Preventing Alcohol Related Problems in Community Sports Clubs: The Good Sports Program

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This article was downloaded by:[University of British Columbia] On: 27 December 2007 Access Details: [subscription number 778892027] Publisher: Informa Healthcare Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Substance Use & Misuse Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713597302 Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems in Community Sports Clubs: The Good Sports Program Cameron Duff a ; Geoffrey Munro b a Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada b Australian Drug Foundation, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Online Publication Date: 01 October 2007 To cite this Article: Duff, Cameron and Munro, Geoffrey (2007) 'Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems in Community Sports Clubs: The Good Sports Program', Substance Use & Misuse, 42:12, 1991 - 2001 To link to this article: DOI: 10.1080/10826080701533054 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10826080701533054 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article maybe used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Transcript of Preventing Alcohol Related Problems in Community Sports Clubs: The Good Sports Program

This article was downloaded by:[University of British Columbia]On: 27 December 2007Access Details: [subscription number 778892027]Publisher: Informa HealthcareInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Substance Use & MisusePublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713597302

Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems in CommunitySports Clubs: The Good Sports ProgramCameron Duff a; Geoffrey Munro ba Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadab Australian Drug Foundation, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Online Publication Date: 01 October 2007To cite this Article: Duff, Cameron and Munro, Geoffrey (2007) 'PreventingAlcohol-Related Problems in Community Sports Clubs: The Good Sports Program',Substance Use & Misuse, 42:12, 1991 - 2001To link to this article: DOI: 10.1080/10826080701533054URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10826080701533054

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf

This article maybe used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction,re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expresslyforbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will becomplete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should beindependently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with orarising out of the use of this material.

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Substance Use & Misuse, 42:1991–2001Copyright © 2007 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.ISSN: 1082-6084 (print); 1532-2491 (online)DOI: 10.1080/10826080701533054

Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems in CommunitySports Clubs: The Good Sports Program

CAMERON DUFF1 AND GEOFFREY MUNRO2

1Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada2Australian Drug Foundation, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Community-based sporting clubs in Australia are often sites of unregulated, problematicand unsafe drinking. The Good Sports program, initiated in Victoria in 2001, offers suchclubs a model of incremental change designed to eliminate harmful drinking practicesand establish safer norms of alcohol use. The Good Sports model was developed insitu over a period of 5 years and is currently operating in 1600 sporting clubs acrossAustralia. It has strong face validity and is supported by sporting organizations and keystakeholders including public health, law enforcement, road safety, and local govern-ment. The article outlines the model, explains early evaluation results, and identifieschallenges for the future.

Keywords alcohol management; drinking cultures; Good Sports model; communitymobilization; responsible service

Introduction

The Good Sports program is a structured intervention that assists community-based sportingclubs to establish policies and practices for the regulation of club alcohol use with the aimof producing a permanent change in drinking customs.

The Good Sports model emerged from a series of pilot projects run by the AustralianDrug Foundation (ADF)1 in concert with sporting clubs, sporting associations, peak sportingbodies, and other stakeholders in 1996–1999 (Australian Drug Foundataion [ADF], 1998;ADF, 2000; Munro, 2000). The preliminary projects featured the trialing and refinementof a range of alcohol management strategies intended to transform local drinking cultures.The most effective of these strategies were then delineated and formally tested prior to thelaunch of the program in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 2001. By May 2006, 1200 clubsin Victoria and a further 400 in New South Wales, south Australia, and Tasmania wereregistered with Good Sports.

Community Sporting Clubs

Sporting clubs are important health promotion settings. They are the foundation for manypeople’s participation in sports: they introduce and nurture new players and develop sporting

Work for this article was completed at the Australian Drug Foundation.Paper presented at the Sixth Kettil Bruun Society Symposium on Community-Based Prevention

of Alcohol- and Drug-Related Problems, February 28–March 3, 2005, Mandurah, Western Australia.Address correspondence to: Geoff Munro, Australian Drug Foundation, P.O. Box 818, North

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]

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prowess. However, their role extends beyond the physical domain. Sporting clubs are “com-munities of interest,” (Winter, 2000) formed and maintained by the cooperation of indi-viduals who band together for mutual benefit. They develop and maintain social bonds,and in some locations they form the glue that binds the community, as indicated by thislament: “Since we lost our footy club five years ago I have not seen my next door neigh-bour. I just see his car whizzing down the highway” (Snow and Munro, 2002, p. 11). Inproviding and developing social connections and civic participation sporting clubs con-tribute to the emotional, social and mental health of the community (Walker, Moodie,and Herrman, 2004; Winter, 2000). It has also been said that sporting clubs help fosterimportant ethical values like fair play, team work, and moral reciprocity (Walker et al.,2004).

