The Walking and Rolling Together in Regional Victoria project, created by Victoria Walks in partnership with Regional Sport Victoria, Scope, and Disability Sport and Recreation, was named the Active Recreation and Leisure Initiative of the Year.

On Tuesday, 26 August, the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground hosted the 2025 Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation Awards in celebration of the people, programs and communities championing inclusion through sport and recreation.

Walking and Rolling Together was recognised for promoting accessible walking paths for people with disability.

As a ‘Together More Active’ project supported by the Victorian Government, the program highlights regional accessible walks suitable for people with disabilities. Each walk has been audited, mapped, and assessed for accessibility, ensuring regional recreational walking routes are enjoyable for everyone.

RSV and Regional Sports Assemblies assisted in this process by co-auditing walks to expand the total list to over 70 accessible trails across Victoria.

The Accessible Walks resource was made possible through a free, easy-to-use accessible walk audit tool co-designed with people with disability. Regional walks have been carefully assessed for accessibility, with time, length, and difficulty level all noted for Victorians to consider when planning their next outdoor activity.

“We are so proud to see Walking and Rolling Together recognised for inclusive active recreation,” said Ashleigh Nicolson, RSV Interim Executive Officer.

“A special thank you to GippSport, Sport North East, and Valley Sport for assisting in the walk auditing process by supporting a local person with disability to test each walk for accessibility. It was an honour to play a coordination role and support the promotion of these walks for everyone in our regional communities.”

Victoria Walks chief executive Sarah Pilgrim acknowledged the co-design element as integral to the success of Walking and Rolling Together and hoped the project would inspire trail upgrades across Victoria so that more accessible walks could be added to the list.

“The lived experience of people with disability was so important to inform the trail assessments in regional Victoria,” Ms Pilgrim said. “People with mobility disabilities can now find parks and trails across the state that support them to be active in nature.”

To learn more, check out the full list of accessible walks across Victoria.

Read more about the Disability Sport & Recreation Awards HERE.