Sport is vital to the cohesion and wellbeing of our community. We speak a lot about mental health and sometimes forget how much mental health is impacted by physical health and being part of a strong, active community. Sport can help us tackle the mental health crisis while strengthening community ties, uniting diverse groups of Canberrans, and improving overall wellbeing.

Unfortunately, the broad and long-lasting value of community sport is often overlooked with facilities across Canberra struggling from underinvestment. Waitlists for kids wanting to play sport and having to place fixtures late in the evening are not things we should tolerate in the ACT. We can also do more to reduce barriers to participation in sport for girls and women.

Join Independents for Canberra, represented by candidates for Kurrajong Thomas Emerson and Sara Poguet, for this forum to share your perspectives on the future of community sport in the ACT.

Whether you're a sportsperson, a coach, a volunteer, a community sport organiser or organisation, a concerned parent or an interested community member, we'd love to hear from you.

• Date: Thursday 29th August

• Time: 6pm to 7:30pm

• Location: St John's Anglican Church, Reid

Guest Speaker - Jim Roberts

Jim Roberts devoted 25 years of service to the local community sport sector, including as President of ACT Sports House, which under his presidency became ACTSport. He was a member and deputy Chair of the ACT Government's Project 2000 for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for his dedication to the development of sport in Australia.

Guest Speaker - Sue Read

Sue Read is a registered psychologist, speaker, ABC radio presenter and workshop facilitator. Sue has a particular interest in assisting individuals and organisations to attain optimal health. She is a former Matilda whose resilience program “Bootcamp for the Brain” has helped thousands of people locally, nationally and internationally with burnout, emotional resilience, stress management, emotional intelligence, and more.