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Qualitative Research on Sociocultural Factors with Indigenous Participation in Sport

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Qualitative Research on Sociocultural Factors with Indigenous Participation in Sport

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The Australian Sports Commission’s Indigenous Australians’ Participation in Sports and Physical Activities National Report provides valuable insight into the lived experiences of First Nations peoples. Drawing on interviews across Australia, it highlights persistent barriers such as racism, high program costs, and limited cultural safety, while also identifying enablers like family support, Indigenous role models, and community-driven initiatives. For Swimming Australia, the findings reinforce the need to make Deadly Dolphins affordable, culturally safe, and community-led. This aligns with Inclusion Pillars such as access, people, and culture.

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Swimming Australia's First Nations Program - Deadly Little Dolphins

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Swimming Australia's First Nations Program - Deadly Little Dolphins

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Swimming Australia’s Deadly Little Dolphins initiative is framed with a bold ambition: to improve water safety among First Nations children and "ultimately deliver an Olympic and/or Paralympic medal by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander swimmer at Brisbane 2032" (Swimming Australia, 2023). This vision bridges grassroots safety with elite pathways, positioning inclusion as integral to achieving performance success. While the goal is inspiring, it also highlights the need for balance to ensure cultural safety, accessibility, and community leadership are prioritised alongside talent identification, so the program strengthens long-term participation as much as it pursues medals.

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Swimming Australia - Deadly Little Dolphins To Improve Swim Safety And Pave The Way For First Nations BNE32 Success

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Deadly Little Dolphins is Swimming Australia’s national call to action to ensure that Aboriginal…

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Royal Life Saving Australia Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

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Royal Life Saving Australia Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

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Swimming Australia is yet to implement a RAP. A close example Swimming Australia can learn from is Royal Life Saving Australia who have implemented a Reflect RAP, embedding cultural awareness and recognising water’s central role in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. By linking reconciliation directly to aquatic environments, the organisation acknowledges water as part of song lines and cultural heritage while also prioritising safety and community engagement. This provides a strong model for Swimming Australia, showing how an aquatic body can position water as both a cultural and physical space. Adopting similar practices could enhance Deadly Dolphins by aligning performance pathways with cultural meaning.

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History of Indigenous participation in Sport within Australia

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History of Indigenous participation in Sport within Australia

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This 2017 ASC commissioned report, prepared by ORC International, draws on AusPlay national data and academic literature to explore Indigenous Australians’ sport participation. It highlights that although Indigenous adults participate less overall than non-Indigenous counterparts, those participating engage more frequently and for longer sessions. It also reveals key drivers for participation such as enjoyment, health and community along with barriers like access, cost, cultural safety, and racism. These insights offer a valuable foundation for understanding participation patterns and informing inclusive program design.

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Yiri, meaning “to throw” in the Sydney language of New South Wales, is a traditional Indigenous water game based on spear-throwing practice. Historically, boys in Ulladulla (NSW) aimed small spears at pieces of wood placed in running water, while on Dunk Island (QLD) they threw at bark, chips, or even small fish floating downstream. Today, the game is adapted to be played in pools, with players targeting floating objects to develop accuracy and coordination. The traditional Indigenous game of Yiri highlights the deep cultural and physical connection First Peoples have with water, reinforcing its significance in both traditional play and modern sport.

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Traditional Indigenous Game of Bubu Sagul

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Traditional Indigenous Game of Bubu Sagul

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Bubu Sagul, meaning “tide play” in the Torres Strait Islander language, is a traditional water game where players form a whirlpool by running in a circle in waist-to-chest deep water, before lying on their backs to float with the current. The game is sometimes accompanied by singing and celebrates the natural motion of tides as well as their communal connection to the sea. Bubu Sagul illustrates the deep cultural relationship Torres Strait Islander peoples have with water, showcasing how play and environment were interwoven into community life.

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The third Indigenous game tied to water is Wirrwuyu, meaning “throwing stones”. It is a traditional water game similar to stone-skipping and often played near seas, lakes, and rivers. Children and adults collected flat stones and competed to see how many times they could skip across the surface. On Dunk Island, cuttlefish bones were even used, bouncing impressively across the water. This game demonstrates both playfulness and skill.

