Sport
20 January, 2023
The Bulldogs get a new netball court
THE Trinity Beach Bulldogs Netball Club are finalising the construction of their first netball court at the Trinity Beach Sports Precinct.
After receiving two grants, the Bulldogs were able to begin construction for their first netball court, which will have a significant impact on the club.
President of the Trinity Beach Bulldogs Netball Club, Olivia Ballantyne, said the construction of the court would not have been possible without the local support and funding.
“We’re really excited that we’re building our first netball court at the Trinity Beach Bulldogs Netball Club,” Ms Ballantyne said.
“We were lucky enough to receive three lots of funding to support the building of the netball court.
“We received some funding from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund and some funding from Cairns Regional Council through their Go Clubs Infrastructure Grant, and finally, we received some discretionary funds from Councillor Brett Olds, which we were very fortunate to receive because he’s been a long time supporter of the club.”
Ms Ballantyne said having this court would be a huge step up for the club.
“Having this court is really good for our club to provide a home ground, a training ground, because we do have over 130 registered members, we did last year, and this year, we could have more,” she said.
“Last year, we had 14 teams representing the Trinity Beach Bulldogs Netball Club which was very exciting.
“This court will mean that we have somewhere we can place ourselves, and we’ll be able to use it for training; our teams train every week, but we’ll also be able to use it for coaching, mentoring, umpire development and try to engage more community participation.
“And also being part of the Trinity Beach Sports Precinct, there’s the Trinity Beach Bulldogs AFL, the Barron River Cricket, there’s a baseball club and a soccer club, so having all the different sporting clubs you just create more collaboration and cohesion,” Ms Ballantyne said.
The concrete slab of the court was completed on December 3, but the construction has some steps to go; the club is currently looking for funding to build a fence around the court to protect it from vandalism and damages while the top coating of the court is applied.
While the Bulldogs are working towards finishing the court, another exciting event is coming for them, with local Sign on Day coming on Sunday, February 5, and a second date with the Cairns Netball Association held on Sunday, February 11.
“We have our local Sign on Day at the Trinity Beach Sports Precinct on February 5 from 10am to 1pm,” Ms Ballantyne said.
“It’s going to be a very exciting day with a jumping castle, a sausage sizzle, merchandise for sale and a raffle.
“We’re inviting players and parents to come and meet us, as well as coaches, umpires, and former players that just want to come down and chat with us.”
Ms Ballantyne said the club wanted to extend a warm thank you to the community, especially the local schools that have lent their courts and spaces for the Bulldogs players to train and prepare.
“We feel extremely grateful for their help, and we will keep relying on them as we do have lots of members,” she said.
“But we really want to say thank you; none of this would be possible without their help.”
