Review of sport and recreation in regional Western Australia

A formal review of the department of Sport and Recreation’s Regional Service was undertaken in 2000 and a review of country sport was undertaken in 1987.1 However, much has changed in the setting in which sport and recreation are being delivered in regional communities over the past decade. Much needs to change in the way sport and recreation are delivered into the future if they are to be sustainable and remain a central part of our Western Australian lifestyle. Great care is needed when undertaking a review such as this in a jurisdiction the size of Western Australia. Consider the profound differences in everyday life in a remote community in the State’s far north Kimberley region, in a rural Wheatbelt town, and in the rapidly growing coastal urban centre of Mandurah. the common thread is the central role sport and recreation play in participation and involvement in the Western Australian lifestyle. (Introduction)