ACT Sport will ask sporting organisations in Canberra for suggestions on how to help families who cannot afford junior registration fees because it says "sport is a great leveller" for underprivileged children.
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The Smith Family supports more than 1000 children with a learning for life education scholarship, but ACT Sport chief executive Jon Wells thinks that figure is actually only a small percentage of the number of families struggling with junior sporting costs.
Wells will team up with Smith Family officials to find ways of lessening the financial pressure on families so their children can join junior teams. This could be a registration voucher, whereby parties share the cost, or establishing a fund, run by ACT Sport.
"We're aware of it now and the next step is looking at avenues to get children involved in sports," Wells said.
"We think the 1000 families that the Smith Family look after is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more out there. And now that we're aware of it, we've got a few ideas on how to resolve it.
"We'll do some more research to find out the extent of it and then see what we can do. There are families in financial stress ... some sports can cope, but not every sport has the resources to look after families because they're struggling as well."
It is hoped raising the issue will prompt sporting organisations, teams or businesses to contact ACT Sport or the Smith Family about setting up a program to help financially disadvantaged families.
Junior sports' costs rise most years, putting extra pressure on families, especially those with several children.
The Smith Family compiled a report two years ago which showed just 12.5 per cent of children from the most disadvantage society groups participated in sport and cultural activities compared to 36.6 per cent in the most advantaged areas.
The Smith Family program co-ordinator for the learning for life scholarship, Bill Caddey, said some families had contacted him to say they could not afford sports fees for their children.
The Smith Family scholarship is meant for education costs but some families use it for sports costs. "One lady told me it would cost her $240 for her son to play basketball. She couldn't afford it," Caddey said.
"We're just trying to stir the pot to see what can happen. Sport is a great leveller. There's a lot of talk about the cost of sport, but what can we do about it? Can we establish a fund?
"We want Canberra kids running around on Canberra paddocks. I'd be interested to see if any associations provide equity discounts for struggling families. Surely in Canberra we can do something to assist these kids in accessing community based sport."
There are 12,000 junior soccer players in Canberra.
"We're always happy to look at dispensation when in need," Capital Football chief executive Heather Reid said. "Clubs offer family discounts and if a kid really, really wants to play and genuinely can't afford it, the first call is clubs and then we'll do what we can."
