On the back of a successful 2024 Touch World Cup where Australia dominated as the global benchmark of Touch Football, the popularity of Touch Football has never been stronger and has continued to grow nationwide with over 600,000 participants – and junior participation increasing by more than 19% in the past year.
As Australia’s largest social sport, Touch Football is where anyone can play no matter the age, gender, experience or ability. The gender split for our sport is almost on parity, with the gap closing more each day.
Today, there are many challenges for teachers to provide activities to get children moving and motivated to break down barriers, where image is more important for students than the health benefits that the activity can provide. Touch Football Australia’s First Try program can provide that vehicle for change where a healthy body is a healthy mind.
Since its inception, First Try has delivered more than 3,000 Touch Football programs to over 40,000 individuals and can be catered for schools of all shapes and sizes. The interest in our non-contact program continues to be an attractive alternative where boys and girls can participate together or in gender-specific environments and share common skills that attribute and cross over to many other sports. Plus, Touch Football is easy to teach and learn, with minimal equipment required – with pathways also in place for players aspiring for representative honours from club, state, national tournaments, and at the international level.
The First Try program provides several delivery models that our staff can deliver. Alternatively, we can provide teachers with the resources and equipment via the First Try App which provides an easy-to-use step-by-step guide with videos that will hold the hand of any willing deliverer.
The sport also offers a specialised All Abilities program catered towards students with intellectual or physical impairments. The program was developed in collaboration with Sport Inclusion Australia, Down Syndrome Australia, and Autism Spectrum Australia – and provides opportunity for individuals to be involved in a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Touch Football is a unique sport that allows friends, family, and even total strangers to come together in a safe, healthy, and social environment which few sports can rival. Males and females can play together on the same side, just as parents can play with their children. The Touch Football family spreads far and wide. It only takes a game or two to realise how special the sport is and how welcoming and considerate its people are of one another.
Touch Football has several inherent mental and physical benefits, which can improve the longevity of a person’s life. Touch Footballers are constantly on the move, walking, running, jumping, stepping, and everything in between. The nature of the sport ensures participants are always getting a workout no matter what they are doing, and the inclusive nature of Touch Football ensures there is a place on the field for everyone.
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