High-Risk Drinking

Despite their role in promoting healthy pursuits, sports clubs in Australia are notorious forthe rates of unregulated, high-risk drinking common among many club members. High-risk drinking is normative at all levels in much Australian sport and particularly amongmale team sports (Darcy, Holman, Donovan, Corti, and Jalleh, 1997; Lawson and Evans,1992; McGufficke, Rowling, and Bailey, 1991; Snow, Maher, and Sanford, 2001; Snowand Munro, 2000). At the community level, this culture is manifest in ritual binge drink-ing, the use of alcohol as rewards for sporting performances, and end-of-season trips thatresemble a drinking “safari” (Hanlon, 1997). Offensive behavior, physical and relationalviolence, assaults and drunk driving have been accepted as collateral damage. In the mostgraphic example, a player died at a suburban club in Melbourne in 1992 following a drink-ing bout that lasted 12 hours (Munro, 1997). The victim collapsed in the club toilet andasphyxiated after vomiting. Sporting clubs reproduce problematic drinking cultures byinducting young people into the practice (Lawson and Evans, 1992). For example, re-search has found that many underage people report being able to purchase alcohol incommunity sporting clubs more easily than in other licensed venues. Participants reportedthat they were rarely asked for proof-of-age identification and/or that other adults hadbought alcohol at sporting clubs on their behalf (Black, Lawson, and Fleishman, 1999;Hemphill, Rowland, and Munro, 2002) Other research indicates that harmful levels ofdrinking are particularly prevalent among adult male patrons in sporting clubs (ADF, 2001,2002).

Organizational difficulties compound the problem. Most clubs rely on volunteer staffwho typically lack training in responsible serving of alcohol (RSA) and there is considerableturnover among officials. Many clubs lack dependable sources of finance and so the saleof alcohol is often a staple source of revenue. Many clubs hold a “restricted” or “limited”liquor license that allows them to serve alcohol during designated hours on designated days:usually they are restricted to match days, during and after training, and at specific socialfunctions. However, clubs have a financial incentive to maximize the amount of alcoholthey sell and it is common for officials to ignore licensing regulations in the interest ofgenerating funds and providing a “sociable” atmosphere.

Rationale for the Good Sports Program

Forward-looking clubs understand that it is their long-term self-interest to control the useof alcohol. Uncontrolled drinking contradicts the clubs’ “core business,” risks members’health, and harms the community through offensive behavior, violence, and drunk driving.

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It ignores a moral duty of care, places clubs at risk of legal liability for personal injury, andcosts them the support of concerned members of the community.

The Good Sports program offers clubs the opportunity to modify their drinking cultureson their own initiative by following the requirements of a 3- to 5-year accreditation program(see below) without losing overall revenue. Most importantly, as it was developed and testedsuccessfully in situ, clubs can be confident that it is informed by a sound understanding oftheir needs.

Good Sports is a voluntary program that community sporting clubs join on their ownvolition. It is based on the presumption that clubs are more likely to succeed when theychoose to participate and that to require clubs to take part would invite resistance that wouldthreaten the viability of the program.

Accreditation

Encouraging clubs to act lawfully and responsibly, and rewarding them for so doing, lies atthe heart of the program. Three levels of accreditation, levels 1, 2 and 3, are applicable tolicensed clubs. Another category, level 0, was established to enable clubs that do not sell orserve alcohol to join the program. At level 1 clubs essentially do no more than comply withthe legal requirements of their license. As they advance to levels 2 and 3, clubs are requiredto progressively enact measures that control drinking practices, encourage a congenial andwelcoming atmosphere for club members and guests, and develop new income streams thatovercome the financial incentive for clubs to tolerate unsafe drinking.

To maintain their participation in Good Sports, clubs are required to reach level 1 within12 months of registration; thence to progress to level 2 within a further 2 years and to level3 within another 2 years. The timetable recognizes the changes required may challengelong-standing customs and require training of volunteer staff in matters such as responsibleserver training. Clubs registered in the Good Sports program gain access to RSA training atdiscounted rates through regional training institutions and the state liquor licensing authority.Clubs can withdraw from the program at any time and the ADF retains the right to suspendor terminate a club’s participation for failure to comply with accreditation criteria or for aserious breach of the conditions (ADF, 2005). Table 1 records the criteria for accreditationat each level and the number of clubs in various states that had achieved accreditation byMay 10, 2006.