Each of these games highlight water as both a site of cultural connection and physical development. They provide a historical foundation that demonstrates how First Peoples engaged with aquatic environments long before structured swimming programs. Recognising these traditions enriches Swimming Australia’s understanding of cultural history and highlights how Indigenous perspectives on water can inform modern pathways like Deadly Dolphins.

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Learning from Water Polo Australia as an NSO for an aquatic sport

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Learning from Water Polo Australia as an NSO for an aquatic sport

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Water Polo Australia has taken meaningful steps toward reconciliation through its Reflect RAP, which embeds Indigenous perspectives in governance, participation, and accountability. Beyond policy, the Deadly Polo initiative demonstrates how these commitments can be translated into action. By co-designing programs with communities, providing culturally safe environments, and elevating Indigenous leadership, the case study highlights reconciliation in practice. For Swimming Australia, this model shows that combining formal RAP structures with community-led initiatives can strengthen Deadly Little Dolphins, ensuring it nurtures both cultural identity and high-performance pathways.

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Barriers and Facilitators to Indigenous Children and Adolescents in Sport

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Barriers and Facilitators to Indigenous Children and Adolescents in Sport

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This systematic review examines barriers and facilitators to sport and physical activity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents, using the social-ecological model. The analysis found a staggering tally of 58 distinct barriers spanning personal, interpersonal, community, and policy levels as well as 37 enablers across the same tiers. Key barriers include transport, cost, and cultural obligations; facilitators include supportive family, community leaders, and culturally meaningful programming (May et al, 2020). For Swimming Australia, this underscores the importance of addressing layered barriers (e.g. swim gear costs, pool access, flexible times) while amplifying enablers like community ambassadors and family-focused activation. It aligns strongly with Inclusion Pillars: Access, People, Policy, and Culture. However, the review notes limited geographic representation, so Swimming Australia should adapt strategies regionally and co-design with communities to ensure relevance.

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Facilitators and Barriers to Physical Activity and Sport Participation Experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults: A Mixed Method Review

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Physical activity has cultural significance and population health benefits. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults may experience challenges in participating in physical activity. This mixed methods systematic review aimed to synthetize existing evidence on facilitators and barriers for physical activity participation experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in Australia. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology was used. A systematic search was undertaken of 11 databases and 14 grey literature websites during 2020. The included studies reported physical activity facilitators and barriers experienced by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander participants aged 18+ years, living in the community. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Sixty-two facilitators were identified: 23 individual, 18 interpersonal, 8 community/environmental and 13 policy/program facilitators. Additionally, 63 barriers were identified: 21 individual, 17 interpersonal, 15 community/environmental and 10 policy/program barriers. Prominent facilitators included support from family, friends, and program staff, and opportunities to connect with community or culture. Prominent barriers included a lack of transport, financial constraints, lack of time, and competing work, family or cultural commitments. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults experience multiple facilitators and barriers to physical activity participation. Strategies to increase participation should seek to enhance facilitators and address barriers, collaboratively with communities, with consideration to the local context.

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Barriers and Facilitators to Indigenous Adults in Sport

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Barriers and Facilitators to Indigenous Adults in Sport

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This systematic review finds that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults face multiple overlapping barriers such as inadequate transport, cost constraints, limited time, and competing cultural and work obligations. Each of these barriers hinders sustained participation in sport. Enablers include strong support from family, friends, and program staff (Allen et al., 2021). Applying this to Swimming Australia, Deadly Dolphins should consider transport subsidies, flexible scheduling around cultural obligations, and community-led programming to leverage social support networks. This aligns with the Inclusion Pillars of Access, People, and Opportunity, though regional tailoring is required to address local infrastructure inequalities. Furthermore, this review highlights how barriers don’t disappear with age; they persist into adulthood and provides insight into what Deadly Dolphins participants may face later in life, highlighting the need for long-term pathways, not just junior programs.

