SHANE Rattenbury has released a report examining the state of indoor sports facilities in the ACT, and announced a range of steps the Government will take over the next 12 months to better utilise existing facilities such as Government owned schools and community halls.

“Sport and Recreation Services will allocate $50,000 in 2016 to improve community access to government school facilities, this could include upgrades to facilities such as security systems and storage improvements that are required for indoor sport and recreation use,” Shane said.

“I really encourage both sport and recreation groups and schools to take advantage of this opportunity to work with the government to enhance the role of schools as community hubs.

“We will also establish a working group with representatives from Sport and Recreation Services and the Education and Training Directorate to manage the provision of indoor sporting facilities across the territory to ensure greater community access to indoor facilities within ACT Government schools.

“Additional to the one off $50,000 injection, SRS will also amend the guidelines for the existing SRS Grants Program to further enable community sporting and recreation groups to invest in upgrading other facilities into the future.

“The government has agreed with the majority of the recommendations from the report (commissioned in 2015), and work will begin immediately to implement the findings.

“From gymnastics to badminton, futsal to roller derby and everything in-between, indoor activities are a vital part of the sport and recreation landscape. It is important that we continue to work closely with our indoor sporting groups and facility owners to make sure no one misses out on the chance to be active.

“Indoor sports facilities are in high demand and this demand is only going to increase as our city grows. We need to be innovative as to how we use our existing facilities and find alternative solutions to meet the demands in the short to medium term.”

To read the full report visit sport.act.gov.au.