Page 3806 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 24 August 2010
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MR SESELJA: Well, there are also other places. Calwell and Gungahlin have their special moments as well, but there is no doubt that these ovals are special places to be on a cold winter’s day. In fact, I was talking with some of the administrators at Woden Valley Soccer Club the weekend before last about some of the challenges they are facing. They are seeking some assistance which we hope we can provide. These are the volunteers; these are the people I see every week out there putting things together. Some of them are in formal administrative roles. Others are just coming and putting out the witches hats, they are coaching or they are in some other way serving the community. They do an outstanding job. I think that it is something that really adds to the fabric of our community.
I want to mention a couple of the great sporting clubs. I do not have enough time to go through the many and varied sporting organisations in our community, but I did want to pay tribute to a couple of them, particularly the Gungahlin United Football Club. I know that other members in this place have had a bit to do with Gungahlin United. Gungahlin United Football Club is an incorporated community organisation that services Gungahlin and its surrounding suburbs such as Nicholls, Palmerston, Ngunnawal, Amaroo, Harrison, Forde and Franklin.
GUSC started as the Gungahlin Junior Soccer Club in 1997. It focused on junior soccer in the Gungahlin area and it was home-based at the Nicholls playing fields. Field capacity at Nicholls meant a move to Palmerston playing fields as a second base. In December 2005, the association’s name was changed to Gungahlin United Football Club to reflect the change in direction of national naming and the introduction of a broader playing base, including state league seniors and masters, both male and female.
GUFC currently has a player base of over 1,100 players of all ages and teams in competitions, including state league, junior competitive and non-competitive, north-side rooball and locally organised peewees. The club is the largest sporting association in Gungahlin and growing at a rapid rate. It is one of those organisations that are limited only by the number of ovals that are in the area. I think it will continue to grow provided the facilities for Gungahlin United Football Club continue to grow and thrive.
I mentioned before the Woden Valley Soccer Club, which I have had some involvement with. It is a well-respected junior soccer club in the ACT. It was founded in 1989. I think it is the biggest in the ACT. I am told that it is one of the biggest football clubs, if not the biggest, in the country. It has 1,900 players in 200-plus teams.
It is a fantastic organisation. I think it would be the biggest in the ACT. As I said earlier, it has some wonderful volunteers, who I come into contact with on a weekly basis, who do a sensational job. It is also worth mentioning that the Woden Valley Soccer Club has as its major sponsor the Hellenic Club. I think it is worth paying tribute to the Hellenic Club for their backing of soccer in the Woden Valley. Of course, they support many other community organisations, but Woden Valley Soccer Club is one of the important organisations which they back.
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