Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria

05/11/2026

Your voice. Your choice. Your health.
Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria recently brought together community members who are blind or have low vision to provide feedback on new and more accessible cervical screening resources being developed as part of our project with Cancer Council Victoria.

Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and ideas. Your voices are helping shape information that supports people to make informed choices about their health.

Stay tuned for our upcoming health education sessions, where representatives from Sexual Health Victoria and Cancer Council Victoria will share more about:
• Why cervical screening is important.
• The screening options available, including self-collection.
• How the new accessible resources can help you understand your options and decide what feels right for you.

There’ll also be opportunities to ask questions in a supportive environment.
We’re all about choice and making sure you have accessible information to help you make yours.

Session details coming soon!

[I.D. A group of four people seated around a conference table in a modern meeting room with laptops, notebooks, drinks, and a plate of snacks on the table. One person is talking and using their hands to gesture while the others face them and listen. Second image: Four people standing indoors with a Guide Dog dog in front. From left to right stands Rachel DeSumma (BSRV), Kate Gniel (BSRV), Tess Whelan (consultation participant) and Ann John (Cancer Council Victoria) and Caro, Tess’s golden Labrador Guide Dog.]

Cancer Council Victoria

05/11/2026

Everyone deserves to enjoy golf.
Read Liam Wyllie's great article on the Golf Australia website.

Golf Australia

Golf Australia has partnered with Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria (BSRV) to create more opportunities for people who are blind or vision impaired to experience golf, with successful Come and Try days held at Euroa and Beechworth Golf Clubs.

05/11/2026

Ready to tee off? Join us at Myrtleford Golf Club for an exciting Blind Golf Come & Try Day!
Experience inclusive golf with trained caddies, no experience needed. All equipment and light refreshments provided. Don’t miss out—bookings essential! For more info and to register, visit:
https://www.blindsports.org.au/news-articles

Contact: Tegan Allen by phone or email for more details:
0478 626 393
[email protected]

Come along, give it a go, and discover how golf can be played by everyone!

[A view across a beautiful golf course with rows of trees in the background and a mountain in the distance. The sky is blue with fluffy clouds. Three inset images: Two people on the sandy area of a golf course. The caddie is crouching and positioning the golf club behind the ball on the ground for the golfer. A group of people mainly in pairs on a golf course. Caddies and participants are chatting and putting balls. It's a sunny day with a blue sky and trees in the background. A man and a woman are standing in a sand trap on a golf course, with a red flag on a pole between them. They are both holding golf putters.]

Blind Golf Australia Golf Australia Golf Australia VIC Sport North East

04/11/2026

The Victorian Electoral Commission offers a range of accessible voting options, including:

- telephone assisted voting
- low sensory voting options
- large print and braille materials
- help from staff at voting centres
- postal voting

More information is on the VEC website at:

We help to make voting accessible, inclusive and respectful. Find out more about the support available and how you can take part in elections with confidence.

04/11/2026

Congratulations to all finalists, nominees and award recipients in the 2026 Tennis Victoria Tennis Player Awards. Your commitment, perseverance and success continue to inspire our community.
Matthew Hicks won the 30+ Tennis Masters Award, with Maurice delighted to present him with this well-deserved honour.

[I.D. Three people standing on a stage with a projected image behind them. A lady wearing a black dress rests her hand on the shoulder of Maurice Gleeson OAM, whom is presenting the Award to Matthew HIcks. Matthew is reaching for the award being presented to him.]

Tennis Victoria Victorian Blind & Low Vision Tennis League

28/10/2026

You're invited to attend a Blind and Vision Impaired Coaching Development Weekend, with a focus on the B1 classification, to be held in Melbourne on 21 & 22 November 2026.

This free, two-day professional development opportunity brings together coaches, educators, and sport practitioners across a range of sports and aims to build confidence, capability and best practice when coaching blind and vision impaired athletes. While the learnings are relevant across all vision impairment classifications, the weekend places a strong emphasis on the unique coaching considerations, communication strategies and safety requirements associated with coaching athletes in the B1 classification.

The program includes insights and lived experiences from coaches and athletes who are classified as B1 and is designed to deepen understanding of blind and vision impaired sport, support the development of inclusive and participant-centred coaching approaches, and assist coaches to integrate these learnings into their existing coaching environments. No prior experience coaching athletes who are blind or vision impaired is required.

Registration is essential. Read below for further details.
If you would like more information, please contact [email protected]

Registrations are now open for the Melbourne B1 Coaching Development Weekend!

Blind Sports Australia, in partnership with Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria and with the support of Australian Paralympic Team, is pleased to offer this free two-day professional development opportunity for coaches, teachers, sport development professionals and volunteers.

Held on 21 and 22 November 2026 in Melbourne, the workshop will build participants’ confidence, knowledge and capacity to coach athletes who are blind or have low vision, with a particular focus on the B1 classification.

Participants will learn directly from experienced coaches and B1 athletes, combining first-hand insights with the theoretical and practical application of inclusive coaching techniques.

Topics will include:
• Communication strategies, tactile modelling and guided instruction
• B1 safety, participation and classification considerations
• Inclusive and participant-centred coaching practices
• Adaptive equipment and session design
• Practical small-group coaching with B1 athletes
• Real-time feedback, reflection and discussion

No previous experience coaching athletes who are blind or have low vision is required. Coaches from all sports and at all levels are welcome, with Victorian coaches strongly encouraged to attend.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026
Melbourne
Free to attend
Attendance on both days is required

This workshop forms part of Blind Sports Australia’s national rollout to strengthen coaching knowledge and capability across the country.

