Recruitment and retention of culturally diverse people by sport and active recreation clubs

Abstract

Statistics indicate increasing numbers of people migrating to Australia from a range of countries such as South East Asia and Africa. This paper presents an exploratory study seeking to determine the extent to which sport and active recreation clubs cater for people from culturally diverse backgrounds. Results were obtained from general managers in sport and active recreation clubs in the form of surveys and semi-structured interviews. Evidence revealed that despite the large number of migrants residing in communities and the range of policies and strategies recommended by researchers and State Sporting Organizations, most sport and active recreation clubs were unaware of, reluctant, or unable to provide opportunities for people from culturally diverse backgrounds. It is argued in this paper that the extensive array of cultural groups has daunted managers to understand and design specific cultural strategies. As a result, without increased assistance from external partners to provide guidance on specific cultures, there will continue to be a limited number of organizationally diverse sport and active recreation clubs.