Rochester Netball Association and Rochester Football Netball Club players will enjoy new courts thanks to a $99,000 grant.
Photo by
Jordan Townrow
Rochester netballers will soon be playing on refurbished courts.
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The Victorian Government’s Country Football and Netball Program is providing seven facilities across the state with funding for upgrades, including Rochester Recreation Reserve.
State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes announced a $99,000 grant to resurface five netball courts from asphalt to acrylic, including line marking for netball, and to replace netball posts, rings and padding.
“Footy and netball clubs are the heart and soul of Murray Plains,” she said.
“This boost will go a long way to helping the mighty Rochester Tigers cater for the growing numbers of people keen to get involved in grassroots sport, providing more opportunities for locals to get active and play the sport they love.”
Along with the $99,000 Victorian Government grant, the clubs have contributed $16,500 each, making for a $132,000 upgrade.
Netballers will be shooting through new hoops soon.
Photo by
Jordan Townrow
Rochester Netball Association president Jac Rasmussen was happy to see the funding, which will support netballers from their beginnings in NetSetGo until the end of their careers.
“It’s the future of netball in Rochester,” she said.
“So many girls that play at RNA come up through the ranks and play senior netball at Rochy.
“It’s great, fixing the courts at grassroots level.”
The funding will also support the Rochester Netball Invitational, held annually around March, but has been on hold since the 2022 edition.
“We used to run our invitational here that brought over 550 people — coaches, umpires, players — to town,” Mrs Rasmussen said.
“We haven’t been able to run that since the floods because our courts haven’t been up to quality.”
Club members are hoping to get construction going in September, dependent on whether Rochester is chosen as a finals location.
The grant is part a $1.4 million funding round of the Country Football and Netball Program.
Applications are open for the next funding round, with clubs invited to apply for grants of up to $250,000, supporting projects like ground upgrades, renovations to change rooms and new pavilions.
“Nothing brings regional communities together like country footy and netball,” Victorian Community Sport Minister Ros Spence said.
“Through this program, we’re supporting hundreds of clubs by giving them facilities the whole community can enjoy and get around.”
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