Shoosh For Kids

Shoosh for Kids is a collaborative effort between the Office of Sport and sector partners to encourage positive spectator behaviour at junior sport. The initiative strives to promote a very simple message – if you don’t have anything nice to say, shoosh for kids.

We have all experienced it, and sometimes unintentionally being a contributor to it, we get caught up in the moment and forget how powerful our words and actions as spectators are.

WPNSW is proud to partner with the NSW Office of Sport and other State Sporting Organisations to push the message of positive behaviour from the stands to our kids. The aim over the winter months is to increase awareness and empower all our members to create an environment that we all want to be involved with.

Our actions will drive the Shoosh for Kids message to “Keep it positive. Keep it fun. Keep kids coming back to junior sport!”

Shoosh for Kids isn’t about staying completely silent, it’s just about making sure we’re all positive. Our messages across the campaign feature five key themes:

• Overarching: Think before you speak, is what you are about to say promoting good sportsmanship and encouraging all?
• General participation: Keep it positive. Keep it fun.
• Volunteer appreciation: Remember, volunteers run kids sport. We rely heavily on those few who give up their time so around pool deck if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
• Respecting the officials: Respect the referee. All referees are human, all referees have different experience, all referees want to learn and improve. Let the referee’s call the game as they see it. Let’s stop the abuse, the ‘hey, hey, hey’ that unfortunately always seems to make an appearance. 
• Supporting the coaches: Let coaches do the coaching. Small things go a long way in confusing kids and undermining coaches. Let coaches encourage the kids to shoot, let the coaches direct the defense, let the coaches decide when to break.

Over the winter season WPNSW will be introducing our Culture Change Ambassadors. Athletes, officials, and volunteers will promote the message that water polo should be a fun, welcoming, and inclusive sport for everyone. It doesn’t matter how you interact and engage with our sport be it as an Olympian, referee, spectator, or social player we all want to deliver to our vision to Make Our Sport, Your Sport.