By Jed Lanyon
Through rain, hail or shine, netball will always be played at Kilsyth’s Pinks Reserve thanks to new netball court covers.
The new giant structure acts as a permanent cover for two existing netball courts and gives plenty of undercover space for surrounding spectators.
Over 2500 members of the Lilydale and Yarra Valley Netball Association, including interschool sport competitions and the local community will benefit from the new courts that will allow play to continue through harsh rain and extreme heat.
Deputy Premier James Merlino, Member for Evelyn Bridget Vallence, Member for Croydon David Hodgett and Yarra Ranges Councillor Len Cox joined Lilydale and Yarra Valley Netball Association president Simon Grimes for the official opening of the new netball court covers.
Mr Grimes said that the association had raised $800,000 alone, while $200,000 was contributed from the state government through the Pick My Project initiative and $132,000 from the local council.
“It helps us because one of the main difficulties is cancellations to games,” Mr Grimes said.
“What this does is allows the girls to play, it keeps them on the court and keeps them involved.”
Mr Merlino was on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the new courts to the public.
“Pick My Project has helped the Kilsyth community get the funding they need so that local netball games continue rain, hail or shine,” said Mr Merlino.
“This will boost the uptake of netball in the area and allow the sport to grow.”
Ms Vallence said this project would be a significant boost for sport and women playing sport.
“The beneficiaries are the girls and women who play here,” she said.
“I’ve come down here a couple of times on a Saturday and we were here on a day when it was teeming down with rain and you could see the girls on the side of the court were disappointed.
“They were disappointed because they had come and they wanted to play, they were ready to play, but they couldn’t because of the rain,” said Ms Vallence.
The netball association received bipartisan support from political parties to build covers for several other courts in the future.
Cr Cox marvelled at the size of the structure and said, “It’s a heck of a lot bigger than I thought it was ever going to be… It’s very spectacular, it looks terrific.”
The new covers feature allows natural light to shine through as well as stadium lighting to improve night play.
