Dustin Fletcher, Sam Lonergan and Brent Stanton will join some of Australia's biggest sporting names at Windy Hill tomorrow as Essendon Football Club hosts its inaugural Active Kids Day.
Former test cricketer Dean Jones, tennis champion Todd Woodbridge and Australian netballers Bianca Chatfield and Caitlin Thwaites will also take part in the event hosted by Essendon and the Victorian Government's Department of Justice, in conjunction with 3AW.
The Active Kids Day allows children to trial a range of sports including football, netball, cricket, hockey, lawn bowls, volleyball, athletics, soccer and tennis. The day is seen as a proactive way of encouraging them to get involved and stay involved in sport.
The event also serves as phase three of the Bill Hutchison Foundation's On the Ball program - a program that aims to encourage children to participate in sport.
According to leading adolescent psychologist, Professor Michael Carr-Gregg, children involved in sport are less likely to engage in self-destructive behaviour.
""One of the great things this event does is provides some structure for these kids and it does so with both male and female mentors facilitating the program. They are actually engaged in healthy activity - they are getting the opportunity to be involved in sport in a way that is meaningful to them,"" Carr-Gregg said.
""You are providing the opportunity for them to get involved and that directly links back to the issue of connectedness which is so critical in terms of harm prevention. We know that habits learned young are generally the ones that stay with people through to adult life.""
Essendon General manager of community and media, Simon Matthews said the event is another way Essendon Football Club is leading the way in making a genuine and lasting difference to the community.
""We think this is a critical message to promote to kids and their support networks. Essendon wants to play a role in getting this important message out to as many people as possible,"" Matthews said.
""The day has been made possible thanks to the support of the Department of Justice. 3AW is also playing a significant role in growing the reach of this message. We thank both of them for their support of this event.""
3AW's Neil Mitchell program will broadcast live from the event.
Event: 2008 Active Kids Day
Date: Tuesday 23rd September
Venue: Windy Hill - Napier Street, Essendon
Time: 8.30am - 12pm (EFC players will be available from10.30am)
Cost: Free entry - no bookings required
