Victorian football and netball clubs – including at Wallan, Lancefield and Broadford – will share in more than $600,000 rewarding efforts in campaigning to eliminate road trauma in their communities.
The Transport Accident Commission, TAC, Club Rewards Program gives grassroots football and netball clubs the opportunity to earn a share in the funding by participating in a campaign to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the road.
All AFL Victoria-aligned clubs across regional Victoria and metropolitan leagues could apply and earn up to $10,000 in funding by promoting road safety in their community with distracted driving a key focus this year.
Delivered in partnership with AFL Victoria, 251 clubs will receive up to $10,000 – the highest number of recipients in the program’s five years.
Wallan Football Netball Club and Wallan Junior Football Club, WJFC, were two of the grant recipients.
WJFC child safety and player welfare officer Michelle Gussenhoven said the club wanted to go beyond the TAC round hosted by majority of the clubs each year.
“Most of the time we have the coaches before the games just have a chat about the importance of road safety and we all wear the TAC armbands. This year we wanted to take it that step further,” she said.
“We have many players that are ‘L’ or ‘P’ platers driving to and from games and training around our younger players running around our club carparks.
“So we wanted to promote the importance of safe driving around our ovals – to watch out for young ones that are still learning road safety and our parents or guardians to be patient with our new drivers. Also the importance of not distracting your driver.”
Leading up to the TAC round, clubs must meet the criteria including placing posters around the club, posting TAC provided material on social media, and having honest and open conversations with club members.
All efforts are then submitted for evaluation to the TAC program and for its work, WJFC received $6800.
“This is massive for a small, out of Melbourne junior club,” Ms Gussenhoven said.
“This will go a long way to continue to promote safe driving with our new player drivers through preparations but also help with general club items [like] new footballs.
“I encourage all to get involved in the TAC round but also continue promoting it all year round.”
Broadford Football Netball Club and Lancefield Junior Football Netball Club were also listed as grant recipients.
Minister for Road and Road Safety Melissa Horne said the clubs were important channels for the campaign.
“Victoria’s grassroots football land netball clubs are influential in their communities, so it is wonderful to be able to incentivise them to roll out critical initiatives that promote safer driving,” she said.
So far this year 236 people have died on Victoria’s roads and more than half of the deaths have happened in regional areas, with distracted driving one of the major causes of fatal and serious injury crashed on Victoria’s roads.
TAC chief executive Tracey Slatter said all clubs rewarded should be proud of their efforts.
“Road trauma has a significant ripple effect and there’s no denying the power of peer-to-peer support and education at sporting club level,” she said.
“These clubs should be proud of their efforts to create a culture that priorities road safety.”
