A former Australian Olympian warns Australian sporting sidelines are fast becoming as violent as those found at some USA sporting events.

Brian Kerle will discuss issues relating to violence on sporting sidelines at a public forum conducted at Central Queensland University in Mackay as part of the official opening of the Queensland Centre for the Prevention of Domestic & Family Violence on October 15.

As Coaching & Officiating Co-ordinator for Sport and Recreation Queensland, Mr Kerle is extremely concerned about the escalating level of verbal abuse and violence parents display while cheering from the sidelines.

“We say that we aren’t like the USA, but we don’t want to see what happened on an ice rink in the USA where a father was killed. We don’t want it to get to this extreme,” the 1972 Olympic basketballer warns.

In a recent interview he sighted cases about parents who lodged heavy objects at their child’s opponent during matches.

“Often parents are living out their own sporting dreams and some parents are frustrated as they didn’t make it themselves when it came to being a sporting success,” he said.

“They may also see the huge rewards for a small group of elite athletes such as Ian Thorpe and become abusive or go to extremes while watching their children.” Kerle suggested ‘Silent Saturday’ matches, similar to those held in Brisbane, be introduced. Lollipops were used to pacify the parents when it was originally introduced at AFL, rugby league and soccer matches.

“A lot of children are getting out of sport at an early age as a result of the lack of enjoyment,” said Kerle. “Parents should be encouraging good play from both sides, not just their own children.” He said research indicated that abuse was threatening participation in sports and that pre-season meetings should detail codes of conduct to parents.