Gympie netball season fate unclear after floods damage courts

More than 500 netball players have been benched after the Gympie netball courts copped “extensive cracking” after the floods. Now, steps are being taken to save the 2022 season.

More than 500 netball players have been left in the lurch after the February floods destroyed the Gympie netball courts.

Gympie and Districts Netball Association President Colleen Miller said the season was supposed to start on February 28, the same day the netball courts were inundated with water.

The courts, which border the Mary River, were underwater for three days and then, under a thick two-inch layer of mud for another two days, she said.

As a result, they were left in such a way they were rendered unsafe for the foreseeable future.

“By the time we finally got a couple of the courts blown off, we could see extensive cracking and subsidence,” Mrs Miller said.

“The courts have definitely dropped in some places.”

The mud was so thick, Mrs Miller said the Rural Fire Service, who were lending a hand with the clean up efforts around town, blew a compressor on their high pressure water cleaner trying to blast it off.

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service was then brought in with a Bobcat to scrape the mud from the courts.

“We would have needed hundreds of people with shovels and brooms to get it off, so it was just easier to bring a Bobcat in,” Mrs Miller said.

More than 500 netball players were set to use the courts this season, but with no alternative place to play, Mrs Miller said the Netball Association was exploring other avenues.

“We’ve approached a few schools, and they’re very positive that we’ll be able to run some sort of a competition out of them,” she said.

“We don’t plan on starting until the beginning of May.”

Mrs Miller said she was concerned several players might pull out from the sport amid all the uncertainty but the main focus was finding a place for the junior netballers to play for the 2022 season.

“The importance of sport in the community is massive; it’s about mental health, it’s about physical health, it’s about getting these kids in a safe environment where they can play with their friends.”