Country towns lose social connection as threat of no footy looms
The costs of a year with no football are already being felt by community members and local businesses in country towns. And it is the social impact that locals fear will be most severe.
THE social fabric of hundreds of rural communities is at risk as winter sporting competitions look likely to disappear this year.
More than a dozen Victorian country football and netball leagues have already abandoned their 2020 premiership seasons due to coronavirus restrictions, including major leagues Central Murray, Geelong and Hampden. Western Border joined the list on Monday night, while nearby Horsham District announced its season was cancelled yesterday.
Other leagues are waiting on further government announcements about coronavirus restrictions before deciding whether a season is viable.
While the delay or scrapping of the football seasons will have financial impact on local businesses, it is the social impact that locals are also fearing.
“It’s extremely important, especially this time of year,” Sea Lake-Nandaly club president Colin Durie said.
“We encompass the Nandaly community, Culgoa, Berriwillock, Woomelang, Sea Lake — there is five communities there within a 70-odd kilometre radius that, at this stage, haven’t been able to interact in what would have been the norm. It’s had a huge impact.
“It’s sort of shone a light on how important to the community that our football, netball and hockey club really is, and how integral it is within the community.”
The pressure on volunteers to enforce and comply with government restrictions, financial implications and concerns about generating revenue, the timeline for trying to schedule a season, and the risk to the health of coronavirus were just some of the reasons leagues called off their seasons.
Heathcote District league was the first competition in Victoria to call off its season. President Peter Cole described making the call as “traumatic”, but justified.
He said it would have a “big flow-on effect”.
“We’ve just got to make sure everyone is OK, because at the end of the day … we’re only kicking a leather ball around and throwing a ball into a ring but it is much more important than that,” Mr Cole said.
“It is the lifestyle for a lot of our elderly people — they park in the same spot at the ground every week and they arrive with their sandwiches and all that sort of stuff, and they meet Doris and Bill who park three doors up, go have lunch with them and then watch their grandchildren and all that sort of stuff. It’s tribal.”
The Victorian Government announced over the weekend that senior football could resume from Monday July 20 – a week after a return to full contact training is permitted.
The issue of crowds has been, and continues to be, a major consideration for leagues when making the decision about their seasons, and not just because of the revenue they generate through gatetakings and food and drink sales.
“For us, our football is all about community and social interaction with our community and our friends and our opposition. Without having crowds, it took right away from really the reason why we do it,” Mr Durie said.
“We thought if we couldn’t all get together and enjoy football, netball and hockey (in our instance in our league), then really what is the point? That’s what we’re all about.”
Local businesses with ties to local football clubs and leagues also pointed to the impact the interruptions to season 2020 would have on their towns.
Sharp’s Bakery in Birchip would normally supply pies to Birchip-Watchem and Nullawil football clubs for their home games – 16 matches in total. The leagues those clubs play in, North Central and Golden Rivers respectively, have both cancelled their football seasons.
Tara Sharp said the bakery would also lose business from people travelling through on the way to games in other nearby towns, as well as other supplies for club meals and fundraising pie drives.
But Mrs Sharp, who is the treasurer of the local footy club while her husband Brad is junior vice-president, says the bakery has been well supported by locals.
She says it will be “pretty quiet” without football this year for her family.
“We’ve got three young children, and obviously they loved having a day out at the footy. It’s a great social day out for all of us, really,” she said.
“We’ve really noticed the social aspects of it. Everyone else is in the same boat though, and we’re all just hoping it is just a one year thing and hopefully things return to normal next year.”
The Commercial Hotel Yarram is considered the “spiritual home” of the local football club as that was where the club was founded, said hotel manager Tomm Cassidy.
That club’s competition, North Gippsland, remains on hold.
Mr Cassidy said the support and passion for the club was unlike anything he had experienced before arriving in Yarram four years ago
“If it doesn’t go ahead, you just lose a little bit of that community, the community involvement, that a town like Yarram is very good at having because we are a small community,” Mr Cassidy said.
“It is not the end of the world, obviously, there are more pressing matters in the world than whether we play footy or not, but for a small community like Yarram it is probably a lot more important than a lot of other places.
“The sense of community, the sense of pride in the community and the town, and what the netballers and footballers do, does have an impact on the whole ambience of the town, it really does.”
Sportspower Colac owner David Baulch said his business sponsors about 90 per cent of the local clubs, which covers mainly Colac and District league clubs as well as Colac in the Geelong Football League. Both those competitions were called off last week, which Mr Baulch said was “the right decision”.
He is carrying $100,000 worth of football and netball stock in his store, but no one is buying. He says he will be able to sell it all at some stage, but some will need to be discounted when new ranges come in next year. Football would normally bring a steady stream of business over Saturdays during the season, so foot traffic is also down.
“It is more the social side I think that will be affected,” Mr Baulch said.
In response to questions about allowing crowds into community football matches, a government spokesman said it would have “more to say about crowds at community sporting events in due course”.
AFL Victoria said the AFL was working with the State Government on the issue and was “hopeful and optimistic footy fans will get to their local footy this year”.
Despite the cancellation of seasons, many leagues are still pushing to hold junior football competitions this year.
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