Level 1

Accreditation at level 1 requires the club to obtain a licence for the sale of alcohol, to complywith the terms of the license, and to implement appropriate bar management routines.These include guidelines mandated in the various state liquor licensing provisions thatrequire clubs to only sell alcohol within times designated in their license; only adultscan serve alcohol; clubs must not serve intoxicated or underage persons; and at least oneperson trained in RSA must be present when the bar is open. The club is also requiredto promote the Good Sports program to all members via newsletter, notice board, or Website.

Level 2

At level 2, clubs comply with level 1 conditions and implement measures to ensure alcoholis not a major focus of the club’s social occasions or of fundraising. This involves providing

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Table 1The accreditation criteria

No. clubs accreditedGSP accreditation at each level by state

criteria (by May 10, 2006)

For level 0 the main criteria include:1. Alcohol free club facilities 117 clubs in Victoria2. All club facilities and functions smoke free 15 clubs in South

Australia3. Agreement to refrain from using alcohol as prizes in club

fundraising4. Promotion of the GSAP to club members and supporters5. Development and promotion of a written code of conduct

For level 1 the main criteria include:1. Compliance with liquor licensing laws; 549 Victoria2. Training of bar staff in the responsible service of alcohol; 73 South Australia3. Smoke-free change rooms and no selling cigarettes at the

club; and64 Tasmania05 New South Wales

4. Promotion involving the GSAP being communicated to clubmembers.

For level 2 the main criteria include:1. Implementation of all components of level 1; 250 Victoria2. Provision of non and low-alcohol alternatives; 08 South Australia3. Strategies for alcohol management, including responsible

serving of alcohol (RSA) training requirements, the clubmaintaining an incident register, bar staff not drinking whileserving at the bar, no packaged alcohol being allowed in theclub grounds;

15 Tasmania02 New South Wales

4. The development of a safe transport strategy for the club,substantial food options provided at the club and at least onehealthy food option available when alcohol is served;

5. Diverse fundraising events and functions that do notencourage excessive drinking, end of season trips aremonitored; non-alcohol prizes are used;

6. More smoke-free area in the club facility besides the changeroom; and

7. Promotion of the Good Sports program.For level 3 the main criteria include: 67 VictoriaImplementation of all remaining optional criteria of level 2; and 01 TasmaniaDevelopment and implementation of a written alcohol code of

conduct and policy for the club.03 New South Wales

Note: In addition to the clubs accredited at the various levels a further 153 clubs nationwide areformally “participating” in the program (i.e., working toward accreditation at level 1 or level 0) andanother 352 clubs are formally “registered” with the program (i.e., have indicated their interest inworking toward achieving accreditation).

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food, non- and low-alcohol drinks, and safe transport options for patrons (for example, freetransport by the club, easy access to taxi services, designated drivers). Non- and low-alcoholdrinks must be priced at least 10% lower than alcoholic drinks. The club does not offeralcohol as a prize for sporting performance or in fundraising and does not conduct drinkingcompetitions, “happy hours,” or otherwise discount the price of alcohol. All servers ofalcohol are RSA trained, servers do not drink alcohol while on duty, and the club maintainsan incident register to record instances of inappropriate behavior.

Level 3

In addition to complying with level 1 and 2 conditions, clubs accredited at level 3 arerequired to develop a written alcohol policy in consultation with club members. The policytypically entails protocols addressing bar management, responsible service of alcohol, clubfunctions and trips, safe transport, food options, promotion, and review of the policy andsanctions for noncompliance. The development of the written policy is a requirement of thefinal stage because it is a summation of the club’s practice. If it was required earlier it mayserve as a substitute for changing behavior and may lack commitment from club leadersand members.

Level 0

Level 0 accreditation caters to clubs that do not sell or serve alcohol. These clubs maintainfacilities free of alcohol and adhere to level 2 conditions should they hold a function in alicensed venue.

Attrition

Between 2000 and 2005 a number of clubs have ceased participating in the program af-ter joining it. Twenty clubs have withdrawn on their own initiative, 12 clubs have been“excluded” by the Good Sports administration for breaching the criteria, and 180 were“disqualified” because their accreditation was “overdue”; i.e., they did not reach the nextlevel of accreditation within a reasonable time. Another set of clubs, totaling 204, did notformally join the program after expressing interest in it (“registering”).

