Ardmona footy club needs $100,000 to survive
They’ve copped 400-point floggings on the field, but bush footy battlers Ardmona are staring at their biggest ever loss off field. The Bush Cats need cash quickly to avoid extinction ahead of the club’s 100th season.
A battling country football club has taken to crowd-funding in a bid to keep the doors open ahead of its centenary season.
Ardmona, a small club just outside of Shepparton in Victoria’s north, has set a $100,000 GoFundMe target to ensure its survival for next year and beyond.
Ardmona treasurer Teisha McCoy said there was a real possibility the Kyabram District Football Netball League club could fold, which would devastate the tiny community.
The Bush Cats’ fundraiser had yielded just $100 in four days, before a one-off donation of $1000 boosted the club coffers this afternoon.
The spiel on the GoFundMe page says Ardmona is a “a place you will always find lots of smiles, shoulders to cry on and mates to lift you up”.
At least $20,000 is needed to lock in its place for next season, McCoy says.
“The club is currently facing the possibility of being refused affiliation within the league for 2020 due to our financial position,” McCoy told the Herald Sun.
“This is devastating news for our club, especially since we are heading into our 100th year. The last thing we want is for the club to fold.”
The club has been fighting to keep the lights on in recent years, as a lack of players and financial troubles has led to dire on-field results.
Since their last senior grand final appearance in 2008, times have been grim for the Cats.
Just last year, Ardmona kicked only one goal in a Sportsbet-run “Battle of the Battlers” game, going down by a whopping 211 points against Eastern Football League club Nunawading.
The Cats were forced to pull their senior football team from the league in 2017 and play solely in the reserves after uncompetitive performances to open the season.
This year, the club’s seniors and reserves failed to win a game and finished on the bottom of the ladder.
Ardmona’s senior team finished with a percentage of 10.6 and were belted by a league record margin of 62.30 (402) to 0.1 (1) in July.
But McCoy said the club was about more than just winning.
“Many of our members come from ‘at risk’ backgrounds and use the club each week as an escape from reality — a safe place,” she said.
“If the club were to fold, even for just a year, it would affect our members in a very detrimental way.
“Our president has recruited a new executive committee who are qualified, competent and willing to stick with this club for the long haul, we just need our chance to thrive.”
As well as the GoFundMe page, Ardmona is also participating in the Toyota Good for Footy Raffle, where ticket proceeds all go back to the club.
KDFNL president Fraser Kerrins said the league had been meeting with Ardmona officials on a monthly basis.
“We’ve been working with them in finding ways to try and get more money into the club,” Kerrins told the Herald Sun.
“The club is obviously in some financial difficulty and we’re trying to support them through that.
“They need to show us they’re financially sustainable and sound and that their playing numbers are improving.”
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