Thursday 2^nd July 2020

Community sport in West Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley is an integral part of our community and this support will help them pay the bills and make a return to play that little bit easier.

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing today announced that 27 grants of $1,000 have so far been approved in West Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley from the Government’s Community Sport Sector COVID-19 Survival Package.

The successful clubs are:

• Nar Nar Goon Netball Club Inc
• Ex Students Cricket Club
• Glengarry Junior Football Club
• Latrobe Valley Yacht Club Inc
• Pax Hill Junior Football Club
• Target Rifle Traralgon
• Toongabbie and District Pony Club Inc
• Traralgon Table Tennis Association Inc
• West End Junior Football Club
• Churchill Amateur Basketball Association
• Jeeralang-Boolarra Football Club
• Latrobe Cricket Club
• Morwell Bowling Club and Recreation Centre Inc
• Newborough Bulldogs Junior Football Club Inc
• Twin City Archers Gippsland Inc
• Blackbridge Cricket Club Incorporated
• Buln Buln Cricket Club
• Bunyip and District Soccer Club
• Bunyip Bulls Basketball Club Inc
• Bunyip Netball Club Inc
• Bunyip Tennis Club Inc
• Ellinbank Football and Netball Club
• Neerim-Neerim South Football Netball Club
• Thorpdale Cricket Club
• Trafalgar Tennis Club
• Warragul Sporting and Social Club
• Moe Lions Junior Football Club Inc

These are the first grants from the State Government’s $40 million community sport package that will make it that little bit easier for clubs to support players and volunteers as Victorians start to train together again and look to a return to competition.

Sport and active recreation clubs and associations have been hit hard by the coronavirus shutdown and these grants are a key part of the Government’s investment in supporting the community in these challenging times.

With more than three million Victorians involved in community sport and recreation, we know that getting back on the field or court is important to Victorians – that’s why we are getting behind 12,000 clubs and associations across the state.

The Community Sport Sector COVID-19 Survival Package has four categories: grants of up to $350,000 for large state sporting associations; grants of up to $200,000 for smaller state sporting associations, regional sports assemblies and academies and other state sport and recreational bodies; grants of up to $15,000 for associations and leagues; and grants of $1,000 for individual clubs.

Applications have now closed. For further information and other grant opportunities visit sport.vic.gov.au/grants-and-funding.

The Government is also getting on with shovel-ready community sport and active recreation infrastructure projects across the state, investing $68 million to stimulate jobs and economic activity and deliver fantastic new projects to local communities as part of the new $2.7 billion Building Works package.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“Clubs in West Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley are an integral part of our community and this support will help them pay the bills and make an eventual return to play that little bit easier.”

“Ensuring community sport and active recreation organisations survive this crisis and come back better than ever is critical to our economic and social recovery, and to our community’s physical and mental wellbeing.”

“We know that people in West Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley want to get out on the park and represent their local club more than ever – we’re working hard to make that happen and give local clubs the help they deserve.”