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Facilitators and Barriers to Physical Activity and Sport Participation Experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults: A Mixed Method Review

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Physical activity has cultural significance and population health benefits. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults may experience challenges in participating in physical activity. This mixed methods systematic review aimed to synthetize existing evidence on facilitators and barriers for physical activity participation experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in Australia. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology was used. A systematic search was undertaken of 11 databases and 14 grey literature websites during 2020. The included studies reported physical activity facilitators and barriers experienced by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander participants aged 18+ years, living in the community. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Sixty-two facilitators were identified: 23 individual, 18 interpersonal, 8 community/environmental and 13 policy/program facilitators. Additionally, 63 barriers were identified: 21 individual, 17 interpersonal, 15 community/environmental and 10 policy/program barriers. Prominent facilitators included support from family, friends, and program staff, and opportunities to connect with community or culture. Prominent barriers included a lack of transport, financial constraints, lack of time, and competing work, family or cultural commitments. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults experience multiple facilitators and barriers to physical activity participation. Strategies to increase participation should seek to enhance facilitators and address barriers, collaboratively with communities, with consideration to the local context.

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Swimming Australia's Strategic Plan 2025-2032 (Swimming2032)

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Swimming Australia's Strategic Plan 2025-2032 (Swimming2032)

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Swimming Australia’s Inspire Australia Through Swimming 2025–2032 strategy opens with an Acknowledgement of Country and honours the vital contributions of First Nations peoples to sport. Through three pillars (Strengthen, Grow, Win Well), the strategy bridges community participation and elite success, aiming to inspire a new generation of Dolphins. Its inclusive framing and collaborative development demonstrate how cultural recognition can sit within organisational purpose, offering a foundation on which programs like Deadly Dolphins could be structured and elevated.

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'Pool for Purpose' raises funds for Deadly Little Dolphins

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'Pool for Purpose' raises funds for Deadly Little Dolphins

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‘Pool for Purpose’, launched by Swimming Australia’s SwimAus Foundation, raises funds ($1 per litre of an Olympic pool) to support community projects across Australia. A key focus is enabling First Nations participation through Deadly Little Dolphins, alongside support for para-athletes, regional coaching, and swimming access for schools. This initiative demonstrates how Swimming Australia is translating strategic intent into tangible action, funding culturally appropriate programming, removing cost barriers, and investing in long-term capacity. It also links to some of the 7 Pillars of Inclusion like access, opportunity, partnerships, and culture.

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Swimming Australia - SwimAus Foundation launches Pool for Purpose

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Swimming Australia has today launched its first major project under the SwimAus Foundation, the Pool

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How Swimming Australia can learn from National Rugby League's 2nd Elevate RAP

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How Swimming Australia can learn from National Rugby League's 2nd Elevate RAP

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The NRL was the first national sporting organisation to develop a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), pioneering formal reconciliation within Australian sport. Today, it's also the first to release a second Elevate RAP exemplifying an ambitious commitment structured around relationships, respect, and opportunity that demonstrates genuine, long-term accountability (NRL, 2024). Rugby league’s deep roots with First Nations and the game being a community fixture across generations make the NRL not only a symbol of participation but also a cultural platform. Swimming Australia, by contrast, has no RAP in place, highlighting how far behind it is in formalising reconciliation despite sharing water as a cultural and community space. Learning from the NRL’s example would help it move from aspirational statements to measurable action, embedding Indigenous perspectives into both community swimming and elite pathways.

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Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2024-2028

The NRL has launched its second elevate RAP during National Reconciliation Week on the beautiful lands of the Gadigal and Bidjigal people. An elevate RAP actively champions initiatives to uphold the self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and drive systemic and transformational change.

Being the first National Sporting Organisation to create a RAP, from its inception, the NRL has maintained a strong connection and a proud history with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities, who have played the game since its early days. Rugby League has served as a platform for the sharing of history, culture, inclusivity, passion, and pride.

To view our elevate Reconciliation Action Plan click here.

What is a RAP?

RAP's have enabled organisations to sustainably and strategically take meaningful action to advance reconciliation.

Based around the core pillars of relationships, respect and opportunities, RAPs provide tangible and substantive benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, increasing economic equity and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders self-determination.

For more information about Reconciliation Australia and the Reconciliation movement we encourage you to visit here.

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A call for Indigenous voices and leadership to guide the way 

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A call for Indigenous voices and leadership to guide the way 

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Lucas, Jeanes, and Diamond (2021) argue that many sport-for-development programs aimed at Indigenous Australians focus on quick measures of success, such as participation numbers or medal outcomes, rather than listening to what communities actually want. They call for a shift in power, where Indigenous voices and leadership guide program design and define what success means. This message is highly relevant for Swimming Australia’s Deadly Dolphins, which currently frames success around producing an Olympic or Paralympic medallist by Brisbane 2032. While that ambition is important, the program also needs to embed Indigenous leadership so outcomes reflect cultural identity, water safety, and community-defined success.

