inappropriate behaviour.

When it comes to managing alcohol in sport, the focus is often on our elite stars and the big sporting codes.

But grassroots sport has a major role too as this is where the majority of sport takes place. For young people, it’s also where role models are formed and lifelong attitudes cemented.

So it’s a good time for community clubs to examine their own position on alcohol and how it affects the culture in their organisations. Good questions to ask are is our approach to alcohol risking member safety and enjoyment? Is it affecting our reputation and business opportunities?

Are we contributing to a culture of alcohol misuse?

Many clubs are proactively tackling the issue right now, under the guidance of Good Sports, an Australian Drug Foundation initiative operating in 2,300 clubs Australia-wide.

“Good Sports is a free program to help sport clubs become healthier and more family-oriented members of the community and less focussed on the consumption of alcohol at high risk levels,” says John Reid, State Manager for Good Sports NSW.

“Good Sports is certainly not about ‘drying up’ clubs, but rather helping them to develop good alcohol management policies.”

In practice, Good Sports is a three-level accreditation program. At level one, clubs comply with liquor license law and commit to smoke free areas.

Clubs who do not have a liquor license (no on-site bar) can still be involved in Good Sports. They commit to responsible service of alcohol training for some members, so club functions at off-site venues (e.g. sponsor venue) have an added degree of monitoring.

In the later stages of accreditation, clubs need to meet criteria including the implementation of safe transport and alcohol management policies. Good Sports Project Officers work with clubs throughout the process.

Continued alcohol misuse creates negative role models and builds a culture of acceptance of inappropriate behaviour.

According to John Reid, the benefits of clubs being responsible and proactive with their alcohol management are far-reaching. “You create a culture that’s welcoming to families and juniors, which has many flow-on affects.

“Clubs in our program report an improved community image and more attractive propositions to sponsors, as well as strengthening efforts for funding and grants. Sponsors of clubs are increasingly concerned about where they are putting their money, Good Sports assists in presenting a club in the most positive light possible.

“It also improves relationships with community organisations such as local government and police.

“You also reduce your risk of liability and many alcohol-related problems.

“A positive and responsible approach to alcohol by more sports clubs also has wider benefits to the community. This includes improved health of community members, reducing road trauma and drink driving incidents and reduced violence, noise and facility damage – just to name a few,” says Mr Reid.

Further information

For more information and to register your club for a meeting with a Good Sports Project Officer contact:

Good Sports NSW
Phone 9972 3160
www.goodsports.com.au - The Good Sports website features case studies from clubs across Australia already involved in the program.