11/12/00
The peak umbrella body for sport in Western Australia tonight celebrated its 50th anniversary with a mandate to continue as the State’s “voice of sport”.
Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Western Australian Sports Federation, Sport and Recreation Minister Norman Moore said he was confident that the future of sound economic sports liaison and management in Western Australia was in safe hands.
He said the celebration of 50 memorable years of sport in Western Australia was an appropriate culmination of the greatest year in the history of the nation’s sport.
“Reflecting on that truly remarkable Sydney 2000, we can say that our Western Australian Olympians and Paralympians did us all proud - and the Western Australian Sports Federation and its 122 affiliated sporting bodies can take personal pride in those achievements,” he said.
“Those fine young athletes were nurtured all the way to Sydney, via the playing fields, athletics tracks and aquatic centres, the clubs and the coaching clinics of home.”
Mr Moore said that as the “voice of sport”, the federation spoke for 600,000 registered participants across the WA sports spectrum.
“It is their conduit to public and private sponsors, to development programs, to the Ministry of Sport and Recreation and to the Government which provides funding for those sporting facilities,” the Minister said.
The Western Australian Sports Federation began in 1950 as the associated sporting committee of the National Fitness Council. A number of delegates from the original 23 foundation affiliated sporting organisations were present at tonight’s celebration, along with former WASF presidents, board members and merit award winners and sporting identities.
Mr Moore said that the development of sports management in the past half century had accelerated at a remarkable rate in recent years.
“The past 12 months in particular have seen some highly significant changes and reforms within the industry,” he said.
“We now have a level of professionalism as never seen before, based on a culture of partnerships and commitment to world’s best practice, with a re-vitalised team at the Ministry of Sport and Recreation gearing up to lead Western Australian sport to meet the industry’s challenges in the new millennium.”
Mr Moore said the partnership between the Ministry of Sport and Recreation and the Western Australian Sports Federation was the most vital in the industry, with a national reputation for innovation.
He said that to ensure continued success, the industry must build further strong commercial partnerships and alliances.
“There is scope for further development of industry joint ventures, at the grass roots level, with local business through to corporate sponsorship secured by the peak body,” the Minister said.
“Increasingly, the industry will be relying on the goodwill of these corporate patrons.”
Media Contacts:
Hartley Joynt, Minister’s office, 9321 1444,
Erin Broderick, Ministry of Sport and Recreation, 9387 9749.
