AUSTRALIAN SPORT, RECREATION AND PLAY INNOVATION AWARDS
- 25-26 June 2025
- Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
NSC will once again have the honour of hosting the Australian Sport, Recreation and Play Innovation Awards.
The purpose of these Industry Innovation Awards is to recognise individuals, not-for-profits, commercial, play, recreation and sport sectors on their innovations to get more people active in the community.
Congratulations to our 2025 winners!
2025 Categories
1. INCLUSION PROGRAM/INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR in partnership with Diversity and Inclusion in Sport Alliance (DISA)
Recognises outstanding efforts by individuals or organisations in delivering programs/initiatives that champion inclusion and active participation across diverse communities. This could include initiatives that have advocated for gender equality, involved LGBTQIA+ communities, supported people with disabilities, empowered indigenous populations, reached out to culturally diverse and multicultural communities and encouraged participation among other underrepresented communities.
WINNER: Moriarty Foundation – John Moriarty Football
This program uses football to positively engage 2,000+ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, with powerful impacts on health, education, wellbeing and connection to Country.
JMF is delivered free in 17 vulnerable regional and remote communities to children aged 6-17 years, 5-6 days per week and with equal participation of boys and girls. JMF delivers in-school and after school sessions, school holiday clinics and tournaments. JMF’s Scholarships and Pathways Program provides a life-changing pathway for talented young Indigenous footballers aged 10-18 years in its grassroots program who show exceptional sporting ability and a desire to work hard at school.
2. MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
The communication messages that innovatively activates the community for more people to be active, play, recreate and participate in community sport at a local level or through a major event.
WINNER: Belgravia Leisure – Move it CBR!
MOVE IT CANBERRA! was intended to ignite the energy of an entire territory and drive a renewed interest in the importance of gaining 30 minutes of activity 5-7 times per week.
Based at Gungahlin Leisure Centre the campaign launched with a free mid-week outdoor group exercise class, an opportunity to train with the Paralympic Team and to watch the local water polo team practice.
3. TECHNOLOGY
Innovations in technology that support Business to Business (B2B) improvements for the industry or Business to Consumer (B2C) experiences.
WINNER: Clubland Australia
Clubland is rethinking how sporting clubs engage with their communities through purpose-built digital clubhouses. Their platform addresses critical challenges facing community sports: declining participation, communication fragmentation, and reliance on social media that goes against fostering youth mental welfare.
By creating all-in-one digital hubs, Clubland empowers clubs to preserve their heritage while embracing modern engagement. The platform combines streamlined administration tools with powerful communication features, enabling time-poor volunteers to manage club operations efficiently.
4. INDOOR SPORT & LEISURE FACILITY DESIGN
Innovative design, solutions and management that creates an environment where more people are more active and can be excited by the design and built form, looking at how innovation can encourage and attract more visitors and participation, whilst embracing the principles of sustainability.
WINNER: Blacktown City Council – Blacktown Exercise Sports & Technology Hub (BEST)
The Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology Hub (BEST) is a world-class facility redefining community infrastructure by seamlessly integrating sport, health, education, and recreation. Originally a Sydney Olympic venue, it has evolved into a vibrant, inclusive precinct with accessible, multi-functional spaces serving all ages and abilities.
BEST is a world-class facility at the intersection of sport, culture, health and community. BEST’s striking design is shaped by local cultural narratives such as Indian temples, Turkish bathhouses, and Chinese gardens. This immersive design creates an internationally significant sporting precinct, enhancing athlete performance and community wellbeing.
BEST champions sustainability through solar energy, water-sensitive urban design, and energy-efficient construction. It fosters strong partnerships with health and education sectors, ensuring economic viability and long-term relevance. Purposefully designed for adaptability and social inclusion, BEST represents a future-focused model of community health and wellbeing, a benchmark for indoor sports and leisure facility design.
5. OUTDOOR SPORT & LEISURE FACILITY DESIGN
Innovative design, solutions and management that creates an environment where more people are active (outdoor environments, with natural, synthetic and built forms), whilst embracing the principles of sustainability.
WINNER: Penrith City Council – Gipps Street Recreation Precinct
Penrith City Council transformed its disused waste facility site at Gipps Street into a landmark multi-purpose sport and recreation facility. The site provided a unique opportunity to address current and future community needs for sport and recreation infrastructure at local, regional and district levels.
Repurposing the land into a dynamic recreation facility has improved liveability in the local government area through the delivery of infrastructure which supports positive physical, social and environmental outcomes for the community.
The Gipps Street Recreation Precinct opened in August 2024. It caters to a range of groups, interests and abilities with a variety of sports fields, netball courts, multi-sport courts, cricket facilities, central amenities building with a Changing Places facility, playspaces including water, inclusive and nature play, youth zone, skate park, pump track, parkour equipment, fitness equipment, dog park, public artwork, picnic and BBQ areas, walking loop, open green space and car parking.
6. SPORT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Innovations that organisations have embraced that recognise the impact that sport can have on climate change and how they have focused on reducing their carbon footprint.
WINNER: Polytan Asia Pacific (APAC) – Poligras Paris GT Zero
The Poligras Paris GT zero hockey turf, as used at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is the world’s first carbon neutral certified hockey turf. Featuring bio-based yarn and Turf Glide, a friction reducing agent to improve performance with minimal/zero water, it is the most technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable hockey turf system available globally.
Significant reductions on water consumption were achieved at Paris 2024, with a 22% reduction on water consumption since Tokyo 2020 and 63% since London 2012. This resulted in the total volume of water used for all 76 matches being equivalent to just 20% of an Olympic swimming pool.
The hockey competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was regarded as being of exceptional standard. This vitally demonstrates that environmental objectives, such as carbon neutral turf and water reducing technology, do not need to come to the detriment of performance.
7. PLAYGROUND DESIGN
Designs and developments that allow and encourage more children to play, have fun and be active.
WINNER: City of Swan – Weitj Park
The Ballajura Intergenerational Playspace (Weitj Park) is a transformative public open space delivered by the City of Swan. Completed in January 2025, the playspace was developed on a former flood-prone stormwater basin and features innovative underground drainage infrastructure to ensure year-round accessibility and site resilience. Designed to promote intergenerational interaction, inclusivity, and active living, the playspace includes sensory-rich equipment, accessible pathways, exercise stations, and nature-based elements suitable for people of all ages and abilities.
Community collaboration was central to the project’s success, with local residents, schools, and Whadjuk Noongar Elders actively engaged throughout the process. Notably, the name “Weitj,” meaning emu in Noongar, was chosen by students from local schools, reflecting the site’s cultural and ecological identity.
