Trevor Jackson
Kongorong Football Club has classed the Limestone Coast Regional Carnival a big success for the club itself and the wider football community in general.
However, it could have been much different, was it not for the band of volunteers who help keep the facilities up to scratch.
Club president Amanda Sealey said she arrived at the oval on Saturday morning only to find someone had driven a car on the oval on Friday night and ripped up parts of the grass.
The incident was caught on camera and the details have been handed to the police.
It was a disappointing situation for the club, with one of the biggest days on the calendar set to unfold.
The ground was meticulously prepared in readiness, then suddenly it was all hands on deck to ensure the games between the Mid South East, Western Border and Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara leagues went ahead without any disruption.
Sealey said the damage was not as bad as it could have been but left a big job for volunteers prior to the first bounce.
“Everything is done by volunteers which is the main kick in the guts,” she said.
“The whole club is run by volunteers and to have someone come in and do that right before such an important day really is a let down.
“I made a couple of phone calls in the morning and rallied the troops.
“They got out there and picked all the grassy bits, then ran over it with a ute with wide tyres to flatten it out, then filled in the deeper bits.
“The day was never in jeopardy but it is just annoying it happened.”
The day went ahead without any other issues but again it was the dedicated volunteers who had to change their own plans to ensure all would go to script.
“I have some committee members who are farmers and one dropped everything to come and help fix it,” Sealey said.
“He was coming later in the day to help in the stubby shed but he rearranged his day at the drop of a hat to come and help.
“You always struggle to get people to put their hand up but they always seem to turn up when we need them.
“We have really good people and that makes a huge difference in any club.
“You need a strong band of volunteers to get the job done.”
While the act did not affect the football on the day, Sealey was quite stern in her assessment.
“It is jut a dog act really,” she said.
“I don’t get it.
“Whether they were disgruntled they didn’t get selected or something I don’t know.
“I would hate to think it was a Mid South East person but who knows.
“It could be just someone who had no ties to football and simply wanted to wreak a bit of havoc.”
At the end of the day Sealey said it simply showed the dedication of the club’s members and from there everything went to plan.
“It all turned out well in the end,” she said.
“The rain held off and it was quite a reasonable day.
“The club did well through all the catering and it just put a dampener on the start of the day.
“It is all about making the best out of it and pushing on.”
