$14,300 GRANT TO GROW JUNIOR TOUCH FOOTBALL IN EVANS HEAD

Evans Head Touch Football Association has secured $14,300 through the NSW Government’s Local Sport Grant Program to help grow junior representative touch football opportunities in the Richmond Valley, State Nationals MP for Clarence, Richie Williamson has announced.

The funding will assist the club in purchasing match and training footballs, two marquees, representative player kits, field flags and a stand to support the expansion of junior touch football and representative pathways in Evans Head.

Mr Williamson said the funding would help the club continue its impressive growth and provide more opportunities for young players in regional communities.

“Evans Head Touch Football Association is a fantastic local sporting organisation driven by an incredibly passionate and dedicated committee who have worked tirelessly to rebuild and grow the club following COVID and the 2022 floods,” Mr Williamson said.

“This funding will help support the continued growth of junior touch football in Evans Head and create stronger representative pathways for local children and young people.

“With many regional families facing barriers such as travel costs and distance, this project will help make representative sport more accessible for young players in our community.”

Mr Williamson said community sport played a vital role in keeping young people active, connected and engaged.

“Providing safe, healthy and inclusive sporting opportunities for children and families has enormous benefits for the wider community,” he said.

“Local sporting clubs like Evans Head Touch Football create opportunities for young people to stay active, build confidence, develop teamwork skills and form lifelong friendships.”

Evans Head Touch Football Association Secretary Jo Slade said the club was thrilled to receive the funding.

“We are over the moon with the success in our grant application and this is definitely going to be well received by our junior members together with our senior Evans Head Touch Football Association members and families,” Ms Slade said.

“We have worked hard following COVID and then the 2022 floods to rebuild our club and this has been due to the tireless efforts of our passionate small committee.”

“Our junior rebuild has been long coming and it is so exciting for our committee to see the fantastic response and uptake from within our local Richmond Valley communities.”

Ms Slade said the club had ambitious plans to significantly grow participation numbers over coming years and provide more local representative opportunities for children who currently need to travel long distances to participate in higher-level touch football.

Mr Williamson congratulated the Evans Head Touch Football Association committee and volunteers on their successful application and thanked them for their ongoing contribution to grassroots sport in the region.