THREE flood-ravaged communities in Central Victoria came together at Carisbrook on Saturday to socialise, raise money and play sport in a strong display of community spirit.
Football and netball clubs from Newbridge, Clunes and Carisbrook took part in round-robin competitions to spice up pre-season practice matches and raise vital funding for those hardest hit by the floods.
Event organiser Troy Driscoll said that the loss of sporting facilities in Clunes and Newbridge, especially, had a huge effect on the small communities.
“There are a lot of individuals who have personally been through a lot, but when it affects you playing sport as well, that has a big impact on whole towns,” Mr Driscoll said.
“Sport is a massive social hub and it tends to bring people together. Without the social side of things, it has an enormous impact.”
On the day, each club brought three football and netball teams to battle it out.
To make things more interesting, each winning team scored two points, and the town with the most points at the end of the day was awarded the inaugural Pattersons Insurerbuild Flood Challenge Cup.
Newbridge took out the honours, finishing on 16 points, with Clunes coming second on 14 points and Carisbrook third with six points.
But Mr Driscoll said neither the result nor the amount of money raised mattered most.
“By far and away, all clubs have said it’s a great opportunity to come together and when the footy’s finished people came in to talk and have a beer, and that’s worth a lot. You can’t put a figure on that,” he said.
“Country people are very friendly people and they all realise everyone’s gone through similar things and every one chips in.”
The day raised more than $10,000 for flood relief with more than 25 local businesses taking part.