Administration

The central Good Sports unit, hosted at the ADF, is responsible for the overall develop-ment and implementation of the program. The Good Sports unit promotes the programto stakeholders, develops resources, provides support and training to community partners(see below), monitors performance of the program at all levels, and administers the centraldatabase. In each state, a manager is employed to oversee the work of Good Sports projectofficers and to manage the program in each jurisdiction.

A project officer visits each registered club to explain the program and the accreditationprocess and to advise on processes useful in implementing change. An accreditation kitprovides models of sound practice and examples of policy statements, while the GoodSports Web site provides additional material including resources and information aboutalcohol effects, standard drinks, and safer usage. Good Sports also subsidizes RSA trainingfor club members.

Two official representatives of each club are required to sign the application for ac-creditation and provide details of the club’s membership and sources of revenue (ADF,

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2005). On accreditation at each level the club receives items of merchandise that publicizethe program and enable it to promote their own participation. They comprise accreditationcertificates, internal and external signs, bar mats, stickers, and a whiteboard or notice board.

Each club nominates a local community member who is familiar with the club but isnot an office holder. This nominee monitors the club from the perspective of a local outsiderand provides an additional view of the club’s management of alcohol and compliance withthe aims of the GSAP. Their approval is required before a club is granted a higher level ofaccreditation.

Community Partners

In rural areas of each state, Good Sports appoints “community partners” to offer localsupport to participating clubs. The role is contracted to organizations with local credibilityand knowledge and the capacity to provide ongoing support; typically they are regionalhealth services, regional sports organizations, or local government councils.

Community partners recruit clubs to the program through sporting, community, andlocal government networks and by gaining publicity in community publications and mediaoutlets. A designated project officer, employed by the community partner, meets with clubrepresentatives to explain the program and conduct an audit of the club to establish whether itqualifies for accreditation or identify what the club needs to do in order to qualify. Thereafterthey assist the club to progress through the levels of accreditation and monitor the club’scompliance with the program.

The project officers receive initial and ongoing training to ensure that they understandthe details of the program and are supported by materials that advise on guiding clubsthrough the accreditation processes. These include a custom-made video of case studies insports clubs that assists officials and members to understand the issues involved. Communitypartners also have access to the central Good Sports Extranet that tracks the progress ofeach club in their respective state and regions.

Stakeholders and Funding

Several stakeholders have played key roles in supporting the development and operationof the GSAP. They include state governments, local governments, liquor licensing androad safety authorities, police, peak sporting bodies, and regional sporting associations.These organizations are represented on the various Good Sports advisory committees andin some cases are involved in the implementation of the program; for example, the stateliquor licensing authority in Victoria provides free seminars on alcohol policy for clubsand conducts RSA training programs at a subsidized rate. In many instances local mediahave played a key role in promoting the Good Sports program in local communities, ofteninspiring increased club participation and the support of key local stakeholders such asmunicipal government and regional health authorities.

Funding for the program reflects the varied authorities who regard the program as ad-vantageous: state government departments, road safety organizations, and health promotionbodies. In addition, the national Alcohol Education Rehabilitation Foundation has providedfunding for a national rollout of the program.

Opposition

The Good Sports program has not encountered serious or organized opposition. However,two sporting bodies did betray some nervousness during their involvement in the smaller

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projects that led to the development of the GSP. In one case, a peak sports body that wassponsored by a brewery needed reassurance that its participation was compatible with thesponsorship and that the sponsorship revenue would not be imperiled. In the second case, asporting body did not allow the Australian Drug Foundation to publish the results of a surveythat measured alcohol consumption among its member clubs because the consumption washigher than the organization had predicted.

Indicative Results

In 2003, after the program had operated for two years in Victoria, the Australian Insti-tute for Primary Care at La Trobe University conducted an independent process evaluation(Australian Institute for Primary Care [AIPC], 2003). This evaluation comprised semi-structured interviews with the central Good Sports staff, committee members of clubs,community partners, funders, and other stakeholders including Liquor Licensing Victoria,police, local government, and state and regional sporting associations (AIPC, 2003). Qual-itative data were collected from 15 clubs that had participated in the program for at least12 months.

