It’s hard enough for many netball clubs to maintain just one playing venue, and yet Carngham Linton Football Netball Club manages two home grounds throughout their season, and has done so for over 50 years.
It can be challenging splitting time between two locations, but the club's committee take it all in their stride, ensuring the safety of players at both grounds year-round in the Central Highlands league.
Following several work and safety initiatives implemented by the club, the Carngham Linton Football Netball Club was named joint winner of the WorkSafe Safety Initiative award in the 2021 Netball Victoria Community Awards.
2021 marked a major milestone for the club with the opening of new female-friendly change rooms at the Carngham ground in Snake Valley (located about 30 minutes west of Ballarat).
Replacing a simple tin shelter, the grounds now have separate change rooms with bathrooms and showers for both the home and away teams, a first aid room, rooms for umpires, an equipment storage room, administration office, accessible toilet/family change room, and a verandah.
“I think we were all shell shocked to be honest,” said Ally Clack, Netball Director of Carngham Linton Football Netball Club, upon seeing the new facilities for the first time. “The girls were too scared to go in at first – they didn’t realise they could! It was overwhelming to be honest, to go from the type of the facility we had before, to come to this beautiful new building and realise it was actually theirs.”
The facilities have greatly improved the comfort of women at the club who were previously reliant on nearby football rooms for their first aid and treatment. Parents, carers, and volunteers are also ecstatic to no longer be completely subject to the elements when watching or scoring early morning games.
Almost half of the new $500,000 facility was funded by the local Pyrenees Shire Council, with an additional $200,000 from the State Government as part of the Female Friendly Facilities Fund. Clack is incredibly grateful for the funding and volunteers from Carngham Recreation Reserve who made the project happen, and hopes the new facilities will see more players join the club.
“It goes in our favour that we have something to offer new players…It’s a great showcase and selling point to come down to these beautiful facilities,” she said.
Following the opening of the female-friendly change rooms in mid-2021, the requirement to pressure clean the court was identified. Despite limited finances, Carngham Linton Football Netball Club didn’t hesitate to have the court professionally cleaned to game day standards to ensure everyone’s safety. “It complements our new facilities wonderfully,” said Clack.
Carngham Linton Football Netball Club also invested in additional squeegees in 2021 to allow easy cleaning of both their home ground courts post rainfall. The investment has been a game changer for Clack, who previously lugged the equipment between the two venues.
The $2000 prize money from the WorkSafe initiative of the Year award will go towards paying off the cost of this equipment and pressure cleaning.
Carngham Linton Football Netball Club further demonstrate WorkSafe values in their commitment to inclusivity and community building. Clack was born and bred in the area and is enthusiastic about enriching the experience of locals through the club’s engagement with members. Thursday nights for example involve training, followed by dinner with the junior players and parents.
“It’s a family atmosphere and you make good friends. The amount of people I’ve come in contact with over my eight years as netball director is unbelievable.”
“You don’t just play and go home – in a country association it’s actually a day out for you.”
Club members also benefit from the incredible dedication of volunteers such as Clack, who will be down at the netball courts from 7am to 5pm during the season.
