Iona Sports Club have benefitted from the Northern NSW Football Facilities Fund with completion of its new lighting project.
The new LED lights have been installed on St Columba Anglican School's rear oval thanks to a partnership between NNSWF and Iona Sports Club.
SCAS Council members, staff and students, Iona Sports Club representatives and representatives from NNSWF inspected and opened the new facilities on Tuesday.
Planning for front and back oval lighting began several years ago with then SCAS Business Manager Garry Clifton and Iona Football Club President Tony Judge, supported by the Iona Sports Club Committee. Judge then applied for the NNSWF Facilities Fund was successful in receiving a grant application of $43,250 in July 2019 for installation of field lights at the grounds. St Columba Anglican School then matched the grant dollar for dollar. Paul Oppedisano from PJO Electrical was then contracted to carry out the extensive installation work involved.
Iona Sports Club Secretary Laurence Barlow said the additional lighting would help to extend playing hours at the club and fields and boost engagement in sport for the area.
"The lighting will allow for extended usage of the fields and enable clubs to train at night which makes participating in sport easier for families because they can train and compete after school and work," Barlow said.
"Staying active and healthy is an important part of our lifestyle in the Hastings region and we are committed to providing opportunities for our community to take part in physical activity. This is a practical investment that will help our community clubs grow and encourage more people to take up sports."
St Columba Anglican School Campus Manager Chris Moss welcomed the lighting upgrade and said it would provide the opportunity for sports fields to be better utilised during the shorter winter days and allow teams to train in the cooler evenings during hot summers.
"This season has seen a number of teams unable to host games due to wet weather and that may continue into next year. The addition of the lights will put the school in a position to transfer additional games to their fields, helping keep other clubs playing matches and in the competition," Moss said.
Iona Sports Club was established in 2018 and has been growing every year. The club offers football, netball, basketball and volleyball, with 440 registered players for football with Iona FC, 26 per cent of which are female. About 75 per cent of the teams are made up of SCAS students.
During the 2022 season, in the competitive age groups 12 and above, Iona Sport Club were the only club to have semi-finalists in every grade they competed in including under-12s girls, under-12s (two teams), 13s, 14s, 15s and 18s boys and open men. With 37 teams, from under-6s to open men’s, their growth and expansion into the senior age groups has created the need for additional training time into darkness.
Story originally appeared HERE
