Building confidence for inclusive sport in Devonport
Staff at Splash Devonport Aquatic and Leisure Centre say Sport4All’s online learning has given them greater confidence and understanding when supporting people with disability. Working with local Inclusion Coach Jo Carson, the team is also identifying new opportunities to make participation more welcoming.
Jo has been working with the centre for a couple of months. The team has embraced the program as it builds the skills to support a more accessible and inclusive environment, with further work planned around its inclusion goals.
Practical guidance alongside the learning
For Lauri Willmot, Sales and Guest Experience Manager at Splash Devonport Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Belgravia Leisure, the value lies in both the training and the conversations with Jo. She describes practical ideas, guidance and encouragement that are helping staff think about how their programs can better support people with disability.
Lauri shared the following testimonial about the team’s experience:
Working with Jo from Sport4All has been an incredibly positive experience. Jo is passionate about creating genuine opportunities for people living with disability to participate in sport and recreation and brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and practical ideas to every conversation.
What stands out most is Jo’s ability to think outside the box and find innovative ways to make programs more inclusive and accessible. Through our work together at Splash Devonport Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Jo has provided valuable guidance and support as we continue to strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion within our community.
The Sport4All training modules have been informative, engaging, and have provided our team with greater confidence and understanding when supporting people with disability. Jo’s encouragement and expertise have helped us identify new opportunities to ensure everyone feels welcome and able to participate.
We are excited about what we can achieve together in the future and look forward to continuing our partnership to create positive, inclusive experiences for all members of our community.
Lauri Willmot
Sales & Guest Experience Manager
Splash Devonport Aquatic & Leisure Centre – Belgravia Leisure
Introducing modified Boccia to the community
Jo’s work on disability inclusion in Devonport also extends to connecting community organisations and introducing sporting opportunities. On 5 September 2026, she represented Sport4All at the All About Everything Expo and invited ParaQuad to collaborate on a modified boccia demonstration.
Working alongside Trent Johnson from North West ParaQuad, Jo helped bring the activity into a setting where community members could discover local clubs, services and interests. ParaQuad supports Tasmanians with spinal cord injury and physical disability, bringing relevant experience to the collaboration.
Boccia has had limited visibility locally, according to Jo. The demonstration offered a way to introduce the activity and start conversations about sporting options people might not previously have considered.
The free expo attracted around 1,000 attendees across the paranaple centre and Market Square Pavilion, with more than 50 clubs, groups, services and activities represented. Jo spoke with a range of community members about Sport4All and connected with local clubs during the day.
Support for the people delivering sport and recreation
At Splash, the reported change is in staff confidence and understanding, with Jo’s guidance helping the team identify opportunities to take its work further. At the expo, the focus was on introducing an activity and connecting people and organisations. Both contribute to Jo’s ongoing work with the Devonport community.
For clubs and schools considering their own next step, Splash’s experience offers a useful starting point: give your people opportunities to learn and seek support to work through what that learning means in your setting.
Sport4All’s free program begins with a Check In, followed by practical online learning and an Inclusion Action Plan. Inclusion Coaches help organisations identify realistic actions and apply the learning to their own people, programs and community.
Related Blogs
