Walking Basketball Program: : Evaluation Report for Basketball Victoria

Abstract

Modified sport programs were initially developed for young children and were aimed at providing an opportunity to participate in a modified version of the adult-based sport. This involved modifying the sport to suit young participants and included changing the equipment, rules and/or physical space, in an effort to make sport more accessible and enjoyable for young children. In the past seven years, this concept has been further developed to cater for adults and older adults, by accommodating those with reduced physical capabilities, such as injury rehabilitation, or for those seeking to re-engage with sport. The most popular iteration has been walking sports. Walking football (soccer) was first developed in the U.K. in 2011, before rugby, netball and basketball organisations similarly modified their rules and game structure, to make sport more accessible for those who do not engage with sport in its traditional format. In most of these walking sport programs, the participants tend to be older adults. The aim of this report was to, firstly, understand current older adult participation trends in basketball, using the Sport and Recreation Spatial project data. The second component of this report was to evaluate Basketball Victoria’s walking basketball program, by evaluating two current programs in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The evaluation involved interviewing the program facilitators and conducting focus groups with the program participants.