The Breakers committee in 2013 consists of;

Glen Farrow - President; Lynden Griffiths - Vice President, Megan Hewitt - Treasurer; Garry Brackley; Randall Maher; Tim Morrow; Mal Thomas; Frank Kraus (new in 2013); Kym Anderson (new in 2013)

** note - There were no nominations received for the position of Club Secretary.  The Breakers are seeking a passionate Breaker to take on the important role of club secretary in 2013.  Anyone interested should contact either Lynden Griffiths or Glen Farrow to discuss further.

Presidents Report

Did Coolum Beach JAFC adequately provide a rich football and team sport environment for its players in 2012? Was it an environment that contained excitement and opportunity? Although this is a subjective question, I believe the answer is an overwhelming yes and congratulations to all involved. Some key moments/achievements throughout the season included;

The Under 10’s playing at half time at both the Brisbane v’s Carlton game at Maroochydore and also a few weeks later at the GABBA.

• Brianna Noel representing the Breakers at the launch of the Youth Girls competition and getting to meet Michael Voss, Jonathon Brown and Josh Drummond.
• An ANZAC day celebration to reflect upon how lucky we are.
• Being one of 6 AFLSC clubs to provide a girls team in the inaugural AFLSC Youth Girls competition.
• First Chelsea Ansell and then Tom Ansell being recognised and selected as Queensland state representative footballers.
• The launch of the Breakers first In-Season Auskick program for 5-8 year olds known as the Shore Breakers.
• A gym based program at Undisputed Fitness above and beyond the standard football training sessions for extra fitness and activity aimed mainly at the Under 14’s & 16’s.
• Finishing the year with more Under 8’s players than what we started with.
• Pie nights and presentation day.
• Finals football experiences for all of the youth team age levels including youth girls.
• The first Breakers premiership achieved in Under 12 Division 1 much to the delight of the whole club.

The club has played a key role in providing all of the above. This indicates to me that we have the passion, the desire, the energy and importantly the inclination as a club to provide a sporting environment full of opportunities for our young players. If we can consistently continue this, it will form a culture that our club becomes known for if it is not already. Parents and children are voting with their feet in wanting to be part of the Breakers with another year of significant growth when other junior AFL clubs on the coast struggle to maintain their levels of participation.

Player Participation

After growth in player participation of 19% in 2011, the Breakers had 132 registered players in 2012 (up from 98 in 2011) which was an increase of 35% on last year. This was due mainly to the addition of an all girls football team, also fielding teams in both Division 1 & 2 in Under 12’s and 25% more Under 8’s playing in 2012. It was great to have a successful year in Under 8’s after a disappointing program the year earlier. With the 22 registered Auskick players (Shore Breakers), the Breakers provided for over 150 AFL participants at Coolum in 2012.

Coaching numbers were up substantially as well. At the Level 1 coaching course held at Nambour in April, the club had 9 new coaches attend for accreditation. There were 4 at the Level 2 coaching course. The 9 newly accredited coaches were terrific contributors during the season and will go on next year and allow the club to start the new season in 2013 with a terrific coaching group to choose from in Under 8’s & Under 10’s. The Youth Football coaches in 2012 were brilliant. Their record speaks for itself with all age levels experiencing finals football. Names like Craig Trahar, Garry Brackley, Randall Maher, John Boykett, Tim Morrow & Lynden Griffiths have all been long term contributors to this club and the footballing success they achieved with their teams in 2012 is due to their significant contributions over a sustained period with the club. It would be terrific for the club and its players in 2013 if these men were able to continue to offer our players the quality coaching that they clearly provide.

Facilities

Outside of football, the biggest item on the table for this football club over the next 3 years is to develop the AFL facilities at the High School. The current agreement between Coolum Beach JAFC and Coolum High School to play AFL at the school expires in October 2015 giving us a further 3 football seasons. There is no reason why the partnership should not continue long after that however this will depend on the club’s ability to develop facilities for the good of both the club and the school. Do not underestimate this partnership the club has with the school. It can be frustrating at times (when it rains) however I know I have questioned on more than one occasion what the alternative might be - if there was one. The reality is that the club has been able to grow and establish itself in recent times because we are at the High School. Other sporting clubs in Coolum are restricted from growing participation because of challenges with their own facilities.

