Charlotte Varcoe
Kalangadoo Netball Club players will be playing on a top quality playing surface next season, thanks to a $166,500 grant from the state government.
The Community Recreation and Sport Facilities Program grant will enable the netball club to finalise its $250,000 court resurfacing project which had been in the pipeline for a number of years.
Works will include removing two of the current courts with accurate disposal and complete reconstruction.
Club president Jayde Peacock said the club was “extremely excited” and “very grateful” to have received the grant.
“We have been on this journey for a couple of years now,” Ms Peacock said.
“We have three netball courts at our site and works will include the reconstruction of the two unsafe courts including the provision of a new asphalt base system and a Rebound Synpave surface.”
“Our courts have deteriorated quite a bit over the last few years and with water rising to the surface, causing surface cracks which are obviously unsafe for players and causing trip hazards,” Ms Peacock said.
“This will allow us to provide a safe playing surface for players and the wider Kalangadoo Community.”
Alongside the state government grant, the Kalangadoo Netball Club was last year successful in receiving funding from the Wattle Range Council Community Infrastructure Grant program to assist with the project while also putting in funding itself.
It comes following recent redevelopments of the club facilities change room facilities which had benefited both the netball and football club.
“There are a lot more chapters in the revamp for the area but resurfacing the courts has been a huge priority of the club for the last 10 years,” Ms Peacock said.
“It is something we have been working towards and knowing we had to go back and completely reconstruct the base system was a big task.”
She said the two courts would soon be ripped up and disposed, with a new court system being reinstated including the asphalt base and a new court surface on top.
“This season we will be playing on the asphalt surface until the summertime when we will be able to install the Synpave finisher on top,” Ms Peacock said.
“The players are pretty proud and excited to be able to use these facilities.”
As for other clubs across the region looking to resurface and continue with projects at their facilities, Ms Peacock encouraged them to keep applying for grants.
“The Netball Club has applied for many grants around this project, so I encourage other sporting and community groups in a similar position to persist with applying for grants,” she said.
Other Limestone Coast clubs which received funding included Glencoe Football Club which received $50,000 to upgrade four existing light towers.
The Naracoorte and District Hockey Association also received $89,700 to construct two unisex change rooms and a disabled unisex toilet facility.
