Sport in Australia's outer suburbs means long drives, jumping over fences and closed pools

Climbing over a public school fence to play a social game of basketball with friends isn't the experience many young people living in Australia have to contend with.

Residents in fast-growing areas have raised concerns over access to sports facilities

Experts say access to facilities affects health outcomes for people in outer suburban areas

Several of the worst affected places were overlooked for funding in the 'sports-rorts' affair

But Jaber Moudir from Melbourne's south-eastern suburb of Cranbourne describes the access to public sports facilities in his neighbourhood as «very limited».

There are better options in surrounding suburbs but getting to them isn't convenient due to limited public transport; a trip to Endeavour Hills involves catching two buses and a train — a trip of more than an hour.

«I would just rather just stay at home and do something here,» he said, resigned.

The fast-growing local government of Casey, where just under 60 per cent of the population is aged under 45, consistently has some of the lowest sports participation rates in Victoria.

Victoria University's Professor of Sport Participation, Rochelle Eime, found in 2019 that approximately one in 10 residents in growth areas like Casey, Hume and Wyndham were members of sport clubs.

That number shrank during the COVID pandemic, and Casey suffered more than most.

Professor Eime said public sports and recreation facilities shouldn't be an afterthought when new areas are being developed.

«Participation in sports should be much higher [in Casey] than some of those older suburbs of Melbourne, where they have a lot older demographics,» she said.

She said a number of factors were involved in growth areas like Casey having poor sports participation rates. They range