KIAMA Netball Association will rebound from recent issues with their courts, thanks to funding from both state and local government.
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On Tuesday, Member for Kiama Gareth Ward presented a $50,000 cheque to the Kiama Netball Association to replace the playing surface and make important repairs to the drainage system.
Kiama council also provided $50,000 towards the works.
Outgoing president Val Brunker and new president Rhonda Beedles said the funds were a vital boost for the club’s players, hard-working volunteers and parents.
This year’s competition will boast seven clubs and about 750 players, ranging from five years to adults.
Mrs Beedles said the new surface would make a significant difference with regards to scheduling of games and safety.
‘‘The girls not only play here, but they also train here,’’ she said.
‘‘So the courts are not just used on Saturdays, they are used all days during the week as well.
‘‘So if they are wet like this they can’t train, because it’s too risky.’’
It may also enable the association to expand their competition in the future.
‘‘This new surface will mean that the games are not going to get postponed as they were in the past... We’ve had to actually cancel games, so the competition was severely disrupted by that,’’ Mrs Beedles said.
‘‘It means that we then had to try and fit other games in, or have shortened games later in the season to try and get a decent competition out of it.
‘‘It meant we had to put off our finals day this year, because we had rain and they couldn’t play.
‘‘There was nowhere else to go, so it meant we had to extend the season, which impacts on the girls who have other things on.’’
The works will cost an estimated $170,000; the club has also been promised funds from the Kiama Sports Association, and the club itself will also contribute from their own fund-raising efforts.
Mr Ward said the state funds came from the Community Building Partnership program.
‘‘This was a great need,’’ he said.
‘‘I want these teams and their administrators focusing on the kids and their sport, not having to sell raffle tickets to pay for upgrades of courts.’’
Kiama deputy mayor Warren Steel backed the move.
‘‘I’ve got two grand-daughters, and now a third playing here.... They (the courts) needed to be done for quite a long time,’’ he said.
The new Kiama Netball Association season begins in March; visit www.kiamanetball.com.au regarding registration details.