THERE’S absolutely no doubting the benefits of country football and netball clubs to their local communities in developing good citizenship, a sense of pride, place and belonging, and taking care of mental health while providing sport and recreation, and even a career path for some of our most talented athletes.
And at Fish Creek Football Netball Club they are well aware of the vital role that local business sponsors play in putting teams on the ground and the court each year and in developing facilities.
Recently the club honoured one of its long-term gold sponsors, Gendore Tractors and Farm Machinery with a unique piece of Kangaroos’ memorabilia; a Fish Creek FNC jumper signed by many of the members of the three-peat premiership team of 2017, 2018, and 2019.
“We promised Derek Genoni (Managing Director of Gendore Tractors), that if he continued on with his sponsorship of the club we would organise a framed jumper for him,” said FCFNC President Ray Stefani recently.
“It’s been a few years coming, with COVID intervening, but it was great to be able to present that to Derek and the company recently.
“As a former president of the Tooradin-Dalmore Football Netball Club, Derek is passionate about country football and netball and he’s got the framed and signed jumper hanging up in their office in Leongatha.”
Ray said the acknowledgement of sponsorship underscored what it takes to run a successful football netball club these days, in a climate of rising costs, including one cost that really stands out for clubs these days, the cost of insurance.
“We run a social rooms on our own land there at Fishy and being a licensed club we’ve seen the cost of insurance rise from $2400-a-year a few years ago to $4000 and then $8500 and it looks like being over $10,000 just for the public liability and general insurance.
“A big contributing factor to that has been the rise and rise in the number of break-ins and thefts at local sporting clubs. To give you an indication, the Fish Creek Bowling Club, which we share the reserve with, has been robbed three times since Christmas and I’m aware of Mirboo North and other clubs that have been hit.
“It’s not so much what they take, in some cases it’s only a few slabs of beer, but it’s the damage they cause along the way. We’ve got our CCTV surveillance but it doesn’t always seem to deter them.”
What with the improvements made at the club in recent years; the $200,000 new netball courts (club contributed $85,000), the $300,000 for the lighting (club $50,000) and a new spectators shelter being erected between the courts and the football ground at a cost of $30,000 initially; Fish Creek will be turning over in excess of $250,000 this year.
“Although we are a not-for-profit organisation, that puts us into the sights of the taxman, which is another cost for clubs,” said Ray.
In recognition of the rapidly rising costs associated with running a football-netball club and the good social good these clubs do, Mr Stefani would like to see local MPs look at reforming taxation arrangements for sporting clubs.
“We’re trying to set up a meeting with Russell Broadbent and Danny O’Brien at the moment about the potential for attracting further grant money but that’s an issue that might be discussed as well.”
And, while sponsorships and club finances are a pressing issue throughout the year, the focus has turned to preparations on the ground and on the court and on that score, Fish Creek looks like being competitive again in 2023.
They’ve appointed Jarrod Walker, part of the successful hook-up with the Murrumbeena football club over the years, as their senior coach, and will provide solid support on the track and on the bench on game day with Matthew McGannon and Kev Brown as assistant coaches.
“As I look out over the ground tonight, we’ve got 20-plus players training and among them, some of our junior players as well. We’ve lost a few, as you do, but recruited well too so we’ll be similar to last year.
“Although we’ll probably have 18 or so Under 18s this year, we’ll keep our tie-up with the Tarwin Football Netball Club who want to keep the group of young players they have together.
“They’ve worked really hard on their juniors and will be fielding good numbers in their 10s, 12s and 14s this year with a view to re-establishing their own Under 18s, hopefully in 2024.
“They’re a good club and we certainly wish them well with that.”
So, it’s definitely ‘game on’ for clubs preparing for the 2023 football-netball season, and while success on the field is what it’s all about, every club has to keep a close eye on the finances and the contribution made by the likes of Derek Genoni of Gendore Tractors and Farm Machinery, and his team, is absolutely crucial in the end result.