The AIPC study found 558 licensed sporting clubs were registered with Good Sports,one quarter (25.7%) of the eligible clubs in the state. The sports best represented wereAustralian football (184 clubs), cricket (111), Australian football/netball (65), and soccer(48). Other clubs were drawn from baseball, tennis, golf, rugby, and lawn bowls. Of theregistered clubs, 243 were accredited at levels 1, 2, or 3.

Club representatives stated in the evaluation interviews that they joined the GSAPto control and to improve the use of alcohol, to ensure the club met its legal require-ments, and to avoid bad publicity associated with incidents related to excessive drink-ing. They also sought the collateral benefits of controlling the availability of alcohol andaccess to it within the club. This included improving the club’s public image and rep-utation and increasing its attractiveness to the local community. One club official notedthat “[we are] surrounded by five or six other clubs. . . saw this as a way to set theclub apart.” Other clubs regarded the program as a good way to help recruit new play-ers and supporters: “The club wanted to attract and keep junior players” and “It wastime to make the club a good place for families.” The program was also reported toopen up opportunities for growth, “to increase the potential to receive sponsorship andgrants.”

Some clubs used the GSAP to introduce changes that otherwise would be too difficult:“By getting into the Good Sports program we could hang our hat on it to clean the jointup. . . we could give it some of the blame [for making changes].” Another club said “. . . [we]wanted to become a family club. . . Good Sports provided a framework for this” (AIPC,2003).

The role of the community partners was important. A club representative said:“[The community partner representative] has been good, he has stayed in touch, he

has helped me find other people to help out in other ways. He helps out with strategies andhe tried to get us to level 2 early in the season, but it was too hard so we will go for it at theend of the season” (AIPC, 2003, p. 1).

The following impacts of the program were reported by representatives of the clubsand were corroborated by the community partners: growth in club membership; increases inthe number of teams at clubs, including junior teams; improved compliance with licensingregulations; reductions in underage drinking; the introduction of safe transport options; andchanges in the general attitude and behavior of club members.

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Over half of the 15 club respondents said the clubs would not have achieved thoseresults without the GSAP. Of the other clubs, five said the GSAP enabled them to makemore changes than they otherwise could, and two were undecided (AIPC, 2003). Theinformants regarded Good Sports as a catalyst for change, indicating that the programincreased awareness of alcohol-related issues, provided a framework and structure, andencouragement, support, and legitimacy for change. It also offered an external mecha-nism to monitor the club’s operation. The clubs were unanimous that participation in theGSAP was positive and they had already recommended the program to other clubs (AIPC,2003).

The AIPC concluded that the program could lead to significant cost benefits for thewhole community including reduced alcohol-related harms within clubs, reduced alcoholconsumption, reduced binge drinking, and reduced alcohol-related road trauma (AIPC,2003). The AIPC further concluded that ongoing evaluation was justified to identify evidenceof impact, outcome, and cost benefit (AIPC, 2003). This external evaluation of the GoodSports program is currently underway.

Conclusion

The GSAP is a model of incremental change that is employed by community sporting clubsin the interest of eliminating harmful drinking practices and establishing safer norms of useover time. It was developed in situ, has strong face validity, is supported by large numbersof the target group and key stakeholders, including public health, law enforcement, roadsafety, and sporting authorities. However, it is yet to demonstrate permanent improvementsin drinking-related behaviors in community sports clubs or verified reductions in alcohol useand related harms in those settings. Impact and outcome evaluation research, commencedin late 2005, should provide clearer indications of the program’s impact on such harms overthe longer term.

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Mr. Tony Kiers, National Operations Manager, Good Sports (AustralianDrug Foundation) for his assistance with this article.

RESUME

La Prevention des Problemes lies a l’alcool Aupres Des Clubs Sportifs de Localites:Le programme “Good Sports”

En Australie, les clubs sportifs de localites sont souvent des lieux ou la consommationd’alcool reste non-regulee, a problemes, et non sans danger. Le Programme “Good Sports”,initie a Victoria en 2001, offre a ces clubs un modele de changement incrementiel dontle but est d’eliminer les pratiques dangereuses de consommation et d’etablir des normesplus sures de consommation d’alcool. Le Programme “Good Sports” fut developpe in situsur une periode de cinq ans et est maintenant operationnel dans 1600 clubs sportifs atravers l’Australie. Il a une forte valeur extrinseque, a l’appui des organisations sportiveset d’autres partis impliques cles tels que la sante publique, l’executif, la securite routiereet les collectivites locales. L‘expose decrit le modele, explique les premiers resultats del’evaluation et identifie les defis a venir.

