It could be the storyline of Hollywood’s next kids movie: A committed group of Grasshoppers forced to fight of a bunch of hungry white ants.
But for PDFNL club Yarroweyah (the Hoppers) this has been the very scary reality after its main building was overrun with white ants.
The Hoppers’ social rooms, which contain the canteen, bar and function area, were deemed unsafe in November after the termite-like insects destroyed the roof structure.
With the club facing the grim task of forging on without it, a huge fundraising effort was launched to overhaul the building and get the Hoppers’ social hub in working order again.
While loyal club supporters and local businesses put their hands in their own pockets to help the rebuild occur, so too did the Moria Shire Council, who contributed $60,000 of funding to stage one of the repairs.
The final piece of the puzzle was secured last week with the announcement that Yarroweyah’s application for one of AFL Victoria’s Football Infrastructure Program (FIP) grants was successful.
Under the second stage of the FIP, which aims to provide matched funding to clubs looking to repair or upgrade facilities, the Hoppers were awarded the maximum $8,000 towards the project.
The pool of money was made available after the restructure of country football in 2011 which saw the VCFL become WorkSafe AFL Victoria Country. All FIP applications are assessed independently in terms of their level of local support, level of urgency and the impact the project will have.
Yarroweyah President Craig Opray said the FIP funding is crucial to getting the building open again.
"We really must thank AFL Goulburn Murray who helped us through the application process for the FIP grant," Opray said.
"Martin Gleeson and the guys there were fantastic and it’s a huge relief to have building open for the start of the season."
In response, AFL Goulburn Murray General Manager Martin Gleeson said the new commission was thrilled with the outcome. "We felt this was the sort of the project that fitted perfectly under the FIP grant criteria and we worked with Yarroweyah to help them through the application process," Gleeson said.
"We couldn’t be happier that they have been successful in obtaining funding to help complete their facilities."
"It’s terrific to be able to support one of the clubs in our region at a time when they need it most."
Yarroweyah is the 39th club to receive a FIP allocation since the program’s inception, with further announcements expected to be made in coming weeks.
Last Modified on 17/12/2014 10:06