Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke visited Temora United Soccer Club last night to see how NSW Government funding is helping grow the game’s appeal.
The club received $60,000 of Stronger Country Communities Fund Round 2 money as well as $61,000 from the Asia Cup Legacy Fund to enable the construction of a new changing room and facilities block at Temora West Sports Ground.
“It’s fantastic to see how the NSW Government is having such a positive effect on our regional towns and villages, enabling the completion of projects like this wonderful new changing room for Temora United,” Ms Cooke said.
“Players now have somewhere to get changed: until now they had nothing except a couple of toilets.
“This new building has got home and away change rooms, a big equipment storage area, a large canteen, and a covered spectators viewing area.
“And the referees, who used to have to get changed in their cars, now have dedicated change rooms as well.
“This new building is such a great asset to the club and it’s been wonderful to see them enjoying their training sessions even more. With the evening temperatures falling, getting changed after training won’t be such a challenge.”
Laurette Chesser, secretary of Temora United Soccer Club, explained how the new facilities will help the growth of the game.
“We had been trying to get funding and grants for about a decade to replace the building, as we had no changing facilities at all, just two old toilets for males and females,” Ms Chesser said.
“Having the bigger facility will help us make soccer an all-year sport, as we will be able to run night soccer social competitions through summer. We’ve previously done that in a limited capacity, but we’ve struggled to cater because our numbers really swell, it’s really popular.
“We hope this modern facility is going to help us attract and retain new members as well. In Temora all the football codes are competing, there’s a lot for kids to choose from which is brilliant, but for a long time we had been left behind by the other codes.
“This will give us an opportunity for us to match what other clubs offer their members.”
