Council working with flood-affected sports clubs
Date published: 13 March 2019
Townsville City Council is urging flood-affected sports clubs to reach out for help.
Council is checking on the welfare of clubs and offering links to support services for staff, volunteers and members.
Community and Cultural Development Committee Chair Councillor Colleen Doyle said flooded clubs can access a range of programs.
“We’ve spoken to a lot of clubs and many of them have suffered substantial damage,” Cr Doyle said.
“Essential infrastructure has been damaged and it’s had a massive impact on the people who give so much of their time to junior and senior sports.
“We’re helping staff and members from local sports clubs deal with the disaster by providing expert assistance.”
Council’s welfare questionnaire found three clubs estimated their damage bill was more than $250,000 each.
Nine clubs said their losses from the flood could be up to $250,000.
Councillor Maurie Soars – a veteran sports administrator – said clubs should make the most of the Council’s offer.
“I’d urge officials to touch base with Council and let us know how we can help,” Cr Soars said.
“We have a good rapport with a lot of clubs and we can sit down with them to talk about sport and more personal matters.
“Clubs have been working hard to get back on track but if they hit a trough at some stage we’ll be there to help them.”
Townsville Local Recovery and Resilience Group Chair Deputy Mayor Les Walker said sport has an important role to play in the recovery
“These sports want to return to normal as soon as possible and it’s our job to help them,” Cr Walker said.
“Kids want to get back to their normal routine, they want to get back to training and playing sport.
“We can guide the clubs through the recovery process.”
Sports organisations can apply for funding of up to $20,000 through the State Government’s Sport and Recreation Disaster Recovery Program
Residents can access Council’s sport flood recovery questionnaire here.
