Jason McPherson suggest council buy property for sport field

Cohabitating Gympie sport clubs are getting along well, but flood-free land out of town could be the solution to the region’s growing problem of overcrowding and outdated facilities. Read the latest predicament of Gympie sports, as we campaign to Save Our Sport.

Gympie sports clubs are bursting at the seams - more juniors are joining every year but there is simply no more space for these young aspiring athletes to train.

Gympie Hammers Rugby Union vice-president Jason McPherson said on Friday with Gympie’s population rapidly increasing, it would be beneficial to invest in a rural property to adapt into a flood-safe sports facility in the future.

“We can only fix what’s happening in the future,” Mr McPherson said.

The Gympie Hammers share Albert Park with four additional clubs, three of which have the same playing season.

Mr McPherson said the clubs got along well together when games had to be rearranged, but they “need to see light at the end of the tunnel”.

Once a single game is cancelled, the clubs have to negotiate how to reschedule all their other games, he said.

Sharing a facility drastically increased volunteer time for the committee and members.

Signage, sponsor advertisements and set-up must be hauled out only to be packed away after a single home game.

Mr McPherson said that process was a 2-3 hour job for set-up before a home game.

Shared fields did not only burden volunteers - eager children were disappointed once their game was rescheduled, thanks to wet weather or other clubs hiring the field.

Groundskeepers also invest significant efforts to keep the clubs running - with so much use of one field, maintaining Albert Park has become a tremendous job.

Albert Park during the February 2022 floods.

Mr McPherson estimated that between AFL, touch, rugby union, rugby league and soccer, Gympie had several thousand juniors playing sport. The Gympie Devils alone have about 400 juniors in their club.

The Gympie Devils Junior Rugby League Club has outgrown its grounds at Jack Stokes, which have needed an upgrade for almost four years. The club is one of several frequently hiring Albert Park.

Thanks to their growing numbers, the club often hosts matches as late as 8pm, meaning away teams such as Caboolture have to drive through the night just to get home.

Gympie Basketball Association members must stand in line for their turn on the courts. They have been hiring facilities from the Pavilion and three different schools, often resulting in cancelled games.

The club often must turn away new players, having no capacity for more players with hired courts.

Gympie United Football Club has land available for a new field, but the new sport budget has left no room for new facilities.

The Gympie and Districts Netball Association lost their entire sports facility in the 2022 February floods and face $500,000 in repair costs.

The Gympie Regional Cricket Association was promised a second field after they were moved from Albert Park but has been left with only one area at One Mile Fields.

With more members joining the club each year, club president Danny Shepperson said it would be beneficial to have a second field in the future. The Gympie Regional Council has been contacted in regards to the matter.

Amongst floods and $1million in council funding cuts, Gympie’s limited facilities have left sport clubs in dire need of a solution.

The Gympie Times has launched its SOS campaign to Save Our Sport. We need to convince the Gympie Regional Council and the State Government to listen to our sporting community and move forward with an urgent plan to open up more playing fields and or facilities.

If your club has a story to tell, please contact [e-mail]