MOUNT Pleasant president Phil Whiting says being named the Victorian Good Sports Club of the Year recognises more than a decade of work in implementing programs to enhance the Blues’ family-friendly environment at Toolleen.
Mount Pleasant Football-Netball Club is one of more than 9000 sporting clubs across Australia that is part of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s Good Sports program.
The Blues have reached the highest level of the Good Sports program – level three – by implementing policies around alcohol management, tobacco and safe transport.
“It’s been a journey of more than 10 years since the club joined the Good Sports program and we’ve been able to progress through the three levels,” Phil Whiting said on Wednesday.
“The program is about creating safe and healthy family-friendly environments at clubs.
“We’ve held player education sessions around programs such as illicit drugs and had people come out and talk about alcohol awareness and looking after your mates, which is really important when you’re a club based out of town.
“We regularly run responsible serving of alcohol courses for our young members and that then creates more awareness around alcohol.
“We’ve also run a program specifically for our junior footballers and netballers around drug and alcohol awareness. You can’t overload with too much information, but it’s a matter of building on different programs and implementing policies around drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
“We’re not the fun police and here to stop a good time, but it’s about setting a standard that there are lines you can cross and as a club we don’t want to cross them.
“That then makes it a better environment for everyone because we all want to enjoy ourselves and have fun.”
Alcohol and Drug Foundation chief executive officer Dr Erin Lalor described Mount Pleasant as a local leader, saying the club “should feel incredibly proud of its efforts in building a stronger and more connected community.”