The club scored the funding from a total pool of $600,000, available to football and netball organisations across Victoria which push the message of driving safely to its players, supporters and surrounding communities.
“Last year we held a round of football and netball where we dressed all of our players in the TAC branding, as well as really pushing the message of road safety throughout the whole season across our socials and also around the club physically,” Rumbalara president Josh Atkinson said.
“The Rumbalara Football Netball Club also runs its own driver program ... and that $10,000 grant will go a long way to help furthering that program and supporting those people going for their licences.
“Although it’s got to be discussed across everybody, I dare say that’ll be where it’ll go, back into road safety and back into that messaging.”
In addition to its support of the TAC message, Rumbalara has also worked hard to aid its younger club members to become independent through the Algabonyah Driver Mentor Program during the past two years.
“We have been going through a rebuild phase, so the actual cohort of our club is quite young,” Atkinson said.
“The majority of our club are going through an area where they have to get their licence as a form of independence as much as anything else.
“We have to provide that gateway as a way to remove the barriers, because it’s so hard for kids to get around, especially in a regional town where public transport isn’t that great.
“The driver program works hand in hand with our employment program and, again, as an effort to remove barriers, getting people their licence is always the first step to getting them a job, but also getting them career ready, which was a big gap that was identified anywhere in regional Victoria and particularly up here.
“I’ve got an 18-year-old daughter and she was 16 when we started the push as a club.
“As a parent, the change has been pivotal to giving me peace of mind ― because she’s around the club, I know that she sees the values … it lets me know I’ve done enough.”
The Victorian road toll for 2023 already sits at 109 – 29 up from last year – making the directive all the more crucial at this time.
TAC head of road safety Samatha Cockfield visited Rumbalara on Monday to launch the 2023 Club Rewards Program, promoting this year’s message of driving without distraction.
“What we’re asking clubs to do is think about how they can promote road safety over the football season, and it’s really important for football and netball clubs to do this, because their players are on the roads to training, games and social events all the time,” she said.
“Unfortunately, regional and rural areas are where we're seeing the increase in the number of deaths on our roads this year.
“When you’re driving on country roads, it often means driving at high speeds, not always on the best quality of roads and often at dusk and in the dark when we’re coming home from training or games ― they’re times when it’s really risky to be on the road.”
“We’re encouraging people to put away their phones, completely drive distraction free and get to their venues safely.”
Easy ways for clubs to get involved in the program and throw an arm up for a share of the funding are putting up signage promoting road safety around the club physically, hammering home the message on social media and participating in July’s road safety round.
Atkinson said just getting involved, no matter the capacity, was a welcomed start.
“Any advice I’d give a club that was looking to promote this program would be to start small, because the first step will make the biggest difference to someone without even realising it.”
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