Government announces financial support for sporting club upgrades in Peterborough to help kids during the drought

The government has stepped in to support sporting clubs in the heart of drought-stricken Peterborough, offering kids a vital escape from the drought.

Excitement levels are fever pitch on the pine boards of Peterborough basketball stadium in the town’s Max Ham’s Sporting Complex.

Premier Peter Malinauskas has just arrived, Adelaide 36ers legend Al Green is already holding court and kids are keen to show them their wares.

About 65 youngsters have flocked from up to an hour away to the stadium for a clinic run by Green and current Adelaide 36ers assistant coach Tim Odell.

It’s already been a big day for Peterborough.

Mr Malinauskas and most of his ministers have been in town to show their support for the drought-stricken community at a street party convened by The Advertiser.

About 65 youngsters have flocked to the stadium in Peterbrough for a clinic run by former Adelaide 36er Al Green and current assistant coach Tim Odell. Picture: Ben Clark

About half an hour earlier, just down the road, the Premier announced his government will foot the bill to replace the stadium’s 44-year-old wooden backboards.

Now, less than 24 hours after saluting another successful AFL Gather Round in the big smoke, Mr Malinauskas is on the three-point line, surrounded by kids keen to show them what they’ve got.

Swish. One young teenager nails the shot to cheers. He high-fives the Premier. Swish. Another one goes through the hoop.

It’s a scene that brings tears to the eyes of Peterborough Basketball Association administrator Chantel Thompson as she describes the role basketball can play in helping youngsters (and their parents, for that matter) come to terms with one of the harshest droughts on record.

“A lot of our kids are from farming backgrounds, long-term farming backgrounds and basketball is the only sport for them and can give somewhere safe, somewhere where they can forget everything for however long they’re in these doors,” she says.

“To learn the game, you need to have fun, and that fun, even if it’s only 45 minutes or an hour, means they’re not dealing with the hardship or the reminders of what they could be going home to. The reality is it’s only dry, it’s getting drier.

“It’s hard. The kids go home, the creek’s dry, dams are drying up and they’re well aware of the situation. Here (at basketball) they don’t have to talk about this.

“They get to be kids, they get to just play, coach and watch their friends. Their families get to watch the smiles on their faces. They get to make connections with community members. Everything is forgotten.”

Here in Peterborough, basketball is the team sport of choice for youngsters. They don’t play football here anymore. The oval is too dry.

Premier Peter Malinauskas made a series of announcements offering local sporting clubs financial support. Picture: Ben Clark

And so basketball is the hub which brings the community together.

Association president Shane Atkinson says the sport will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the town next year and it is never more important than in times of drought such as now.

“It’s just great to watch those kids; some of them have got bugger-all out on the farm” he says.

“They’re running out of water for showers and stuff like that out there and you just think poor little buggers.

“But they come in here and basketball’s a safe place for them.”

Mr Atkinson has been trying for years to find funding for new backboards, worried the old ones might one day succumb to an overzealous teenager hanging on after a dunk. So he’s delighted with the Premier’s announcement to provide $50,000 for new ones.

Mr Malinauskas also announced Booleroo Melrose Wilmington Football Club would receive $60,000 to upgrade the irrigation system on a parched Melrose Oval, and Booleroo Tennis Centre would receive $80,000 to resurface courts, and upgrade fencing.

Al Green with Scarlett, 9 and Andrew, 13 at the Peterborough Basketball Association. Picture: Ben Clark

“Sport and recreation clubs are the lifeblood of regional communities,” he says.

“They perform a vital role in bringing people together at the best, and the worst of times, fostering connection and helping improve mental health.”

Out on the court, 36ers assistant coach Odell takes time out from a drill where teenagers are taking turns taking the ball to the hoop to talk about the joy basketball can bring.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be affected by drought because I’m lucky to live in the city and you know we’re pretty privileged there obviously,” he says as we dodge the odd errant pass or shot.

“But it’s good that if anyone’s being affected by things like that, especially environmental problems that are out of their control, it’s good to be able to give them a release and an escape.”

Up the other end of the court, Green is in charge of a swarm of younger players.

Most of them don’t know he is one of the most famous players to ever pull on a 36ers single. But they love the fact they can share a moment with someone of his obvious sporting pedigree.

“The kids wouldn’t have known who I was back then, but it doesn’t matter – it’s not about then, it’s about now,” he says.

“Basketball and sport in general is a time when you don’t worry about politics, you don’t worry about fires or anything else. You just enjoy life. Just enjoy.”

Zara Lang, 15, is one of those doing just that. This morning, she was helping drafting sheep with her dad and brother on their farm just out of town.

It’s so dusty on the farm, she says, they might need to start wearing masks while they’re out working.

But there’s no masks needed in here. She loves playing basketball and jumped at the chance to come into town on the first day of school holidays and shoot some hoops.

She’s a tad embarrassed about a three-point attempt that missed the net when the Premier was watching, but the excitement of the day far outweighs that slight disappointment.

“I never thought that I’d be one morning drafting sheep and then … after that meeting the Premier of South Australia,” she says.

Originally published as Government announces financial support for sporting club upgrades in Peterborough to help kids during the drought