It's back.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After 18 months and seemingly a never-ending pre-season, the lifeblood of small communities right throughout the nation has returned, and just like a old friend that we missed out on seeing during the pandemic, we're overjoyed to see it again.
From Dunnstown, to Newlyn, Waubra to Gordon, from Sebastopol to Sunbury, football and netball is finally back to rescue us from the cold and dreary winter months ahead.
It doesn't matter if you're eight months or 88 years of age, it doesn't matter if you live in a Lake Wendouree mansion or a one-bedroom unit, Australians are united in their love of sport and their particular love of community sport.
We all have a team one way or another - some are from big cities, others are from over your back fence.
For many of us, the return of the Ballarat Football Netball League and Central Highlands football and netball leagues with capacity crowds is a day they feared they may not see in 2021.
We all know the story of 2020, so we won't go over it, but how many of us really thought we'd be back to where we are by the first round of 2021?
What 2020 did teach us all though was just how important sport is to small communities. How depressing was it when we looked out our windows to see empty ovals all throughout the last winter?
It's a testament to ceaseless persistence of clubs that every team that participated in 2019 is back again in Ballarat's two leagues and that is in no small part due to the endless love and care provided by volunteers who make clubs tick from year-to-year.
From the cooks who prepare the roast dinners at Thursday night team selection, the boot studder and the uniform cleaners, and the trainer who has spent decades massaging every sore spot.
The old-timer who is reminiscing about the days that young Jones' grandfather ran around in the 1960s and how the youngster has a left-foot just like his old man.
To the scoreboard operators, cafe attendants, the record seller and their mate at the gate taking the entry fee and directing your car to a prime spot on the boundary.
And the club president, the treasurer, the secretary, the coach, the players, the water boys and girls, even the person who makes sure the footballs are pumped up before every training session, and let's not forget about who makes sure the hot water doesn't work in the opposition change rooms, these are the people that make the club go round.
While we're at it, don't ever forget the other people that make the game work, the umpires. These are men and women, boys and girls that no sport could live without. Treat them well and treat them with respect.
If the opportunity presents itself, put your own hand up and offer to volunteer and remember, without these people there's every chance you wouldn't have a club to call your own.
So get out to your local ground this week, cheer on your home town team, buy a raffle ticket, have a pie, get a beer and support the clubs that support you every year.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.