Impact of Wet Weather on the Season
Hi everyone, Laura Cowell here, President of the Sutherland Shire Football Association. Due to the heavy rains we have been experiencing we have had to postpone our Saturday and Sunday football rounds multiple times.
I know how disappointing this is for all our players who register to play in our competition, coaches & managers who volunteer there time to prepare their teams, and club volunteers who invest time and money to prepare for game day.
I understand the frustration and the impact this has on our community. However, safety always comes first, and playing on waterlogged fields can cause injuries.
With over 19,900 players across 63 fields, managing our resources during adverse weather conditions is a significant challenge.
When our fields are washed out and unplayable, there is often no alternative but to postpone or cancel the round.
Our wet weather volunteers across club and SSFA executive spend many hours inspecting fields and collating the data to move games.
We simply do not have enough alternative venues to accommodate everyone.
I want to assure you that we’re actively working with the council to address these issues.
We have identified priority fields for improved drainage and irrigation systems to better handle these weather challenges.
There is a lighting upgrade project so that we can play on Friday evenings and later on weekends. This will help ensure that our fields are in the best possible condition, and hopefully reducing the likelihood of future cancellations. We are also supporting grant applications.
In the last grant round there was over 212 applications across NSW with 26 successful. None of the successful applicants were in the Sutherland Shire. This clearly demonstrates a need for the NSW Government to continue and expand grant programs specifically related to improving the infrastructure for sport.
We are excited about the Hybrid Synthetic trial currently underway at Harrie Dening.
This innovative solution has the potential to provide a more durable and weather-resistant playing surface.
If successful, we plan to work with Council to roll out hybrid synthetic fields across the Shire to provide more reliable playing conditions for our community.
I also want to address a question many of you have raised regarding the fees being charged.
I believe in transparency and want you to know exactly where your money goes.
I understand your concerns, and I want to clarify how these fees are broken down.
The total fee is split into four parts.
First up Football Australia charges a fixed amount to cover national administration and development.
Second, Football NSW charges their fixed amount for state-level administration and programs.
Thirdly the Sutherland Shire Football Association charges fees via two components;
1. A Registration fee to cover the costs of registering players, grading, initial draw preparation and initial costs (this also supports the administration of the local competitions, facilities, and development initiatives.
2. A fee per match that is played that covers ongoing costs to administer the competition. So if football is not played on the weekend the SSFA does not earn any income although it is still incurring costs.
And finally Your club charges an amount to cover club-specific expenses such as equipment, line marking, field lighting, maintenance, canteen stock etc
I want to highlight that our clubs and the SSFA executive are all volunteers. These dedicated individuals all want to play as much football as possible and are doing their best to ensure that football continues to grow in our community. Their hard work and commitment are what makes our association strong.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to seeing you back on the field soon. In the meantime please do contact your respective club contact if you have any questions or ideas that you would like the club to raise at a future General meeting of Clubs.
