Festival of Sport jam-packed

KARDINIA Park Stadium will transform into a showground-style hub on December 10 when the Festival of Sport returns to Geelong.

Kardinia Park Stadium Trust CEO Gerard Griffin said over 30 sporting activations will feature in this year’s festival line-up providing a “carnival-like” atmosphere on the day.

The festival will also serve as an opening acts prior to the Melbourne Renegades’ Big Bash clash with the Perth Scorchers at GMHBA Stadium.

“Our team’s worked really hard, particularly Kirsten Blake, on the volume of activities being held at this year’s Festival of Sport,” Mr Griffin said.

“We have over 30 activations lined up for next month with more coming in, nine newbies among the promotions, sports like Pickleball which I have only recently found out about, and a few more sports the team has worked with from Disability Victoria.

“There will be no shortage of things to do on the day between 3pm and 7pm.”

This year marks the fourth time the Festival of Sport will grace Geelong’s central sports precinct, following the inaugural festival held in 2018.

The free festival, which will cover Anthony Costa Oval and span across to Kardinia Park’s netball complex, brings together a raft of sports to celebrate physical activity, health, and active lifestyles in the region.

Australian sporting staples such as Aussie Rules, cricket, rugby, and netball will have activations on the day, as well as lesser known codes like disc golf, Pickleball, and Japanese drumming, providing the full scope of sports on offer to the community.

Inclusion will be a major theme of this year’s Festival of Sport with activations on offer catering to people of all abilities.

Inclusion advocate, worker, Wheelchair Footballer and Paralympian Peter Ogunyemi said his role during the Festival of Sport will be to highlight what sports are available to people in the region living with a disability.

“In Melbourne, inclusion sports are huge, but now we’re trying to expand into the Geelong region,” Mr Ogunyemi said.

“Wheelchair football is also something we’re trying to get into Geelong, we currently have Wheelchair AFL sides at Richmond, Collingwood, St Kilda, and Hawthorn.

“If we can get a team here in Geelong, it will dramatically help people here in the region living with a disability to stay active and see what is possible for them when it comes to sport, without them having to travel all the way to Melbourne.”

A blind cricket match will also be played between the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and a Geelong-based team during the festival.

For more information on this year’s Festival of Sport, head to kardiniapark.vic.gov.au/festival-of-sport/