True Sport recently took its De-escalating Conflict & Aggression Workshop on the road, delivering two sessions across the South West and Peel regions on the same day.
The first session was held in Bunbury, where True Sport joined the Country Football WA staff forum at Hands Oval. Staff from across WA came together to explore how we can handle challenging situations, navigate conflict and keep difficult conversations from escalating.
The conversation then continued in Mandurah, with participants from WA Cricket and Mandurah Basketball Association coming together at the CITS Peel office. While participants represented different sports and had different experiences, the focus remained the same: building practical skills and confidence to manage conflict and respond effectively when situations become challenging.
Facilitated by Dr Andrew Lewis from Evolve WA, the workshops provided participants with practical strategies to understand conflict, manage high-emotion interactions and use de-escalation techniques before situations have the opportunity to escalate.
Bringing together people from across different sporting environments is an important part of building a shared approach to creating safer and more respectful sport. Whether working in community football, cricket, basketball or other sporting environments, staff and volunteers can find themselves navigating difficult conversations and challenging behaviour.
A big thank you to Country Football WA, CITS Peel, WA Cricket and Mandurah Basketball Association for being part of these important conversations, and to Dr Andrew Lewis from Evolve WA for another fantastic workshop.
Through the True Sport partnership with Evolve WA, we’re continuing to take practical education and conversations around de-escalation, conflict resolution and respectful behaviour across WA sport - helping sporting organisations build the confidence and skills to respond to challenging situations and support positive sporting environments.
Together, we are helping create sporting environments where positive behaviour is always in play.
