Sports chaplains from around the country celebrated the year in ministry last week at their annual ‘Champions Dinner’ and highlighted those in the sporting community they feel are making a big difference.

AFL’s Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson spoke at the dinner about the need for players and coaches to build genuine relationships in their lives to “help them best tackle the unique conditions of high performance sport.” Interviewed on the night by Hawks chaplain Bill Vassiliou, Clarkson, who is often presented in the media as an uncompromising coach, shared his perspective on the need to “honour your opponent” in sport, and the value of people in the industry.

There are hundreds of chaplains working in local and professional sporting clubs around Australia, but head of Sports Chaplaincy Australia (SCA) Cameron Butler says the Champions Dinner last week wasn’t so much about celebrating them, but celebrating those who support them and what they stand for.

Former Collingwood AFL player Gavin Crosisca was awarded the Compassion in Sport Award (sponsored by ACS Financial) this year, highlighting the commitment of sports chaplains to bringing compassion, grace and mercy into the sporting arena and acknowledging Crosisca’s dedication to do the same.

An AFL Premiership player in the 1990s, Crosisca has been very public about his alcohol and drug dependency over many years, as a player and a coach, post-retirement. “His family went through a lot of pain,” says Butler, “But he worked closely with people to overcome a lot of the addiction and now runs a radio program and is actively involved in the community helping others work through their own problems.

“He’s showing compassion – using his sporting background to make a difference out in a community, and we really value that as a chaplaincy network.”

Well known former Melbourne Victory and Socceroo player Rodrigo Vargas was awarded the Friend of SCA Award. Butler says Vargas has been a “great supporter of sports chaplains,” advocating for their work and seeing A-League chaplains appointed, while also becoming the face of a campaign to encourage local churches to support their local sports clubs.

Other awards include the Building Stronger Communities (sponsored by Eastern Football League) Award, presented to Reclink Australia, an organisation supporting sport programs for people experiencing disadvantage. The final award was the Values in Sport Award (sponsored by Compassion Australia), which acknowledges organisations – faith based or not – who “emphasise the importance of having a balanced body, mind and spirit”. This year, that award went to the Victorian Institute of Sport (Athlete Career Education) Program, for its work in ensuring athletes live healthy and balanced lives throughout their sporting careers.

The sports chaplaincy network has existed for 30 years, and chaplains have built relationships throughout the industry, with high-profile players, coaches and decision makers. Butler says over time the network has built trusted, enduring friendships in sport in Australia.

“That’s really valuable to us. We’re really good at building relationships, at pastoral care – that’s our emphasis. It’s what our chaplains are trained to do.”

Featured image: Used on CC License from Flickr/Jimmy Harris.