Places are limited. Register here:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=UDW7h9gK7UaDz3r1YzyPLebIKtLfMapHrNNi-LXwUxVUMlIzV0lQSDFZWEhHTE00TkRVUEpUVkJBMC4u&route=shorturl

For more information, contact [email protected]

Australian Sports Commission Australian Sporting Alliance for People with Disability

26/10/2026

Music Quiz Wednesday is online this Wednesday, 28th October, from 1pm to 2pm!
Get ready for another hour of tunes, trivia and good vibes with Alana and the Music Quiz crew. Test your music memory, sing along to the classics, and enjoy plenty of laughs along the way.
Everyone’s welcome — come for the quiz, stay for the community!

Contact: For more information and the Zoom link, please reach out to the BSRV office by email or phone:
[email protected]
03 9822 8876

For more information, please visit our website:
https://www.blindsports.org.au/news-article/join-us-for-a-fab-1-hour-music-quiz-on-wednesdays

[I.D. Photo of Alana sitting and holding her guitar, placed within the centre circle of an LP vinyl record. Text reads ‘It's music to your ears’. Join us online. Free event.]

23/10/2026

Getting ready for our Swimming Pilot!
Last Friday, Rachel DeSumma and BSRV Volunteer Ambassador Caleb from Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria, together with Jess Atkins-Barber from Little Swim School, delivered vision loss specific swim teacher training at Leisurelink City of Greater Geelong. We also had the pleasure of project steering committee member Jess O’Brien from join us!

Swim teachers, Centre management and Australian Catholic University students learned practical techniques for adapting swimming instruction for young people who are blind or have low vision, in preparation for pilot swimming lessons at the Centre starting soon!

Thank you to everyone who came along. We can't wait to welcome young swimmers into the water! 💙

📣 Are you, or is someone in your family, aged 5 to 25 and living with blindness or low vision? If you're interested in joining the Swimming Pilot, send an expression of interest to Rachel at Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria.

This project is made possible by VicHealth Growing Healthy Communities funding.

[I.D. Group photo of swimming instructors and students in the pool with Jess and Caleb. Most are smiling all are facing the camera.
Three images of people being led while wearing blindfolds and holding the arm of their guide.
Two ACU students with huge smiles in the pool at the edge. One student wears goggles designed to simulate low vision while the other wears a dark-and-orange lifeguard-style shirt, with swimmers in the background.
Three images of a swim teacher with a participant in the pool.]
au Australian Catholic University (ACU)

22/10/2026

Making swimming accessible for swimmers with blindness or low vision!
Last Thursday Rachel DeSumma and BSRV Volunteer Ambassador Maria from Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria and Jess Atkins-Barber from .au delivered Vision Loss specific swim teacher training to swim teachers, centre management, and Australian Catholic University students at Richmond Recreation Centre.

The training covered techniques on how to adapt swimming instruction for young people who are blind or have low vision in preparation for Pilot Swimming lessons to be held at the centre in Term 1, 2027.
Thanks to everyone who came along. We can't wait to welcome more young swimmers into the water!

If you or your family member is aged 5-25 and living with blindness or low vision, and interested in joining the Swimming Pilot please send through an expression of interest to Rachel at Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria.

This project is made possible by VicHealth Growing Healthy Communities Funding.

[I.D. Two swim teachers in a pool facing the pool wall with one wearing vision loss simulation goggles.
Maria, BSRV Volunteer Ambassador, is holding her white cane and holding the arm of her support person Debbie demonstrating sighted guiding.
Four images: Two female swim teachers, one wearing vision loss simulation goggles, practice sighted guiding on the pool deck.
Two female swim teachers are walking up stairs one guiding the other wearing vision loss simulation goggles.
Two swim teachers are walking up the stairs. One wears vision loss simulation goggles while guided by the other.
A male swim teacher is guiding a blindfolded female swim teacher who is holding the back of the man’s arm and they walk.
Inside the pool a swim teacher taps the hand of the swim teacher wearing block out goggles as they move towards the end of the pool.
A group of swim teachers and students in the pool are receiving instructions from the teacher.]

The Little Swim School Yarra Leisure Australian Catholic University (ACU)

21/10/2026

MUSIC QUIZ WEDNESDAY IS BACK!
Three more chances to test your music knowledge, have a laugh and maybe even sing along! 🎤

Term 4 dates:
Wednesdays 28 October, 18 November & 2 December
1pm to 2pm
Online via Zoom or phone dial-in, from the comfort of your own home
FREE

Host Alana Bartlett plays around 30 seconds of music from opera to country, rock, jazz and pop, spanning the early 1900s to the 2000s. Guess the singer, band or song title, connect with other adults who are blind or vision impaired, and have a fabulous hour of fun, nostalgia and friendly competition.
New to it? Even better. We’d love to meet you! Need a hand getting online? We can help.
Call or email Susan for more information and the Zoom link:
03 9822 8876
[email protected]

[I.D. Photo of Alana sitting and holding her guitar, placed within the centre circle of an LP vinyl record. Text reads ‘It's music to your ears’. Join us online. Free event.]