Thanks to the in-kind support provided by Frank Kraus from Sundraft (a dedicated Breakers parent) we have conceptual plans drawn for the construction of a purpose built canteen and storage facility. This would be located next to the existing toilet block at the southern end of the existing sporting field. Mike Ingamells (builder and another dedicated Breakers parent) has quoted the costs of construction to be $110,000 approx. To date we have secured the following funding;

• Sunshine Coast Regional Council                    $30,000 (or 25% of total costs – whichever is the higher)
• AFLQ                                                           $15,000
• Jupiter’s Gambling Community Fund               $6,200 (canteen appliances and equipment)
• Coolum Beach Breakers                                 $10,000

The club has been unsuccessful in 4 rounds of announcements from Gambling Community Benefit Fund to secure another $35,000 that was applied for in November 2011. In a change of tack, we recently applied to Jupiter’s (again) for the amount of $54,000 this time to add to the $6,200 they have already approved and paid for canteen equipment. The results of this application are due in the coming weeks. Also there has been a recent announcement from Sport & Rec Queensland for grant opportunities up to $100,000 that the Breakers will also apply for.

I note with interest that Kawana Park Juniors have received funding for over $500,000 worth of improvements to the Kawana State High School in the last 2 years. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of our new committee in 2013 and future committee’s to work as hard as possible towards achieving similar results for the Breakers and the Coolum High School.

Throughout the year I have held separate talks with Ms. Fiona Simpson MP, Sunshine Coast Regional Council officers, AFLQ and the Principle Lee Goosens from the school about the possibility of one day developing the land owned by Education Queensland situated between the existing high school sports fields and Emu Mountain Road to the north for AFL football and other field sports. Initial discussions have been extremely positive. Very recently I have been made aware of separate meetings held between Ms. Fiona Simpson and the school, between AFLQ and the council as well as dialogue between Ms. Simpson and local council about this proposal without my presence. It’s heartening to know that discussion is now being held between parties without the Coolum Beach AFL Juniors’ agenda driving it. Perhaps our dreams will come true one day and we will have a purpose built AFL facility in Coolum for use by the Coolum Beach Breakers.

Finances

The role of the club is not to post profits but to be financial and provide for its players. In 2012 that was definitely the case and a special thanks to Megan Hewitt for the job done in documenting this. The club is bigger and more active than ever before and this transcends through all the management areas of the club. In 2010 there was $27,000 worth of P & L entries and in 2012 there was over $56,000 worth of entries, over twice as much. If the extra teams, extra coaches and volunteers, higher canteen takings etc. were not enough indication of increased activity around the club in 2012 then 100% more income and expenditure in the P&L’s sure is.

It is important to point out that a grant of $6200 is included in the final P & L for the year. This money was applied for and granted for the purchase of canteen appliances and equipment. This money will either be acquitted or repaid to Jupiter’s Gambling Community Benefit Fund if not utilised. Accordingly the final Net Income recorded of $8,828.11 would come down to $2628.11 which is more in line with Net Income’s produced in previous years.

The great news is that the budget set down by the committee before the season proved to be an accurate reflection of club activity both in and out. The obvious blow out of expenses was for the cost of providing First Aid at all home games, something that will need some attention from the committee in 2013.

Social media & Communication

The highlight for me in 2012 administratively was the uptake of our Facebook page and website by our members and supporters. With the commitment of Tim (Timoweb) Johnson and Lynden Griffiths keeping content both relevant and interesting our Facebook ‘likes’ have climbed to 181 and the website has seen some staggering traffic. Below is a chart of the amount of ‘page requests’ each month for the official club website. In the three days after the Under 12 Division 1 premiership there were just over 2000 page requests! That is a lot of people using our website a lot of times. This website now becomes an important tool of communication for us inside and outside the club and possibly a valuable internal asset that we can offer in return for sponsorship.

Some further website tasks over the summer will include the creation of a ‘Trophy Room’ for acknowledgement of our award winners and some other focuses on club history. Another big thank you to Tim Johnson and Lynden Griffiths for keeping our club connected to our players and families.

Breakers Management Committee

To the 2012 committee, what a terrific year. We didn’t know it at the time but we have taken ‘little Coolum’ and created the 5^th largest junior footy club on the coast with greater player numbers than established clubs such as Bribie Island, Glasshouse & Hinterland, Nambour & Hinterland, Northshore, Pomona and Gympie. Only Maroochydore, Kawana, Caloundra and Noosa have greater representation than the Breakers. We’re going ok. I’ve mentioned before that a club is 99% people. The right people is all we need and what we’ve got - although it would be nice to have a club house sooner rather than later.

So, on that note we pass over to the committee of 2013 with premiership cheers in the background. It would be remiss of me not to mention one of my favourite footballing moments of the year being the first Breakers Premiership in the club’s short history won by the Under 12 Division 1 team of 2012. Special congratulations must go to all of the players, coaches and parents involved in the Under 12 age group. This was no fluke this premiership although I am sure it surprised many especially being at Division 1 level. Tim Morrow and Lynden Griffiths have brought these players through as a strong group over the last 4 years now and have kept them together and enjoying their football. Of course it helps when you also have a 6 foot tall 12 year old that can kick and mark. The better news is that the majority of that team will go around again in Under 12’s next year. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how good this team can become. Stand by for some more success and quality moments at this football club.

Go Breakers!