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RESUMEN

La Prevencion del uso del Alcohol—Problemas Relacionados con ClubesDeportivos Comunitarios: el Programa de “Good Sports”

Los clubes deportivos comunitarios en Australia son a menudo lugares de bebidas noregulados, problematicos e inseguros. El programa de “Good Sports”, iniciado en Victoriaen 2001, ofrece a tales clubes un modelo de cambios incrementales disenado para eliminarlas practicas daninas de consumo de alcohol y establecer normas prudentes del uso dealcohol. El modelo de “Good Sports” fue desarrollado en situ en un perıodo de cincoanos y esta actualmente operando en 1600 clubes deportivos a traves de Australia. Tieneuna validez fuerte, esta respaldado por organizaciones deportivas e interesados claves dela salud publica, fuerzas del orden, seguridad vial y gobierno local. El estudio resume elmodelo, explica los resultados tempranos evaluados e identifica desafıos del el futuro.

THE AUTHORS

Dr Cameron Duff is a research leader with VancouverCoastal Health (Youth Addiction Services). Dr Duff is alsoa clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pub-lic Health and Epidemiology at the University of BritishColumbia. Prior to commencing work in Vancouver, Duffwas director of the Centre for Youth Drug Studies at theAustralian Drug Foundation. Dr. Duff is engaged in a num-ber of research projects at VCH, focusing in particularupon the prevention of drug- and alcohol-related harms inyouth populations. Duff is currently coordinating the Van-couver Youth Drug Reporting System, a drug monitoringproject exploring the incidence and prevalence of illicitdrug use among Vancouver youth aged 16–24 years.

Mr. Geoffrey Munro is director of the Community Al-cohol Action Network at the Australian Drug Founda-tion. His role incorporates public advocacy and support-ing community development initiatives on alcohol policyissues. A former teacher, he has extensive experience inmanaging harm prevention projects for government andnon-government agencies in school and community set-tings. He has authored several drug education texts andtraining resources and published on drug prevention pol-icy and practice in numerous journals. He convenes theInternational Conference on Drugs and Young People onbehalf of the ADF.

Glossary

Alcohol Management Strategies: formal interventions that are designed to limit the potentialfor problematic drinking to occur.

Drinking Cultures: where a pattern of drinking is entrenched within a social group so thatindividuals experience real or perceived pressure to drink according to the group norm.

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High-Risk Drinking: a level of consumption that places the drinker at extreme risk ofexperiencing and/or causing acute harm as a result of such drinking. According to theNational Health and Medical Research Council “high-risk” consumption by an adultmale is drinking 11 or more standard drinks (or 7 or more for an adult female) on anyone day.

Problematic Drinking: a level of consumption that places individuals at risk of experiencingharm and/or causing acute harm to others. According to the National Health and MedicalResearch Council acute “risky” consumption by an adult male is drinking 7–10 standarddrinks (or 5–6 standard drinks by an adult female) on any one day.

Responsible Service: where servers of alcohol observe the requisite laws and regulationsgoverning the provision of alcohol, including serving according to the conditions ofthe liquor license and refusing to serve minors and intoxicated persons. In Australia,responsible service is the subject of training that is mandatory for bar staff in moststates.

Ritual Binge Drinking: where problematic drinking is both expected and customary withina social group.

Uncontrolled Drinking: a level of consumption that is not informed by responsible serviceobligations and is not circumscribed by alcohol management strategies, leading to riskyand high-risk consumption levels.

Note

1. The ADF is a non-government, not for profit organization based in Melbourne, Victoria,Australia. The ADF provides a range of alcohol and other drug prevention services tothe community including the DrugInfo Clearinghouse, the Good Sports program, theCommunity Alcohol Action Network, and the Centre for Youth Drug Studies. The ADFreceives funds from a number of sources, including government departments and otheragencies, corporations, and philanthropic funders.

References

Australian Drug Foundation. (1998). Creating a new culture: The sporting clubs alcohol project.Melbourne: Australian Drug Foundation.

Australian Drug Foundation. (2000). Good Sports Accreditation Program Pilot Project 2000: Eval-uation report. Melbourne: Australian Drug Foundation.

Australian Drug Foundation. (2001). Good Sports Accreditation Program: Managing alcohol in sport.Melbourne: Australian Drug Foundation.

Australian Drug Foundation. (2002). The club’s just a better place to be: An evaluation of the GoodSports Accreditation Program in Victoria. Melbourne: Australian Drug Foundation.

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