When planning leisure activities for disadvantaged groups it is essential to consider both sociological and psychological factors that may influence participation. A short-term excursion to watch a Melbourne Cup race can be used to highlight the complexities of providing equitable leisure opportunities that combat both low class status and disability. As this excursion will highlight, despite the psychological benefits of leisure, young people with disabilities face multiple sociological barriers to choices and participation in leisure. When considering leisure from a sociological perspective, it is clear that poverty limits involvement in choice and participation in leisure, which goes beyond the impact of disability alone. The high cost of travel experiences may limit leisure choices, and the inability to participate in leisure consumption may result in social stigma and shame. At the same time, the increase in Internet use as a form of leisure has been exponential, and more young people are using online networks for daily leisure than ever before. For this reason, numerous laptops were provided for young people to use during their Melbourne Cup stay. It can be deduced that, despite the obvious risks of online sharing, Internet technology offers a multitude of psychological benefits to users and poses attractive possibilities for choices of leisure and participation that can counteract sociological and psychological barriers to free time and strengthen family ties. activities are defined as an essential part of a healthy and fulfilling life. By providing a means through which thoughts, feelings and behaviors can be expressed, free time provides an opportunity to achieve health, happiness and the ability to act independently...... middle of paper ......mith-r5 .pdfSmith, R.W., Austin, D.R., Kennedy, D.W., Lee, Y., & Hutchinson, P. (2005). Planning mandates, policies, goals and objectives. In Inclusive and special recreation: Opportunities for people with disabilities (5th ed.) (pp. 133-153). Boston, Massachusetts: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. https://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/smith-r5.pdf Smith, V., & Hughes, H. (1999). Disadvantaged families and the meaning of the holiday. International Journal of Tourism Research, 1, 123-133. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1522-1970 Trussell, D. E., & Mair, H. (2010). Spaces free from judgement: poverty, free time and social inclusion. Journal of Leisure Research, 42(4), 513-533. http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ Vitello, A. J., Darcy, S., & Lynch. (2013). Australian Leisure (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest NSW: Pearson.