Community's voice at the forefront of 2026 Commonwealth Games legacy

The collaboration, which includes researchers from Federation, La Trobe and Griffith universities, is creating a survey for the broader community to have their say on how to best ensure the regional Victorian Games creates a lasting legacy.

In around three years time various regional Victorian cities, which includes Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland Geelong and Shepparton, will host various events.

The project aims to provide members from these communities with a voice on how they can benefit from the Games while also proving any ideas or concerns.

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Bendigo-based Sports Focus business manager Stuart Craig said it was crucial to hear from the community to ensure a successful running of the regional Games.

"The key ingredient to a successful and sustainable 2026 Commonwealth Games legacy plan is acknowledging and respecting the voice of the community," Craig said.

"This survey provides the community of central Victoria with a platform to share their ideas, thoughts and aspirations on what the 2026 Games legacy plan should look like."

Currently Bendigo is due to host the following events basketball and wheelchair basketball (3x3), cycling (track and para track), lawn bowls and para lawn bowls, netball, squash, table tennis and para table tennis, and triathlon (inc para).

The team behind the project has identified that in the past there's been similar scale sports events that were anticipated to create lasting legacies but ultimately fell short in providing meaningful legacies within their respective communities.

The survey is open to residents of Bendigo and surrounding areas and takes around 20 minutes to complete and will not require any sensitive information from contributors.

Members of the community with a keen interest in sport and history are encouraged to participate

Craig said survey responses would form the foundation of work for the lead up, during and after the Games.

"The response data collected and analysed by our collaborating universities will form the foundation of our future work leading up to, during and post the 2026 Games," he said.

Working in partnership with the Victorian State Government, we plan to bring your responses into reality.

"We encourage all community members who are or have been, involved in community sport, whether that be as a parent, volunteer or direct participant to take advantage of this unique opportunity to have your voice heard, so we can all contribute to a successful regional games."

The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Bendigo2026 and will close at midnight (12am AEDT) on Wednesday, March 1 2023.

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