St Albans Netball Club is one of eight Brimbank sporting clubs to receive funding in the latest round of the state government’s sporting clubs grants program.
Club treasurer Allison Burns said the grant went into funding team uniforms.
“We wanted to use that money to get uniforms for players to represent our club on a bigger scale within a bigger community,” said Ms Burns.
Acting Community Sport Minister Gayle Tierney said the grants help sports clubs to better support their local communities.
“These grants create real opportunities for the people at the heart of local sport, helping players grow, volunteers stay engaged, and coaches give their best both on and off the field,” she said.
The netball club was formed in October last year, and started actively recruiting players in January.
There were initially five teams but rapidly increasing community interest meant the club expanded to 17 teams.
“There was a huge demand … obviously we weren’t expecting it,” said Ms Burns.
A previous grant from Brimbank council helped the club accommodate the surge of new players.
Ms Burns said the council and state government grants have also helped to reduce financial pressure for club members.
“We’ve been able to subsidise costs for families and engage these kids and keep them in sport, and give them a purpose outside of school,” Ms Burns said.
“We’re trying to give [kids] a place of community, and a place where they can feel part of something and learn to be a part of a team.”
