Working in sport and recreation management can be a rewarding career path with a lot of variety and challenges

So, you'd like to work in sport and recreation…

Sport and recreation jobs are sweaty work. Australians' love of sport and the ever-popular fitness boom (still going strong after a good quarter century) means that there's always going to be a lot of people ready and willing to get their hearts racing with some good old fashioned exercise. This in turn means there'll always be a strong demand for sport and recreation professionals.

And rest assured, this is much more than just ropes and balls.

As well as the physical exercise component, the work of a sport and recreation professional can include areas such as administration, management and marketing. They plan, organise and promote recreation facilities and programs such as sporting events, tournaments, school holiday programs and arts and crafts activities.

If this kind of work appeals to you, there are a couple of personal qualities that will boost your chances of success. These include a natural interest in sport and fitness, good communication skills and the ability to work with people of differing fitness levels. You also need to be at least reasonably fit and healthy yourself.

Regarding the more formal qualifications, TAFE NSW's Diploma of Sport and Recreation Management is an ideal course to get you started. This course runs for 18 months and, apart from Year 10 level (or equivalent) literacy skills, it has no formal entry requirements. Best of all, this course is available fully online through TAFE NSW Online learning, which means you can study at your own pace and schedule.

Working in sport and recreation management can be a rewarding career path with a lot of variety and challenges. You'll be working at fitness centres, outdoor sporting grounds and complexes, aquatic centres and community recreation facilities. Your work can involve groups of various sizes or sometimes just one-on-one. Best of all, you'll be paid to keep yourself fit and healthy at work every day while helping to train and inspire others to attain their own fitness goals.