Peel region sporting clubs on the front foot against drug abuse

Local clubs and associations attended the ADF’s Tackling Illegal Drugs workshop at Lark Hill Sporting Complex on Wednesday night, where they were given training and tools to be better prepared on how to deal with drug-related issues within their sport.

The program highlights the sporting organisation’s duty of care to its players, and helps them enforce policies that enable clubs to work out clear responses to incidents of suspected drug use.

ADF regional community development manager Samantha Menezes said sporting clubs played a vital role in preventing drug-related harm.

“Sporting clubs are the beating heart of many local communities, and are hubs for young people, so they’re perfectly placed to be massive part of the solution,” she said.

“If we know more than a quarter of the Australian population participates in or watches community sport – we then know that community sport is a perfect vehicle to prevent or reduce drug related harm.”

Menezes said the ADF’s Peel region programs had been a huge success in the early stages.

“We’ve had some really strong feedback from the local clubs in the region through our first two visits,” she said.

“At this point we’re trying to help them build their own policies around drug use, and also point them in the direction of all the support services they have in the region.”

The Peel Cricket Association is one of the organisations that has thrown its support behind the initiative, stressing the importance of building a strong culture against drug abuse within its ranks.

“Obviously every organisation – whether you’re a sporting club or not – has probably been affected by drugs at some point, so we think it’s really important to be on the front foot,” committee member Ben Doudle said.

“We’ve found the workshops really beneficial to the PCA. Just things like having a policy in place and knowing how to deal with it properly is huge.”

For more information on the workshops visit adf.org.au