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Sport for development and Indigenous Australians  a critical research agenda for policy and practice

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Integration of First Peoples Perspectives from other countries

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Integration of First Peoples Perspectives from other countries

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Forde et al. (2024) evaluate sport and reconciliation policies across Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. They find that while policy narratives have shifted toward greater cultural inclusion, they often lack an emphasis on Indigenous self-determination, treating reconciliation as assimilation rather than systemic empowerment. For Swimming Australia, this critique offers a strategic insight: Deadly Little Dolphins and any reconciliation framework must ensure Indigenous leadership and governance roles are central, not peripheral. This strengthens the values-based approach and aligns with inclusion pillars such as policy, governance, and culture.

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Indigenous Australian Open Water Swimmer speaks on Deadly Little Dolphins

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Indigenous Australian Open Water Swimmer speaks on Deadly Little Dolphins

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Bianca Crisp, a proud Wiradjuri swimmer, has spoken about the importance of programs like Deadly Little Dolphins in inspiring First Nations participation and creating pathways toward Brisbane 2032. Her story reflects how representation at the elite level can encourage younger swimmers and position Deadly Little Dolphins as more than a safety program but also a tool for identity and aspiration. For Swimming Australia, this shows the power of visibility, but it also highlights the need to ensure programs are culturally grounded and not just focused on medal outcomes.

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Inside the search to unearth Cathy Freeman of the pool as Indigenous medal target revealed

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Inside the search to unearth Cathy Freeman of the pool as Indigenous medal target revealed

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Highlighting the North American Indigenous Games as an international example for Swimming Australia

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Highlighting the North American Indigenous Games as an international example for Swimming Australia

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The Canadian government has directed substantial, multi-year funding to support the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), fulfilling Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and strengthening Indigenous-led sport programming. The Games combine athletic competition with cultural exchange, offering powerful role models and pathways rooted in Indigenous identity. Swimming Australia could learn from this model by investing in Indigenous-led swim festivals or regional aquatic pathways that balance performance with cultural pride and community storytelling to increase opportunities and allow athletes to gain experience racing.

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The Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC) acts as the national voice for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis sport in Canada, driving programs, development, leadership training and cultural inclusion since 1995. It represents Indigenous communities at governance levels and awards annual recognition through the Tom Longboat Awards. This model of having an Indigenous-led national body shaping policy, pathways and representation offers a strong vision for Swimming Australia to consider, perhaps through an Indigenous advisory council or a governance role empowering First Nations athletes and leaders.

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Aboriginal Sport Circle, ASC is a memnber based organization.

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Indigenous Women involvement in Swimming and Water-Based Activities

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Indigenous Women involvement in Swimming and Water-Based Activities

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Stronach, Adair and Maxwell (2018) explore how swimming and water-based activities have historically played a vital cultural role in Aboriginal women’s lives, yet access has been disrupted by factors such as discrimination, colonisation, and gender assumptions. They argue the decline in connection is less about lost interest and more about social exclusion. For Swimming Australia, these insights emphasise the need for women-centred, culturally safe aquatic pathways that consciously reconnect Indigenous girls and women with water. This can't just be through lessons, but rather through respectful, empowering community spaces.

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Djabooly-djabooly why don't they swim the ebb and flow of water in the lives of Australian Aboriginal women

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A framework to flip how Indigenous sport programs are viewed

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A framework to flip how Indigenous sport programs are viewed

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This article argues that too often sport programs for Indigenous people start with a deficit view, focusing on what is “lacking.” His framework flips this by combining a six-step strengths model with Indigenous Standpoint Theory, which ensures Indigenous voices and cultural knowledge are at the centre. The approach is about recognising existing strengths like community leadership, resilience, and connection to Country, then building programs around them (Prehn, 2024). For Swimming Australia, using this framework would mean Deadly Little Dolphins is shaped by Indigenous values and priorities first, with medals or participation numbers as outcomes, not the starting point.

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This article explores the inadequate recognition and integration of the strengths of Indigenous people in direct practice, policy development, and research. To address this concern, I present an In…