How 5 sub-Branches are embracing the RSL NSW Sport and Recreation Program

RSL NSW members share how their sub-Branches are promoting the benefits of mental and physical wellbeing, and reaching out to younger veterans via the RSL NSW Sport and Recreation Program.

The RSL NSW Strategic Plan 2021-26 proposes the introduction of a sport and recreation program as a means of growing the RSL’s membership and providing support to members and the wider veteran community.

The RSL NSW Sport and Recreation Program, successfully piloted in 2022 and now open for all sub-Branches to join, gives sub-Branches an outlet to promote the benefits of sport and physical activity, reach out to younger veterans and forge lasting bonds between new and existing members and their families.

There are three options for how sub-Branches can get involved in the program:

• The Participation Competition: A point-based competition with a focus on participation. Bonus points are offered for hosting family-friendly activities and collaborating with nearby sub-Branches and local veterans’ organisations. This can include ESOs, for-profit entities that benefit veterans and veteran-owned or veteran-operated businesses.
• The Challenge Ladder: A team-based, multi-activity competition held between proximate sub-Branches. (To participate, a minimum of four teams must have registered in the district.)
• The Social Program: A non-competitive option that focuses on promoting social activities without accruing points.

Sub-Branches can register at any time to join this year’s program, which ends in September 2023. The results of the participation competition and challenge ladder will be announced at the 2023 RSL NSW State Congress in October.

Here’s how members at five RSL sub-Branches are embracing the program, and the benefits that sub-Branch leaders see being realised among their members and the wider community as a result.

Register for the program in just 10 minutes by heading to the Sport and Recreation Program sub-Branch Registration Portal.