26 Apr 2017 Euroa Gazette, Euroa VIC (General News) STANDING in front of a large group of netballers, parents, fundraising committee members, councillors and residents, Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes announced a grant of $100,000 to go toward building a second netball court at the Memorial Oval complex. The funding announcement, coupled with the $60,000 raised by the Euroa Junior Football Netball Club (EJFNC), $50,000 from the Strathbogie Shire, and $10,000 from the Goulburn Valley League brings the total funding above the $200,000 target. Reaching their fundraising target ends years of campaigning by a dedicated group of volunteer committee members- led by Kate Petersen- who together worked tireless to achieve their goal of a new show court. I have had the support of such a great team who have done an amazing job and put a lot of effort into the project, Kate Petersen told those assembled for the announcement. This court has been a dream of ours for a number of years now and the committee have worked so hard over a number of years to make this happen. I stepped away from the game a couple of years ago to concentrate on organising fundraising for the court, and its great to see the rewards of that coming together. All of their hard work and passion has paid off, and its all for the kids. Ms Symes was full of admiration for the efforts of the fundraising committee and the generosity of the town in getting behind the cause. She stressed the importance of a second court in sustaining netball in Euroa; especially given the GVNL was looking at expansion into under-15 netball next year. This is the most amazing setting for a netball court, and this fundraising team would have to be one of the best of any that I have come across in my time. The committee has told me that they have had had kids training in the carpark, and so this second netball court is of vital importance to support this growing sport. Im sure the netballers will be rapt with the new facilities once constructed as it will allow the Magpies to grow and netballers to train and play day or night. Local State Member for Euroa Steph Ryan joined Ms Symes in congratulating the work of those involved in getting the project up and running. Kate Petersen and the subcommittee who pulled together the bid for a second court deserve a huge pat on the back. These grants dont just happen. The club did the hard yards to secure council and community support before applying for state funding. Strathbogie Shire Mayor Amanda McClaren said the new court would allow the club to support the growing number of women and girls getting involved in sport. It is great to see significant progress in the promotion of womens sport, particularly in Euroa where over 100 girls across junior and senior grades are getting out on the court to represent their community. All eyes will now be on how long it is before the new court is built and ready for use. The committee were originally hoping to see the court ready for use in the 2018 season; however that timeline is dependent on a number of factors. We will have a meeting with the Shire in the next couple of weeks, Andrew Hill, EJFNC President and fundraising committee member said. It depends on how long it takes for the money to come through which will allow us to crack on with the construction. The Shire is project managing the build, so our hard yards are done. Now its just a matter of making sure it gets going as soon as possible. Caption Text: WISH GRANTED: Funding from the State Government announced this week means the construction of the new netball court in Euroa can get under way. (Back left) Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes, Strathbogie Shire mayor Amanda McClaren and Show Court Project coordinator Kate Petersen with Euroa netballers (front left) Illyah Reid, Olivia Butler and Ashley Allen. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.