Accessibility audit at your Club
Government grants are regularly available, and eligibility criteria are often sympathetic to making sport more accessible to the community. One such grant currently open is Active Tasmania’s Tasmanian Active Infrastructure Grant Program which closes on 30 April 2025 with $5 million in grant funds available.
Tasmanian bowls clubs could consider applying for a grant to improve accessibility facilities at their clubs.
Before doing so, it is suggested that Clubs undertake an audit to determine how accessible their Club actually is?
- Can someone with accessibility problems easily get from the Carpark and into the Club? Does the Club have designated disability parking spaces? Are the pathways smooth and wide?
- Does the Club have automatic self-opening doors into the clubrooms? Does it have double doors or over-wide doors to accommodate wheelchair access?
- Does the Club have ramps to allow wheelchair or walker-assisted bowlers to wheel easily onto the green? Are bowlers relying on wheeled assistance able to enter the clubrooms without calling for help? Can someone in a wheelchair move freely around the clubroom spaces?
- Are the toilets and other facilities accommodating to wheelchair athletes or bowlers with mobility aids? Are taps, door handles, etc reachable from a wheelchair.
Hopefully, Clubs have a handle on any accessibility issues at their Club and an action plan with measures to resolve any impediments. If it does not and the audit identifies areas for improvement that could be undertaken, Clubs should consider applying for funds under the Tasmanian Active Infrastructure Grant Program grant.
