Fury as Caroline Springs junior footy parents left $190 out of pocket
A suburban Melbourne junior footy club has come under fire after leaving parents significantly out of pocket despite a cancelled season. But the club says its inability to raise money has left it in a perilous financial position.
Local Footy
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A football club in Melbourne’s western suburbs has come under fire from parents set to be left out of pocket despite a cancelled season.
Caroline Springs, which competes in the Western Region Football League, has offered the parents of its junior players a refund of just $205 of a $395 registration fee, meaning they have forked out $190 for a year of no games.
The club has given the option of a $205 credit for the 2021 season, meaning a $190 bill will remain for returning players.
Lakers president Terry Azzopardi said fixed costs covering equipment, apparel, merchandise, training fees, insurance and council rates were incurred in preparation for the 2020 campaign.
The refundable portion is made up of match-day fees ($140) and a discounted ticket for Caroline Springs’ annual auction and car raffle ($65), which has been postponed.
A parent of a junior player described the move as “disgraceful” given the coronavirus pandemic and said “there are so many angry parents about this”.
The parent, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they were comfortable paying for a playing jumper – amounting to about $50 – but believed it was unreasonable to cover other costs.
“Numerous clubs in the WRFL and BFL and EDFL are giving full refunds or rolling over, some are charging minimal. But not this club,” the parent said.
Neighbouring clubs such as Deer Park and Albanvale have offered full refunds for its junior members.
Azzopardi said COVID-19 had left the club in a perilous financial position.
But he said it was possible more credits would be handed to members if the situation improved in coming months, adding the decision was not final.
The club has also made an effort to look after those suffering financial hardship.
“We planned for a 2020 season and we had to pay expenses and costs to be ready in case it started,” Azzopardi said.
“Obviously you use your registration funds to do that and you recoup that money through sponsorship, canteen and fundraising. We get none of that now. Sponsorship has stopped completely.
“We’d love to offer full refunds, but at the moment we can’t.
“From now onwards, we’re committed to working behind the scenes to see where we’re at in terms of finances and the intention is to drum up that sponsorship and replenish those funds and look at potentially going towards a full rollover of funds for next year or a lower registration cost.
“It’s more about the timing for us more than anything.
“This is what we can afford now and we’ve got to make sure the club stays afloat.
“In two, three or six months’ time, we’re hoping it will be a different situation and then we can offer those benefits to our members going forward.”
Azzopardi said he could “totally understand” the frustration from parents.
“I can see why people get upset when they receive an amount of money that is not the full amount, but there’s reasons,” he said.
“If the money’s there, we provide it. If the money’s not there, we can’t promise it.”
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