THE impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Limestone Coast sport clubs could be felt far and wide as many continue to struggle with the financial burden of the virus.
A recent survey conducted by the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) has revealed one in four clubs nationally fear insolvency if funding support is not provided within the next six months.
Community sports clubs have already lost an estimated $1.6b due to COVID-19 and with lockdowns continuing in parts of Australia, this figure is set to rise.
The survey found Australia’s 70,000 community sports clubs need funding support to the tune of $1.2b to survive the effects of the crisis.
Lower South East Hockey Association president Lochie Nisbet revealed the competition’s clubs have had to do some “financial digging” to get through the last few months.
“As an association, we have had to reduce our fees by 20pc and a couple of clubs have certainly been struggling,” he said.
“They are the crust of all this and our biggest focus was to try and reduce the costs for them.”
Highlighting the benefits of recent Mount Gambier City Council community grants, Mr Nisbet said any further financial assistance would be welcomed by the sporting sector as a whole.
“We were able to secure a $20,000 grant from the council’s COVID-19 stimulus package to install solar panels at our clubrooms, which significantly reduced the operating costs of the lights,” he said.
“It would be great to see some more funding come from somewhere to be spread throughout community sporting clubs to help them survive.”
Mount Gambier Netball Association president Jodie Cook said the full impact of COVID-19 on the major competition probably would not be realised until next season.
“We are managing our way through this year, it has been tough, but we are finding a way,” Ms Cook said.
“No-one will really know the impact on individual
clubs until next year as they have to wait and see if they will retain members.”
On top of the financial impact, 70pc of small local clubs in Australia are forecasting a reduction in the number of participants due to loss of interest caused by the period of inactivity and concerns around health and hygiene Ms Cook feared one of the association’s clubs could become a victim of the pandemic’s economic impact.
“We have always kept our fees pretty low, but it is hard to know whether we will be able to retain members, with some starting to play other sports,” she said.
“Funding for clubs on the other side of this is certainly going to be warranted.”
Australian Sports Foundation chief executive Patrick Walker said this was not just a sporting crisis.
“It is a national crisis,” Mr Walker said.
“To solve a problem of this scale requires a collaborative approach, so we are calling on all who care about the role of sport in creating healthy, inclusive communities to help us fund grassroots sport’s recovery.”
He said for the most at risk clubs – those needing support within three months – the amount needed is estimated at $300m, with a further $400m of support for those at risk within six months.
The Nangwarry Football Netball Club is one club that faced challenges on and off the field in recent years, but president Shane Ploenges said the club was in a good position to bounce back post COVID-19.
“We were a b i t disappointed there is no senior footy for us this year, but to get something going for the kids was really important and our senior colts numbers are probably the best they have ever been,” he said.
“We are hopeful our new clubrooms will be up and going for the start of next season and we are confident we can chase up some good numbers to go again.”
Member for Barker Tony Pasin said the Federal Government would consider the findings of the ASF report.
“I understand that community sport is vitally important to our society, particularly in rural and regional communities and many clubs are going through a significant challenge at this time,” Mr Pasin said.
“Any decisions in relation to federal funding for community sport will be considered as part of the wider budget process.”
However, he said the focus remained on the health of Australians and trying to get them back to work.
“ By supporting communities stay healthy and supporting jobs we can ensure community sporting clubs get back to businesses as soon as possible,” he said.
