Each of the authors of this chapter has been, or is currently, lecturing in the area of sport and society to undergraduate Sport Science or Health and Physical Education students . At some point, usually early on the course, we have asked these students to reflect on the meaning of sport in contemporary society. The responses have been many and varied. The majority of undergraduate students recognise sport as a vehicle for engagement in physical activity and competition. Some see it from a functionalist perspective [1], in which sport provides positive opportunities for people to enjoy themselves whilst engaging in activities that will enhance skill development, fitness and health. Further, these students perceive sports as providing the opportunity to develop positive attitudes and behaviours around morals, ethics and team orientation. While these are certainly potential outcomes from sporting involvement, it is clear that sport has the capacity to be far more than a vehicle for physical activity and competition. Indeed, much of what is often perceived as being a positive aspect of sport is somewhat individualistic. We claim, and have evidence to indicate, that sport offers a significant opportunity to develop community engagement, particularly in marginalised, low socioeconomic status (SES) communities . We also contend that it is this community orientation that provides the potential for long-term positive behaviour change around health.

In this chapter we will outline a 9-week project that was conducted in a very low SES community in the southern metropolitan region of Adelaide, South Australia. The project was known as the Flinders-Panthers Be Your Best project. The name came about as a result of a union between Flinders University, which is a premier Australian University in the Southern suburbs of Adelaide, and the South Adelaide Football Club, colloquially known as ‘The Panthers’ .

The aim of the Flinders-Panthers Be Your Best project was to develop and evaluate an in-school health promotion programme for primary school children—based on evidence and established good practice, and capitalising on the potential of the football club as a vehicle for community engagement—for the purpose of achieving positive dietary and physical activity behaviour change.

The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in the heart of a low SES community. The football club plays a significant role in the identity of the community and The Panthers, and its players, are viewed positively. The club had previously run a healthy lifestyle programme for children in local primary schools (Panthers Be Your Best), but this involved relatively limited engagement with the schools concerned (often, just once or twice a year). Upon discussion between Flinders University and the South Adelaide Football Club management, it was decided that a 9-week project based on healthy physical activity and nutrition would be implemented in two local primary schools, given the significant evidence to indicate that children in low SES communities are more likely to go on to practice unhealthy behaviours in adulthood compared to children growing up in more affluent communities. Growing up in a disadvantaged household may also limit one’s health literacy throughout the lifespan [2], and, additionally, compromise health in adult life through overweight, particularly with respect to lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes [3]. Enhancing physical activity and dietary behaviours in childhood is important, given the epidemiological evidence over the past few decades indicating that a lack of physical activity and poor nutrition is a significant modifiable risk factor in reducing mortality and morbidity associated with many chronic, non-communicable and potentially preventable diseases in subsequent adult life [4–6]. This represents a significant personal and financial cost to the Australian community [5, 7].

It should be noted that there are particular health concerns for the population residing in the location in which this programme is situated: the City of Onkaparinga. According to data obtained from the South Australian Department of Health 2009–2010, residents of the City of Onkaparinga face such chronic conditions as diabetes (8.1 %), cardiovascular disease (7.4 %), arthritis (20.1 %) and mental health conditions (15.5 %). Additionally, this demographic faces a number of risk factors which can impact their health, including BMI overweight (36.6 %), BMI obese (22.4 %), smoking (21.2 %), insufficient exercise (48.4 %), insufficient vegetable intake (87.1 %), and insufficient fruit intake (56.5 %). It should also be noted that the specific area within the Onkaparinga region that this project was located in has double the amount of unemployment (10.7 %), compared with the South Australian state average (5.1 %). We also know that unemployment and education are closely aligned, therefore it is possible to argue that health literacy, which is heavily dependent upon education, will likely be affected in a negative way. Hence, it is clear from these statistics that such a locality would potentially benefit from positive intervention around physical activity and nutrition.

The project was funded by a Commonwealth sourced Knowledge Exchange Grant. This funding scheme emphasises the need for strong community collaboration to create ongoing and sustained benefits for both the University and the community partners.

The original ‘Panthers Be Your Best’ programme was based on a system whereby several Panthers footballers would visit schools in the local area and generally discuss the importance of healthy physical activity and diet. As stated above, this was, however, frequently restricted to just one or possibly two visits throughout the year. While these visits were popular with children, given they would meet local Panthers ‘heroes’, there was little ongoing sustainability associated with the messages being presented. Therefore it could be argued that much of what the Panthers had been doing in the previous iteration of this project was based around goodwill more than community engagement and health promotion. The basis of the current project was to engage with schools on a weekly basis for an entire 9-week term and access every child for at least 40–50 min each week, alternating between physical activity 1 week and nutrition the next. There was a project officer from Flinders University onsite throughout, together with a range of third and fourth year undergraduate Physical Education students to assist each session. Additionally there were a number of senior Panthers footballers in attendance to provide football skills development and engage with the students on issues associated with fitness and training. The programme was systematic and fundamentally underpinned by sound evidence and good pedagogical practice due to the affiliation with Flinders University and its expertise in health and physical education.

Each session with the children was designed to be a new and rewarding health-based experience with a view to developing skills and knowledge to be used beyond the school environment. The children were exposed to new ball-based activities and inclusive movement-centred games. They were also exposed to new types of fruits and vegetables as well as alternative methods of food presentation for the more traditional and accessible foods. It was important that physical activity and nutrition classes were separated into alternating weeks in order to emphasise the significance of each as being singularly important to health. However, at all times, discussion with the children revolved around the way in which both physical activity and nutrition were clearly linked in terms of health outcomes and performance associated with sports and physical activity. The basis of each session was centred on fun and experiential learning.

Early in the implementation stage of the project, the team made contact with Foodbank SA, which is a not for profit organisation that has its core business centred on reducing hunger through the delivery of free and cost effective food to individuals and communities that are in need. This organisation was able to provide the programme with very low cost or free fruits and vegetables, which assisted the budget significantly. It also offered the children at the two schools the opportunity to access new foods that they had not previously consumed. It was clear that the children were excited and enthusiastic about eating a range of new fruits and vegetables, as well as yoghurts, each week.

Like all good health promotion initiatives, it was imperative that the programme was appropriately evaluated to ascertain its merits and understand process, impact and potential outcomes. While it was difficult to evaluate for long-term outcomes , it was possible to focus on the processes that took place and the impact that the project had on the children, the teachers and the school. The two specific evaluation objectives were to: