Beaudesert and District Netball Association President Deb Love has welcomed $95,782 in funding from the Gambling Community Benefit fund.
The grant will allow the Club to put grass courts on three bitumen courts that have been unusable for approximately ten years due to the deterioration of the current surface.
“To replace one bitumen court with bitumen is $180,000 and we don’t have that sort of money, so we decided to go with grass courts,” said Deb.
“We haven’t used those three courts for eight to ten years. They are just too dangerous.”
“At least this way having the grass they can play on the courts, especially for competitions such as the Kingfisher Cup and District Trials. Grass courts are better than no courts.”
The Kingfisher Cup was held in Jimboomba in 2023 but the Association is hoping it will return to Beaudesert this year.
When the work is done on the courts, the drainage will also be redone which they hope will improve the overall drainage on the premises.
The work is being done by local company Haack Earthmoving and will commence in January, to be completed by the time the season starts in March this year.
The same company will also linemark the fields at the Kingfisher grounds across the road and the grass netball courts for the next 12 months.
State Member for Scenic Rim, Jon Krause who provided a letter of support for the Club’s grant application, came to the grounds to congratulate the committee on their successful grant application.
“For a couple of years, it’s been on my radar to try and help fix up these courts. I was only too happy to support this grant application, and it’s fantastic that it succeeded,” he said.
“Improved facilities encourage more players, and also help local clubs bring more visiting teams to Beaudesert for carnivals.”
“The Beaudesert District Netball Association has over 200 participants, and for the district it’s an important way for people to get involved or be around sport. It’s not just about the players, but their families, coaches, umpires and others involved in the whole organisation.”
“I know they have worked really hard to fundraise for improvements, and this grant will help that money to go further on upgrading courts that haven’t been able to be used for some time due to the poor condition.”
“Well done to Deb Love and all the team!”
The Association, which has members aged from five years to seniors, also received $20,000 from Scenic Rim Regional Council to undertake patch repairs on the newer existing courts.
Deb says the next goal is to improve the lighting at the grounds, something she is already working towards.
“If we can’t get big, big money, then let’s just chip away and keep the grounds open and active.”
“We have a big focus on the girls. The main thing is that our players are happy and developing and loving their netball.”
“We will keep doing what we can to make sure we’ve got quality netball in Beaudesert.”
The Club is set for an exciting season with registration now open and grading and trials beginning on 12 March.
