As many as 40 local players each week will join the inaugural season of Kicking Goals for Life, a City of Cockburn pilot program for soccer-playing men keen to increase their activity levels and social circle while reducing their waist circumference.
The City launched the new program on Tuesday 24 May in conjunction with the Cockburn Healthy Lifestyle Service which is offered in partnership with Success-based Cockburn Integrated Health.
It succeeds the popular MAN v FAT program formerly operated under license by The University of the WA out of the Visko Park recreation facility in Yangebup since 2019, but which has now ceased.
City of Cockburn Health Promotion Officer Gloria Askander said the Kicking Goals pilot program was a result of MAN v FAT players working with the City to create a replacement trial competition to build on the success and popularity of its predecessor.
“The City has backed this active community which appealed to us to support its ongoing health journey,” Ms Askander said.
“It will help us to continue promoting healthier lifestyles for these local men by increasing their activity levels, providing a way to meet likeminded locals and with weight loss as a bonus.”
The pilot soccer competition will run in a similar way to the former program with points scored for weight loss recorded at regular weigh-ins supplementing match goals scored.
The former competition offered three seasons per year for more than three years and the 2021 competition attracted up to 40 players a week with 26 of those losing more than five per cent of their body weight.
“In the most recent season the largest single weight loss recorded was 4.4kg, with the winning five-member team losing 9.1kg. But it’s about so much more than losing weight.
“These team members grow close to each other, forming supportive new friendships while discovering the many lasting benefits of a more active lifestyle.
“It’s a reflection of what’s happening in the broader Cockburn community as people become more aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
“In recent years a concerted effort to provide a raft of free or low-cost health programs has enabled the City to help its residents radically reduce overweight and obesity percentages to rates on par with state and regional averages."
According to WA Health Department statistics, 79 per cent of Cockburn residents were either overweight or obese in 2015-2016
but this figure fell by nearly 10 per cent between 2017-2019, to 70.1 per cent.
Registrations are now being accepted for a 14-week KGFL season commencing on 31 May with 40-minute games held each Tuesday in Yangebup.
Visit the City’s
website to register.