2021 Australia Day Award - Community Event of the Year
Presented to the Latrobe Football Club
2020 provided many COVID-19 related challenges for the Latrobe Municipality and our region, not the least of which was the cancellation of many activities and events along with the associated impact of those cancellations on the social fabric of our community.
The Latrobe Football Club were fully aware of the detrimental impact the pandemic was having on the mental health of the citizens of Latrobe and the wider community. They believed that they needed to provide the community with some sense of normality and positivity. In tandem with the swift action of the Tasmanian Government in managing the pandemic, the Latrobe Football Club made an informed decision to participate in the 2020 NWFL roster, and in doing so, they provided our community with something positive to look forward to at a time when all else seemed far from normal.
The workload this created was significant and there were many challenges as the club navigated a raft of regulations and ever-changing rules. With many eyes watching their every move, the club put a plan in place and revised it numerous times. Their committee, made up of a group of volunteers who worked tirelessly, were able to address all related safety concerns. At the forefront of their planning, was the need to ensure regulatory compliance and the safety and wellbeing of their players, members, supporters, and the wider community always came first.
The positives that came from getting local football back up and running were many. Players from the youngest Auskick participants, through to the juniors and seniors, all took to the field. As a result, community members had something to do, something to look forward to and something that held hope for a brighter future and return to some sense of normality. The feedback from players, parents, supporters, and sponsors was all positive and it created a wonderful community vibe. The opportunity to undertake physical activity in a team and club environment was an obvious benefit but probably more importantly the benefits to mental health and wellbeing could not be understated.
The Latrobe Football Club led the way in our community and demonstrated that it was possible to hold an event. It was not always perfect and making changes and improvements on the run became the norm.
The Latrobe Football Club was rewarded for its efforts in managing COVID-19 by being granted all the senior finals games for the NWFL competition. With crowd numbers increasing to 1,000 for the last few weeks of the finals, the Club again demonstrated that it is possible to safely host a successful event and at the same time comply with Covid guidelines.
To their credit the Latrobe Football Club openly shared its experiences and COVID-19 management plans with others considering community or sporting events.
All the hard work was worth it and created so many positives. The club is quite rightly proud of its achievements, but it would not have been possible if not for the support of the other clubs, the NWFL, the Latrobe Council and all those people who went along to support the Club’s efforts.
The Australia Day Community Event of the Year Award for 2021 was presented to Club President, Greg Donald, in recognition of the staging of the 2020 NWFL roster series and senior finals games at Latrobe during what were and remain, unprecedented times.