THERE are a lot more kids on the courts, fields and pitches of Ipswich, with the council’s popular Active Kids program seeing a mammoth increase of 218% compared to last year.
The program is aimed at promoting health and well-being among our residents by providing free and low-cost physical recreation activities for children, said Ipswich City Council Community and Sport Committee chairperson Councillor Jacob Madsen said.
“This year we had over 5000 participants compared to last year’s nearly 1600,” Cr Madsen said.
“Council added 79 additional activities this year, with thousands more children taking them up.
“Sport can be expensive, and this program provides a gateway for young people to try it out at low or no cost before committing fully.”
Cr Madsen said it was great to see children and teens get out and about at their local parks, ovals and sporting fields giving a new sport a go.
“Council’s aim is to provide our children with an accessible opportunity to be active and have fun but in the process, Australia’s next great sporting icons may rise from the ranks of Ipswich’s Active Kids and go straight into the 2032 Brisbane Olympics,” he said.
Cr Madsen said running the program would not have been possible without council’s partner organisations.
“We had great engagement with our 15 external partners this year, particularly in co-designing some of the programs,” he said.
“We have a mix of organisations helping us out, ranging from Queensland’s peak sport bodies to emergency services, as well as local sporting clubs and community centres.
